• Close-up of a historical handwritten manuscript page in cursive ink, showing dense text on aged paper, held open by a person’s hand at the bottom edge.

A woman stands in a period-style ball gown, with accentuated white sleeves in the middle of a grand hall

The discovery of the farthingale sleeve

by Ninya Mikhaila The discovery of rare, or unknown items of historic dress is always exciting. It can also be challenging when the extant object offers evidence which contradicts previously held beliefs about people in the past. A farthingale sleeve…