Research candidate

Georgia Horsley

Research topic

Embroidered clothing objects and fashioning femininity in early modern England

Georgia’s research examines the intersections of gender, dress and material culture in early modern England. Her thesis investigates the production, consumption and cultural significance of English horticultural scrollwork embroidery, a distinctive style of needlework that flourished between approximately 1580 and 1625. Bringing surviving garments into dialogue with portraiture and textual sources, her research considers how embroidered dress participated in the construction and negotiation of femininity, identity and agency. Challenging the idea that mediums associated with decoration or domestic craft are beyond the scope of historical research, her work situates these objects and practices within broader histories of gendered labour, consumption and cultural expression.

Georgia’s research interests extend to histories of making, embodied knowledge and the relationship between material objects and women’s lived experiences. Her interdisciplinary approach draws on dress and textile history, material culture studies and gender history, incorporating experimental reconstruction to investigate historical techniques and practices of production. She has presented her research at conferences and through other speaking engagements. 

Supervisory team

Principal supervisor:  Dr Sarah Bendall

Co-supervisor:  Professor Susan Broomhall