Thornton Square
Victorian and Historical Replica Clothing

Welcome To Thornton Square
Replica and Historical Period Clothing

Thornton Square Historical Clothing Construction

Thornton Square prides itself on constructing clothes authentically. We make our replica reenactment Victorian and Edwardian clothing as close to what they would have done at the time it was made.

Thornton Square uses only fabrics that would have been available at the time the clothing was made. We use cotton, linen, wool , satin and silk. These are the fabrics that our Victorian ancestors would have used.

We are also very careful about the colors of the fabric. Victorians wore earth tones and colors from nature. Although they worn flower prints, their prints were small and delicate. They would not have worn outrageous prints or very bright hues of color.

Thornton Square does extensive research for the proper construction of the garments. Each time period has unique construction techniques. This includes everything from the tiniest detail of proper closures to the more outwardly trimmings. No zippers here.

Thornton Square’s Men’s Line follows the same principal as the ladies handmade replica clothing. Men’s clothes of the day are researched and followed carefully. While the 1960’s had flower power, a typical Victorian man would have worn colors in the dark hue family. Most were black, dark blue or brown. Summer colors would have been lighter in weight and in color. Linen was used often for summer clothing.

Fabric choices are also very important. Unlike today where we wear most fabrics anytime of year due to central heating, Victorians would not have. Being that the average indoor temperature during the winter months was around 45 degrees, wool would have been used for skirts, vest, and trousers. They even would have used wool for petticoats and pantalets. Summer weight fabrics such as cotton and linen were used for both ladies and men’s Victorian clothing.

The finished seams are an important factor in historical replica clothing. Ladies bodices were lined. Men’s coats and jackets would have been lined as well.
Seams were flat felled seams. This allowed for a durable long lasting article of clothing. No seam would have been done with a serger. The majority of seams and hems that showed would have been hand stitched. Hems would be about 2 – 3 inches. Most sewing work was done by hand.

Until the late 1930’s you would not see a zipper on any clothing. Authentic closures of the Victorian era would have been hook and eye, buttons or tied. Edwardian era saw the use of snaps coming into use. All closures would have been done by hand, including the button holes. There was no such thing as a button hole attachment.