Celebrate Women's History 🧵 Watch A Great Sewing Story

Each year around this time, I think about my muse, Mary Brooks Picken and the path she created for women over a century ago. In 1916, she founded the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, giving women practical skills to learn, earn, and build confidence. At its height, nearly 300,000 women enrolled — discovering not just sewing and dressmaking, but independence and community. The Fashion Service was a magazine members received and I find the art on the covers so inspiring. I had to share a few! Mary believed domestic arts were both for pleasure and profession, encouraging women to build home-based businesses long before it was common. Here most popular book was the Singer Sewing Book, which sold over eight million copies .

A few things you may not know:
• She helped launch New York Fashion Week in 1943
• She taught “Economics of Fashion” at Columbia University
• She authored nearly 100 books
• She was one of five founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute

In honor of Woman's History Month, I'm sharing a post about Mary's lasting impact on fashion, sewing, and women's education — along with a video sharing the story behind the dictionary of fashion and dress she authored.

I've also brought some of her original published work back to life. Dressmaking Made Easy — a booklet explaining the Woman's Institute coursework — is now available on shopamybarickman.com as a printable PDF. If you prefer a bound, printed version, head over to my Amazon shop to order—you'll also want to take a look at the Vintage Notions Monthly series as well as Mary's dictionary, The Language of Fashion, which I talked about in the video above.

I've always had a deep love for history — especially the stories of women whose work shaped the creative paths we walk today. If you'd like to follow along, I'll be sharing more historical insights and behind-the-scenes inspiration inside my Vintage Made Modern Facebook group where I will be posting some fun images and snippets from my Vintage Modern Makers courses as well. 

I'd love to have you join us!

XO,

Amy

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