What's In A Name
The first Homer + Howells pattern’s, Jenny and Cissy, were named after our great Aunts, Jenny Ewing and Cissy McFaul. We did this in homage to them and all of the inspirational sewists in our lives. Here are little snippets of their stories and how they played a part in passing down dressmaking skills in our families.
Jenny and Cissy didn’t teach us directly, but they nurtured an environment of making and mending that has stayed in our families through the generations. They taught our Mums and Grans, who taught us and perhaps it was their influence that nudged us both a little closer on our paths into fashion. Neither of these wonderful ladies is here with us now, but their legacy lives on. There are many women in our families treasuring the beautiful garments Jenny and Cissy made and sewing up their own.
Jenny’s daughters Marian and Anne, on Annes wedding day, wearing dresses made by Jenny
Susan’s, great Auntie Jenny was a seamstress, Mum and Granny. After school, she completed a five-year apprenticeship as a dressmaker to trade. Sadly, Jenny's dream of studying design in Glasgow was lost when her Dad died, and her family could no longer afford the fees.
Following her five years apprenticeship, Jenny had an enviable sewing skillset, which she used to make clothes for her family for the rest of her life. She mainly sewed dresses but could turn her hand to anything, from kilts and costumes to boned corsets for the ball gowns she created. Jenny went on to sew all of her children's clothes and then later her daughters Anne and Marian's wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. On Susan’s mum’s wedding day, she wore a dress and Juliette cap that Auntie Jenny had made for her.
Jenny grew up in a small town on Loch Lomond side. She taught dressmaking to the local community for more than 15 years at Vale Academy. When Susan's mum was asked to be a bridesmaid for her best friend, Susan's granny offered to make her dress. As the project was a little ambitious Susan’s granny signed up for Auntie Jenny’s night school class. And so, Jenny taught her some new skills and helped her make the bridesmaid dress. Jenny was a great teacher; she was very fussy about sewing and it was her way or the highway.
Although Susan never met Auntie Jenny, she gifted her with her knowledge through her granny and mum. These days Jenny's scraps are still being used by her great-grandchildren to sew clothes for their barbies.
Auntie Jenny on the beach with Marian. All clothes made by Jenny
After leaving school Cissy, worked as a tailoress in Glasgow, and later made jackets in suit factories around the city. She worked in lots of factories around town until she retired in the late 1970s.
After school one day, Nic’s great Aunt Cissy went for an interview at a tailor in the city centre of Glasgow. During the interview, the tailor asked Cissy if she could do pockets, and she said yes, to which they responded, ‘Great, you start on Monday morning’. And so, she spent a busy weekend learning from those around her how to sew pockets. This was 1932, Cissy was just 14 years old. Cissy had a natural aptitude for sewing and had no issues picking up new skills quickly. Her granny was a shirt-maker in Ireland, and she taught her daughter who passed her skills down to Cissy.
There was a vibrant manufacturing industry in Glasgow where Cissy worked after the war. She mainly sewed jackets and outerwear. The factories used a piecework system, and as a skilled tailoress, Cissy was able to move from factory to factory for a better piece rate. The story has it, she once had to climb out of a window to escape a factory fire in the city centre, only to find work the next day in a nearby building.
Nic's mum, Margaret, spent time with her aunt at her Glasgow tenement flat and Cissy would sometimes give her a little sewing lesson. Margaret had to pay pretty close attention, as Cissy didn’t often repeat or explain in more depth if she didn’t catch it the first time. It was a kind of, ‘I’ll show you once, now give it a go yourself kind of education’, but some of it stuck as Margaret still makes her clothes today. She has a sewing bee with her sisters and is one of Homer + Howells most valued pattern testers!
Cissy pictured here with her brother, Patrick (Nics Grampa), and a very little Nic, at a family wedding in 1988
Cissy made both her own and Nics dress.
Thanks for reading, Nic + Susan x
Shop Cissy and Jenny below:
