{"id":13828,"date":"2021-05-12T17:36:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T17:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/12\/a-stitch-in-time-hannah-olech-20-brings-the-past-to-life-through-historical-dressmaking\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T14:06:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T18:06:43","slug":"a-stitch-in-time-hannah-olech-20-brings-the-past-to-life-through-historical-dressmaking","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/12\/a-stitch-in-time-hannah-olech-20-brings-the-past-to-life-through-historical-dressmaking\/","title":{"rendered":"A stitch in time: Hannah Olech \u201920 brings the past to life through historical dressmaking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

Costume designing provides creative outlet for Clark alumna<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n Dressmaker Hannah Olech ’20 shows one of her favorite creations, an 1850s Christmas evening gown.\n

Sitting at a small table in her Worcester apartment, Hannah Olech ’20 carefully stitches straps to a silk, Elizabethan-era garment. The piece, which resembles a corset and would have been known as a “pair of bodies” in the 16th century, is part of 11 historical outfits Olech has sewn over the past five years, covering time periods that span from the Middle Ages to the early 1900s.<\/p>\n

“It’s a way I destress and a creative outlet for me,” says Olech, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in biology<\/a> in December. “When I was at Clark, that was a good way to compartmentalize. I had my STEM-based school work and I’ve always loved science, but when I’m not working, I want to be doing something fun, but also something calm and quiet.”<\/p>\n

In addition to providing a way to unwind, costume designing has allowed Olech to combine her passion for history with her experience as a seamstress. Growing up, Olech’s parents and stepparents brought her to living history museums and Renaissance fairs, sparking her interest in the past at a young age. Today, she draws much of her inspiration from unique materials she acquires and from dresses she sees online or on television. While watching “Pride & Prejudice,” for example, she decided she wanted a Regency dress and began planning.<\/p>\n

“I’ve always been a little over the top in that I’ve enjoyed dressing up. I had trunks full of dress-up clothes as a kid, and when I got older I wanted historical clothes but looked at their price tag and was astonished,” she says. “I wondered, ‘How difficult is it to make them?’ I started very simple and it went from there.”<\/p>\n

(Story continues after video)<\/em><\/p>\n