Our speaker for October was Dr Claire Day, Senior Lecturer at Coventry University, London, who came to talk to us about her research into the onshore clothing worn by the Hull distant water trawlermen in the 1950s – 1980s.

She started by catching us up on the work she’d been doing since her last visit to us, then took us through her creative process for design mapping.

Hull born and bred, Claire saw the play Northern Trawl at Spring Street Theatre as a fashion student, and became fascinated by the the suits worn by the actors playing the Hull trawlermen, who were well known for their smart, distinctive look in the Hessle Road area. From this, she started to research the origins of the suits and how they had changed over time, evolving from the classic Lounge suit, through the Italian style and the influence of the Beatles, while keeping the key features of the trawlerman’s suit such as the Spanish waistband, eventually producing her PhD thesis ‘King of the Deck: The sartorial extremism of the distant-water trawlermen of Hull 1950-1980’

She then went on the talk about her research into the history of the traditional fisherman’s gansey, the tightly knitted traditional fisherman’s sweater, and the wool and patterns used to create the warm garments required for the extreme conditions the men faced at sea.

This was followed by a fascinating discussion with the members on ganseys and the tightly spun 5-ply wool used to make them.

Photos of Claire and some of the work she brought in to show us, including examples of gansey patterns.