Natalie Bramwell-Booth is a historian of British and European art and fashion, c. 1590 – 1720 CE.
PhD
Natalie is currently working towards her PhD: ‘De-objectifying the female sitter: agency, art and authorship in the ‘Windsor Beauties’ portrait series by Sir Peter Lely’ (working title). Her project is being supervised by Maria Hayward, at the University of Southampton, and is due to be completed in 2027.
MA
In 2019 Natalie was awarded an MA by Research from the University of Hertfordshire, where she was supervised by John Styles. Her dissertation title is: ‘Speaking Stitches, Laughing Flowers: An Emblematic Reinterpretation of the ‘Rainbow’ Portrait of Elizabeth I’. To read an abstract and download a copy of her dissertation, please click the link below:
Other work
Since August 2022 Natalie has managed social media for the Pasold Research Fund, which promotes and supports research on textile history:
From 2019 until October 2022 Natalie held the post of Events Secretary on the committee of the Medieval Dress and Textile Society (MEDATS). During that time she convened 6 large conference events, including three Learning Through Reconstruction study days, and introduced MEDATS Chats, an ongoing series of online presentations and discussion sessions.
Natalie is also a co-creator of BAC Stitch, the Bacton Altar Cloth Research Group, formed in 2020. This is a collaborative, interdisciplinary group of researchers working together to examine the Bacton Altar Cloth, a large and elaborately embroidered fabric remnant, surviving from the Elizabethan period in the form of an altar cloth belonging to the parish church of St. Faith, Bacton, Herefordshire. Since 2016 the cloth has also undergone an extensive conservation programme by Historic Royal Palaces, and was exhibited at Hampton Court in 2019/20 in the exhibition ‘The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I’.
Natalie also holds a BA degree in English Literature from the University of Southampton.
Technical Skills
Between 2005 and 2018, Natalie worked as a dressmaker and in the fashion industry as a creative pattern cutter and hand-sewing and embroidery specialist. She also has experience making historical costume for heritage sites, and uses the reconstruction of historical textiles as a form of experimental archeology in her research. To see some examples of her work, click here:
Writing
Natalie has written for a number of websites on historical textiles and art, modern day fashion, and travel and lifestyle subjects. To read some examples of her work click here:
Awards
In 2018 Natalie was a recipient of the School of Humanities Dean’s Award, for Outstanding achievement by a Post-Graduate Research Student, from the University of Hertfordshire.
Contact
Location: Hertfordshire and London, England, UK
Twitter: @NatalieBBooth
Instagram: @nataliebramwellbooth
Natalie Bramwell-Booth 