In March of 1825, Marquis de Lafayette visited Fayetteville as part of his United States tour as “The Nation’s Guest.” On that day, Lafayette’s secretary, Auguste Lavasseur, wrote that while the weather was “excessively bad,” the reception was impactful.

Now, almost two hundred years later, we will celebrate Lafayette’s visit and his birthday. In honor of the upcoming Bicentennial Celebration and the Lafayette’s Grand Birthday Ball & Soirée on Sept. 9, Rebecca Russell from Beespoke Vintage will be offering three lectures and workshops titled Preparing for Lafayette.

This series will teach men and women about the historical background on clothing worn by people in the 1820s, followed by a sewing workshop where Russell will help participants create their own outfits to prepare for the Bicentennial event.

The first workshop is aptly named “Foundations.” During this workshop, participants will learn about the silhouette of the 1820s and how it had changed dramatically from the earlier “Colonial” period. Participants will explore a brief overview of the details and differences between the clothing of the working classes and nobility. The bulk of this workshop will then turn to and focus on the foundation garments for men and women.

“I think the biggest thing is just understanding how important foundation garments are for clothing of this era. Because if you’re not wearing the right garments underneath, the other garments are not going to look right,” Russell said.

“If you’re trying to wear modern undergarments with period clothing from back then, you’ll notice. So I really like to stress that you have to start with the foundations. So you have to start with the skin out to really get the right look, and you’ll notice it yourself when you’re wearing the clothing. It will definitely feel different, it’ll wear different, you’ll behave differently. And so that’s really important and why they're foundational in that sense, too.”

The June 10 lecture will begin at 9 a.m. and will be an hour long. The next two hours will be dedicated to cutting patterns and fabrics. There will be an hour break for lunch. The workshop will resume at 1 p.m. with the sewing and construction of the clothes.

Participants must bring their own patterns, fabric, machines and notions.

“Don’t show up at the workshop thinking that the pattern in fabric is going to already be there waiting for you. Because everybody’s a different size and people have different types of fabric they want to buy,” Russell said.

There are four ticket options. To attend the lecture, the workshop and have a catered lunch, that would be a $65 ticket. To attend the lecture and the workshop, but to bring your own lunch, that would be a $50 ticket. To attend just the lecture, which will take place in the morning, is $15. To attend the virtual lecture and workshop would be $20. There are discounts available for military, first responders, educators and single parents.

To buy tickets, get the supply list, and to learn more about the event, go to https://www.beespokevintage.com/preparing-for-lafayette

There will be two other lectures and workshops scheduled before the birthday party in September. The session on July 8 will focus on Day Wear, while the session on Aug. 12 will focus on Evening Wear.