“The Dress Diary” is an intimate record of one wardrobe — and its era. Anne Sykes’s collection of fabric remnants, lovingly preserved in an album, documents not merely her life but the Victorian era.

With a vision of her mother as a mod bride to live up to and her "best man" along to help, one bride meets many contenders before finding her perfect match. J ust about every bride-to-be has grown up ...

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes: Secrets from a Victorian Woman’s Wardrobe by Kate Strasdin is published by Chatto & Windus. Follow Kate on Instagram and Twitter Ann and Adam Sykes didn’t have ...

An album of swatches offers a rich historical record of middle-class life in the 19th century In May 1848 merchant’s wife Anne Sykes rustled on to the dancefloor in a dress made of pink and purple ...