Dressed to Kill- Women’s Fashion & Self-Defense (1800-1920)

Join us for a lively lecture to learn about the Boxing Baroness, women’s Jiujitsu schools, swordfighting champions, machine guns for bicylists, poisonous clothing and more! Take a whirlwind tour of women’s self-defense through culture and fashion, reviewing accessories and garments used to repel unwanted attention and enforce personal space. Weapons of mass consumption utilized by both society ladies and criminals alike changed perception, industry, and law as they fought back with martial arts, diamonds and danger.
90 minutes, includes Q & A and volunteer demonstrations.

Speaker Chantal Filson is a professional costume designer/seamstress/milliner who has designed and constructed clothing and costumes for every type of media and project, from space suits for film to 19th century replicas for a museum.