10 BIPOC/SWANA Historical Costumers & Historybounders You Need To Know!

This is is in no specific order, honestly you should check out all of them!

If you are new to the wonderful world of historical sewing, hello welcome we have tea brewing and aesthetic photos galore. Historybounders are people who wear historical costume as everyday fashion. You may have heard of cottagecore. This is the next level up from that! As a lover of sewing and history myself I knew that I couldn't keep the featured creators to myself. Enjoy 10 BIPOC/SWANA Historybounders You Need To Know!

1. Brazilian Baroness

@brazilianbaroness / Via instagram.com

Hairan Zuchelli is the face of Brazilian Baroness. She posts in English and Portuguese and likes to focus on Brazilian and Iberian culture or mostly 18th and 19th century. Brazilian Baroness is a non-profit project made by costume designer Hairan Zuchelli with the goal of teaching Brazilian Traditional Clothing and about their untold history focusing on the rescue of BIPOC heritage.

Check out her YouTube channel and instagram to see absolutely jaw dropping and socially aware work!

2. Việt phục Collection

vietphuc_collection / Via instagram.com

This Instagram catalogs Vietnamese clothing from the Lý to the Nguyễn dynasty (1009-1945) and the modernization era (c.1920 to current). They are curating space for Vietnamese clothing and their aim is to promote Vietnamese clothing and culture by providing images and information that are not easily accessible to people who are not proficient in the Vietnamese language.

Their Instagram stories are a wealth of amazing knowledge. Between this Instagram that features modern people wearing Vietnamese clothing and this Instagram that shows Vietnamese historical artifacts you will spend hours scrolling through their pages.

3. Skmedrano

skmedrano / Via instagram.com

Keisha dabbles mostly in late 18th century garb but she occasionally ventures into earlier centuries. She likes to think of her costuming as "Historically Adjacent" and far from historically accurate. She also tends to use a lot of thrifted and upcycled materials in her projects!

The details that you will find on her Instagram are so minut and thorough that you'll instantly give her a follow.

4. Time Traveling Native

Time Traveling Native / Via instagram.com

Natalie has consciously choose not to use her cultural clothing in historical costuming. Her current focus is on late 18th century European fashions. Although she hasn't pinpointed a favorite decade yet, the 1780’s are looking promising.

She believes that as a Native American it is hard to get a foot in the door when it comes to historical costuming. She finds courage in saying "This is my space too!" And although real life hasn’t always been accepting of her presence she's found wonderful friends in the historical costuming community.

If you are a fan of stays (an early form of corseting) you definitely want to check our her Instgram and TikTok

5. Tanick Nacks and Notions

tanicknacksandnotions / Via instagram.com

Tanaka doesn't like to pin herself down to a super specific era because she has made things from the 16th century to the19th century, but she is particularly excited about the late 18th century at the moment!

She really enjoys mixing fantasy elements with history, research, and creativity, because it gives her more freedom artistically. She also feels like playing with and adapting the history and the styles worn at the time creates a more exciting and open space to express herself as a WOC in historical costuming.

This Instagram is a one stop shop if you want to see people, including Tanaka having a blast in historical costumes!

6. Ora Lin Couture

ora.lin.couture / Via instagram.com

Ora likes to create Late Victorian, Edwardian, and vintage outfits. Most of what she creates is meant to be worn just in her everyday wardrobe. While she does enjoy making more costume-y pieces her main goal of her sewing and YouTube channel is to create a wardrobe. She wants to cultivate a wardrobe that pulls inspiration and knowledge from the past.

If you are looking for a comprehensive take on historical costuming go to her Instagram or YouTube channel (which is linked above).

7. Our Shield Maiden

ourshieldmaiden / Via instagram.com

Emilee likes to hop around in her historical costuming journey a lot depending on what seems interesting to her at the time, but she does have an affinity for colonial American (18th Century) and Victorian silhouettes. All of her costumes are made out of recycled looks and she never spends more than $100 on a look! She enjoys costuming like this because it challenges her perception of what materials can be used for costuming and be more sustainable!

Emilee has some simply hilarious posts on Instagram and TikTok

If you're looking for socially aware posts along with more comedy check out her Twitter

8. The Vintage Guidebook

thevintageguidebook / Via instagram.com

Ayana likes to focus her historical costuming between the18th century and 1970s, but her favorite era is WWII. She got into historical costuming because she really loves history and according to her "The beautiful dresses are just a bonus!" She believes that dressing historically helps people better understand the lives of those that came before us. Her goal is to share knowledge from the past so everyone can apply it to the present.

Ayana posts poignant stories on Instagram! She has a really fun YouTube Channel. But wait there's more! She's also on Twitter

9. Chai and Parche

chai_and_parche / Via instagram.com

Hannah is interested mostly in 17th century to the mid 20th century fashion. So far, her main eras of fashion have been the Regency era (early 1800s) to the Edwardian era (1901-1914). She is just starting out her historical costuming journey and she's only been sewing for three and half years. She doesn't often see costumers like herself since she is a mixed (European/Iranian) person. She really wants to integrate more of her heritage into her costuming through trim, textiles, prints, and actual historical outfits. Her heritage is really important to her and she wants to get more SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) people involved in costuming because this world really is for all of us.

Hannah has such lovely photos on her Instagram. Her Instagram's name, Chai and Parche, means tea and fabric, in Farsi which are two of my favorite things!

10. Bookhoarding by Bianca Hernandez

biancahernandez / Via instagram.com

Bianca mainly focuses on Regency era because she loves the details and that you can get away with wearing a bra instead of a full corset while costuming. When she was growing up, creativity wasn't a thing that was highly encouraged for her because it didn't equate with a job, and she felt like she couldn't embrace her truly nerdy life. She's really thankful for spaces that have worked to not only support people living their best nerd lives, but that do so while making sure that they are inclusive and open. She loves being able to lean into her costuming love and not be judged for it, but she loves it more when she is in spaces that don't gatekeep that experience.

Between her Instagram and YouTube you will get lace bobbins, historical dressing, and so much more. Want even more content from Bianca? Check out her Twitter too!