To continue your tour, pass through the larger guest bathroom. Cross the hall to the open doorway of the Attendant’s Room.
According to early floor plans, this unusual little room was called the Attendant’s Room. Typically, in a large house such as this, an attendant’s room was used as either accommodations or workspace for domestic staff. Today, we interpret this space as a sewing room.
In her youth, as was common at the time, Olive Plant was likely schooled in skills traditionally considered “women’s work” – including sewing. Likewise, the women who worked at Lucknow undoubtedly knew how to mend garments and perhaps make alterations to existing attire. This skill would have become especially important as the Plants’ finances tightened and out-of-style clothing needed to be updated to meet the latest trends.
Women’s fashion in general shifted dramatically in the early 1900s. From the Gibson Girl Victorian ideal of beauty featuring slim waists and accentuated hips and busts, to the La Garçonne style of the 1910s, which deemphasized the female form through loose cuts and dropped waists. Because there are very few photos of Olive Plant, we can only speculate about her personal style.
We must also acknowledge that, although we think of this space as a sewing room, we’re not certain if it was used that way. It is possible this room was meant to be a small bedroom for a servant traveling with one of Lucknow’s overnight guests.
