La Fleur de Lyse  
Suzanne Gousse, owner and historian of Nouvelle France


 
Introduction

Suzanne Gousse has completed a masters degree in history under the direction of Thomas Wien and John A. Dickinson. Her master thesis is entitled Les couturieres en Nouvelle-France. Leur contribution socioeconomique a une societe coloniale d'Ancien Regime. She starts a Ph. D. in history next Fall (2009) with a study of 18th century Montreal.

She was introduced to reenactment and living history at the end of the 1980's. This hobby of reenactment gathers thousands of Americans and Europeans and a few hundreds of them have a passion for the French in North America. These people have a need for costumes or clothing because getting appropriately dressed is the first step to really travel in time. From 1991 until 2001, she has made clothing for historical sites and museums but also for American and Canadian reenactors of the French and Indian War period.

Suzanne first studied fashion design and haute-couture and worked for theatre costume shops in the late 1970s.  Since the year 2000, she had developped a collection of historical patterns - with the help of Evelyne Bouchard who has been her assitant for a few years.  Suzanne has also invested in publishing her brother's François series of books for military re-enactors. She also met with students and members of historical societies to talk about the history of the 18th century Canadiens as seen through their dress.

When Suzanne Gousse decided to recreate 18th century Canadian clothing, she did not foresee the task that was awaiting her.  She discovered that sources were scarce and that no garments from that period had survived in Canada. There is a also paucity of pictorial material from Canada for that specific period. She worked hard and came out with a picture that was somewhat different from what most people assumed a few years ago.

Since 1991, people who came to her for historical reproductions were individuals as well as museums curators and historic sites managers, volunteers as well as professionnals. She collaborated with TV series and with theatres, mainly to produce 18th century military uniforms.
 
Suzanne is also co-founder of Association d'histoire vivante Quebec-Canada, a living history and reenacting group.



 

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