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About Mervin
Mervin was a participant in TURNING POINT (London) heritage programme’s ‘Sunday Best’ – sewing skills and heritage research workshop.
Mervin is of Dominican heritage, she is active in her local community and deeply fascinated by fashion and Caribbean culture. Mervin’s interest goes back as far as her childhood when from about 6 years old she was designing and hand sewing clothes for her dolls. She looks forward to boosting her capacity to share the skills of sewing the cultural and traditional wear and learning more about the history of Caribbean fashion.
Summary
Mervin (participant) has looked at the meaning of ‘Sunday Best’ and how women’s fashion connects to identity and community, both in 1920s London and the Caribbean. She explores a multitude of topics including how flapper styles in London contrasted with the bold, practical looks of Caribbean women, shaped by African roots, colonial history, and European influence. She also discusses key figures like Evelyn Dove and Althea McNish, and the general impact of migration during the Windrush era. Mervin also reflects on her own experience with Sunday Best and how those traditions still live on today, and how that experience brought her pride.
A reflection on how ‘Sunday Best’ relates to my heritage, with an emphasis on women’s dress
In April 2025 I participated in a series of six workshops over three weeks hosted by Sweet Patootee Arts at UCL East. The project was called Sunday Best (Heritage Research and Sewing Skills Workshop) and was in two parts – the workshop and research into an aspect of fashion in the 1920s with a focus on both Caribbean and London styles.
