Today’s interview for the ‘Lockdown Clothing’ project is with Stuart Campbell. Stuart has a background in museums and cultural heritage but currently works as a civil servant between Edinburgh and London. He collects vintage clothes. You can find him on Instagram and Twitter.
1) Can you describe what your personal style was like before lockdown – what did you wear most often?
I wear a lot of vintage and vintage inspired clothes, tweed, workwear and would normally wear a collar and tie to my job, even though it isn’t required and work is normally a casual environment. Dressing up was something I enjoy doing rather than something that was expected. I would normally wear something more formal to work and usually workwear (though sometimes a tie) at weekends. I don’t really have ordinary clothes (hoodies, t-shirts) so would usually wear something distinctive no matter what I was doing.
2) Is there anything you feel you can wear now that you couldn’t in ‘normal’ times? Why? And is there anything you miss wearing (and why do you not wear it)?
There are a lot of items that I would normally wear around the house (housecoats, smoking jackets) that are getting more of an outing with homeworking, and I wear for working as they are warm. I wear them for work calls as well so they are sort of my new professional clothing. I definitely miss not wearing a suit and make a point of wearing one if I go for a walk, for instance.
3) What is your daily routine for getting dressed to remain at home? If you don’t have one, why is that?
Even though my clothes have changed I make a point of still shaving, brushing my hair, etc, partly because it instils that routine. In particular I find I can’t work without socks on, it just feels strange.
4) Has your approach to clothes changed as a result of the current situation?
I’ve had to become a lot more practical if going to the shops, but I don’t really have normal clothes so have opted for a pared down look. But I still spend time to make sure things match.
5) What’s your shoe situation at home? And how does this affect your sense of self?
I don’t wear them in the house so it feels odd not wearing shoes as I have a lot and it’s something I would normally take great care with. At the moment, unless I am dressing up for a reason, I have some trainers I use to put the rubbish out, for instance.
If you’d like to take part in the project yourself, you can find all the information you need in the blog post entitled ‘Lockdown Clothing: a project documenting how we dress at home‘ dated 17th May 2020.
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