Last month, I saw a tweet from Amanda Vickery, Professor of Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London. It featured a black and white photograph of a mid-twentieth century shop window display. At the top of the window, there are three pairs of white, extremely oversized women’s briefs that were clearly made especially... Continue Reading →
On 27th August 2020, I gave a presentation at an academic event entitled Dress in a Time of Crisis, organised by the Dress in Context Research Centre at Birmingham City University. The event took place entirely online, and I was invited to present by the event's organiser, Dr Anne Boultwood. My talk explored three key... Continue Reading →
As the first few weeks of lockdown unfolded, I found myself rediscovering the joys of Twitter - not just history Twitter and museums Twitter but also mainstream Twitter. What was once a stream of people screaming into the void or trying to look like they were living perfect lives, slowly became a more truthful timeline... Continue Reading →
Back at the start of April, Jana and I started a project to capture some of the many personal stories surrounding the human relationship with clothing during the coronavirus pandemic - especially those of us who are now confined to our homes due to lockdown restrictions. So far, we have now shared 28 stories on... Continue Reading →
At the start of the year, I doubt that many of us would have been able to guess how strange our lives would become in 2020. As people around the world have now been adjusting to living restricted lives for many weeks (and months!) in order to stop the spread of coronavirus, lots of us... Continue Reading →
Take the time to look closely enough and a garment can be read almost as clearly as words on a page. In this way, archives of garments can provide a unique window into the past, revealing valuable clues to how previous generations shopped, dressed and laundered their clothes. Intact department store tags allow us to... Continue Reading →
My love affair with the neckline known as 'boat neck' or 'bateau neckline' is a long one but, following the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Saturday, I imagine it's going to be a lot easier to find that style in high street stores than it has been in recent years! Inspired... Continue Reading →
When I was studying on the MA History and Culture course (now called MA Fashion Cultures) at London College of Fashion, I learnt many things about fashion/costume/dress and met some amazing people. I learnt a lot from the academics who taught us, but also from my inspirational coursemates who asked questions I'd never have thought... Continue Reading →
Before being asked to write a review of a fashion exhibition for an issue of a journal that my course leader, Shaun Cole, was guest editing, I had no idea that a Master's student could get something published in an academic journal. For some reason I thought I would have to wait until I had... Continue Reading →
As part of its quest to bring the history of underwear to a wider audience, making collections and research freely accessible online, The Underpinnings Museum is hosting a Twitter conference on Friday 12th January 2018. Anyone with a public Twitter account and an interest in the history of underwear is invited to submit their idea... Continue Reading →