Category: research

In my professional role I’m an academic librarian with faculty status, which means I get/have to do research. Luckily, I get to do it in an area I’m interested in (fashion in social history)! I’ve just had a scholarly article published, the second one to look at the role of fashion among the elite women who went to Smith College in the 1920s (you can read about the first article here).

This one is called “Fashioning the College Woman: Dress, Gender, and Sexuality at Smith College in the 1920s” and is in the most recent (March 2009) issue of the Journal of American Culture. Basically, it looks at the discussion/debates around the “meanings” of women’s fashion in the 1920s and how Smith students interpreted those meanings — looking at issues like the “New Woman” (fashion as progress) and sexuality (the eroticization of fashion in this era). Good times!

So I’m sorry to have gone totally AWOL around here! There’s been a death in my husband’s family, and during the last few weeks I have had to totally focus on that. It’s been exhausting and sad, but things are getting back to normal… only now I have only TWO WEEKENDS before Costume Con. I HAVE A LOT TO DO. I will stop yelling now. Maybe.

But I did want to give a shout out to a new project that I’ve been excited to participate in – Your Wardrobe Unlock’d, a new online magazine for costumers. It’s a subscription site that’s aimed at all of us costumers who want to improve our skills. I’ve been very impressed with it so far, enough so that I’ve contributed both by answering questions in the “Ask the Experts” column a few months ago, and now writing a series of articles on historical research. Right now, the first of these articles is posted, but there will be probably about three more, and I have to admit that I’m pretty pleased with how they are turning out. One of the things I don’t talk so much about on this site is all of the research I do, both for academic purposes but even more so for costuming purposes. I feel like I’m really distilling what I’ve learned over many years and degrees, so while I don’t mean to toot my own horn, I do think it’s a strong contribution and will be of interest to (hopefully?) many. Anyway, check out the site and see whatcha think.

Now I will go back to panicking about Costume Con sewing!