Notwithstanding the skilled brush strokes of a master artist, some of the techniques of John Singer Sargent’s trade are similar to those employed by contemporary fashion stylists and online content creators.
Read More
Dress Codes, Gender and the Power of Subversion
People who transgress fashion norms are often viewed with suspicion, distrust, or even disgust. Yet going against the grain can also empower, by getting us and our causes noticed…
Read More
19th Century Mourning dress: clothing customs to commemorate the dead
Formal rituals of bereavement became a yardstick of behaviour. The study of mourning dress provides an insight into the social position of women, in particular. Women bore the heaviest burden of the mourning ritual, becoming social outcasts for their first year of widowhood.
Read More
Feminine Design Icon, or Symbol of Female Oppression?
Just as an online photograph today might show an attractive woman beaming behind a bowl of salad, an advertisement in the 1940s or ‘50s may have depicted a pretty, apron-clad woman smiling alongside a packet of soap powder.
Read More