Humans distinguish themselves from animals in part by their wearing of clothes. ‘From this perspective’, writes Mario Perniola, ‘nudity is a negative state, a privation, loss, dispossession’ [1]. A particular perception that nakedness is primitive was established during early encounters … Continue reading
Some time ago, I wrote about the complexity of burlesque costumes. Some of the ideas in that post were reinforced at my visit to this year’s London Burlesque Festival. As always, the costumes were fabulous, and here are some of the best…
It’s difficult to express in words how Tilda Swinton embodies style. In her fashion shoots, Swinton presents herself as ethereal, androgynous and with a defiant of “the conventional expectations of feminine emotional expressiveness and legibility”, a property that Jackie Stacey describes as … Continue reading
Browsing through the White House’s photography archives provides a fascinating insight into President Barack Obama’s use of clothes, both on and off his body. In particular, images depicting Obama in the Oval office show the president in his home territory, … Continue reading
Images of the ideal female figure were once voluptuous, but static. The recumbent nude lays her flesh out as if she will linger there indefinitely. Images of past century, however, have been defined by motion. A brief remark in Anne … Continue reading
A 1937 domestic advice feature published in Life Magazine (15 February, pp. 41-43) contrasts descriptions of how a woman might dress unobserved with how she ought to dress in front of her husband. The article stresses the importance of rolling … Continue reading
Clothes on stage and screen for the visually impaired Some cultural experiences are inaccessible to the blind or partially sighted, and although steps have been taken to improve the accessibility of various visual media, the fashion industry is only just … Continue reading
Costume & Culture (costumeandculture.com) is extending its remit to include the work or other scholars and commentators. I invite contributions that explore clothes, costumes and wardrobes from interdisciplinary perspectives. These submissions can take the form of short summaries of ongoing research (500-1000 words), outlines of research that is published in more detail elsewhere, or extracts from larger texts. It is intended as a shapshot of ongoing research in this field. Key themes for exploration include (but are not limited to):
Contributions should be no more than 1000 words, and should include at least 2 images. Numbered references are preferable, and all images must be captioned. Include a short biography of 3-5 sentences. Contributions should be emailed to b.k.1.brownie@herts.ac.uk
Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece has been variously described as a generous act of giving, a feminist critique, and an invitation to violence. Ono first performed the piece in Kyoto in 1964, following her ‘score’ (an set of instructions for performing an … Continue reading
Visitors to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum are faced with a collection of shoes that were left behind at Auschwitz after their former owners’ were sent to their deaths (pictured above). The collection functions in part like permanent cemeteries “where … Continue reading
