Research Statement

At first glance, the study of clothing appears to be relegated to the realm of art historians and those interested in the haute couture; the Arts, Architecture and Photography section of Barnes and Noble is filled with books relating to the visual aspects of fashion. Upon examination, however, the study of fashion on a theoretical level reveals itself to be a diverse and expanding field, one that has attracted the attention of anthropologists (e.g. Edward Sapir; Joann Eicher), sociologists (e.g. Georg Simmel; Thorstein Veblen; Fred Davis; Diane Crane), and scholars of material culture (e.g. Malcolm Barnard; Valerie Steele; Anne Hollander) for the past century.

While these social scientists have attempted to decode the tacit meanings of dress and the ways in which humans use clothing to express social and cultural affiliation, there has been limited empirical research into clothing as a historical phenomenon. As many of the scholars who do study fashion are European, their topics tend to focus on the continent or have an ethnographic bent. The majority of historians, especially those studying American history, neglect to explore dress as a manifestation of cultural change or identity formation. Strides have been made to consider clothing in historical analysis by historians including Lois Banner, Michael Zakim, and Nan Enstad, and my research draws heavily upon their work, as well as that of the social scientists cited above.

As professional historians have shied away from the topic, the void of knowledge has been filled with research conducted by novices; the history of clothing has become the topic of choice for former fashion editors and ex-supermodels. I believe historians must assume the responsibility of delineating between professional and amateur studies of history. It is the responsibility of historians to define, write, and teach history--history in its fullest and most thorough form. In the vibrant and expanding field of Fashion Studies, a discipline that includes sociology, anthropology, economics, and psychology, the study of history has no voice. My work attempts to address this gap in the scholarship.