Who am I?

I began my career as a Gaultier-clad fashion writer, fighting the crowds at Barney's for discounted cashmere. My writing ranged from how-to articles on finding a butt-slimming swimsuit to advice columns on picking the perfect face powder.

In the late 1990s, my interests turned to the theory and history of fashion. I gradually became aware that I craved an academic insight that was lacking in the corridors of Condé Nast. I wanted to understand the social context of fashion movements. I wanted to know how Americans use clothing to define-or to defy-their socioeconomic class. I wanted a richer, broader knowledge of the silent forces that bring fashion trends to life and inexorably lead to their demise.

Like many shoppers before me, I found what I wanted in New York's garment district on 7th Avenue at 27th Street.

My time in the Museum Studies: Costumes and Textiles MA program at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) gave me a solid foundation in both the curatorial process and fashion history. Now in the doctoral program in the history department at Carnegie Mellon, I am enhancing my knowledge of American history by embracing a range of research methodologies that add depth and breadth to my scholarship.

And while much of my personal time and energy has been spent in the pursuit of glamour, it is the everyday nuances of fashion that fascinate me. My research is not inspired by socialites and the artistic elite, but by shop girls and garment workers-those who have silently shaped an important part of American history.