Annotated Bibliography

Vladik Aghagyulyan
Research Methods (Section D)
Elitza Kotzeva
11.15.2020

Zuelow, E. (2006). 'Kilts Versus Breeches': The Royal Visit, Tourism and Scottish National
Memory. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from
https://www.academia.edu/425970/Kilts_Versus_Breeches_The_Royal_Visit_Tourism_an
d_Scottish_National_Memory

This article discusses the 19th century Scottish society amidst King George IV’s visit to
Edinburg. As Scotland was rather divided during those times, Walter Scott, a famous poet,
advocate, historian, is assigned to make Scotland seen as a unified territory, with rich cultural
heritage. Highlanders and Lowlanders were the two primary strata of Scottish society, which had
to be not differentiated for the sake of Scottish cultural and societal unification. As Highlanders
and Lowlanders were quite distinct with their “style,” Walter Scott decides that Tartans should
be worn by both sides, so outsiders could see Scottish people as one, balanced body. While
visitors become fascinated by the fashion of local people, many controversies came round, as
Highlanders and Lowlanders were authentically not the same.
A Blackwood’s publication, for example, argued that the developing talk about over the merits of
tartanry spoken to a battle over who would wear the pants in Scotland: it was a battle over ‘kilts
versus breeches. Blackwood’s speculated that breeches would eventually win out, since
“breeches” (trousers) were the predominant, superior clothing.

Kompanje, E. (2013). 'Real men wear kilts'.. The anecdotal evidence that wearing a Scottish kilt
has influence on reproductive potential: How much is true? - EJO Kompanje, 2013.
Retrieved November 15, 2020, from
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0036933012474600

This article discusses the advantages of wearing kilts in terms of fertility based on a famous
anecdote. There are recounted reports that men who wear (Scottish) kilts have way better sperm
quality and better fertility. Add up to sperm check and sperm concentration reflect semen quality
and male reproductive potential. It has been demonstrated that changes within the scrotal
temperature influence spermatogenesis. As a matter of fact, clothing increments the scrotal
temperature to an unusual level that will have a negative impact on spermatogenesis. Hence, it
appears conceivable that men ought to wear skirts and dodge pants, at least amid the period
during which they arrange to conceive children. Moreover, the article also touches upon the
symbolism of kilts. Surprisingly enough, kilts symbolize Masculinity, and, according to many
Annotated Bibliography

studies, men who wear this traditional item of clothing attract women as well as men with pants
on.

Ben, Ben & Martin, Dylan. (2015). Dapper dudes: Young men’s fashion consumption and
expressions of masculinity. Critical Studies in Men's Fashion. 2. 10.1386/csmf.2.1.5_1.
Retrieved November 15, 2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272102915_Dapper_dudes_Young_men's_fashion_con
sumption_and_expressions_of_masculinity

This research discusses how men of 19-29 ages make their fashion choices in the 21st century,
and how the masculinity norms, and traditional male fashion impact those choices. A study
among 20 males of different race, sexuality and age was conducted, which yielded quite
interesting results. The finding of the research was grouped into three main themes: idiosyncratic
style, men’s fashion progressions, creative limitations. What stood out from the whole piece was
in the last theme. Participants in the study highlighted that they faced criticism and scrutiny
about their clothing choices. Men edited their ensembles to offset conventionally feminine
sartorial elements with styles that connoted masculinity. Both gay and straight men felt limited
by gender and sexuality norms, as well as conventional menswear styles.

An, H., H-J. An, M., Y-M. Bang, J., B. Barry, N., T. Bennett, M., Bolich, G., . . . Willett, J.
(1970, January 01). ' Neo-Crosssexual ' fashion in contemporary men's suits. Retrieved
November 15, 2020, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40691-019-0192-2

In this article, the male fashion is discussed by looking at such concepts as crosssexual and neo-
crosssexual fashion. The term crosssexual defines any man who deems himself as a cis-gender
male, but empathizes with and takes pleasure in feminine sartorial design elements and
fashionable accessories. Basically, a heterosexual male who consumes fashion items regardless
of what gender it has been created for. An interesting case is brought up in this study from 2017.
an extensive number of French bus drivers and English male students, regardless of age, have
turned up to work and school wearing skirts instead of their long uniform trousers, claiming that
they wish to stay cool in summer. This case represents what crosssexualism is best. The author
also touches upon a very famous male runway show by Dior, during which the whole line
represented items that would have been worn by gay-male in the 90’s: tight pants, with slim,
Annotated Bibliography

stick-to-the-body blazers, and suits. This article perfectly examines how male fashion industry in
developing by looking up to traditionally deemed feminine fashion codes.

Sarma, D. (n.d.). Men Who Wear Dresses .pdf. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from
https://www.academia.edu/36102520/Men_Who_Wear_Dresses_pdf

Although this article is rather small, it examines a very interesting experiment done by one of
students at Reed College. A male student decided to wear a dress on the campus to see how
people would react. Being a small liberal arts college, specializing in Humanities, he was not
expecting a lot of negativity to come off from students. However, what I found interesting in the
article is that even though it started off as an experiment, he eventually came to the conclusion
that categorizing articles of clothing under male and female “columns” is wrong.

Paul, R. (1996). Aegean Breechcloths, Kilts, and the Keftiu Paintings. Retrieved November 15,
2020, from https://muse.aua.am:2326/stable/506296?Search=yes

In this article, Kilts are discussed as articles of clothing in Ancient Egypt and Greek. While kilts
are known to come from Scottish Highlands, it turns out Kilts as a form of clothing dates to
ancient times. The earliest kind of kilts securely dated examples occur in the Proto- palatial
period, on some of the terracotta figurines from the peak sanctuary at Petsofas in east Crete. This
articles gives quite astonishing facts about kilts as a form a attire, based on manuscripts, ancient
paintings and artifacts.

Aspers, Godart, P. (n.d.). Sociology of Fashion: Order and Change. Retrieved November 15,
2020, from https://muse.aua.am:2326/stable/43049631?Search=yes

This article discusses fashion from a sociological aspect. Although being a very broad piece, it
examines the etymology, origin, cultural understanding, economics, philosophy and other studies
within the field of fashion. The author also talks about the difference between fashion and
innovation. It also touches upon the evolution of fashion from early years to the current times,
and how fashion is perceived from the sociological perspective. The production of the fashion
industry, and the latter’s structure are also examined in the article. I believe this article can serve
as a basis to further develop my theses, and the capstone proposal that I already have, which is
intimately connected to the fashion industry.
Annotated Bibliography

Shannon, B. (2004). Refashioning Men: Fashion, Masculinity, and the Cultivation of the Male
Consumer in Britain, 1860-1914 Brent Shannon. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from
https://muse.aua.am:2326/stable/3829920?Search=yes

In this article, the author discusses how male fashion has developed throughout time in the UK.
The author also touches upon masculinity in the mainstream male fashion culture. As the
fashion industry has been deemed as a predominantly feminine one, attracting middle-class
male consumers has been challenging in the beginning of male fashion industries’
evolution. The author unfolds quite interesting facts, and even suggests that masculine
image was necessary to create a desire among middle class men to go shopping at
department stores, as the latter was also considered as a feminine establishment, and
visiting such placed could be viewed as not masculine enough. I believe, this article can be
of a significant benefit to me, especially because I am discussing such article of clothing
that has been historically viewed by the international “audience” as feminine. However, as
the article suggests fashion became mainstream among men, as it was represented in a
masculine manner. Could kilts become masculine, is represented by masculine athletes, as
other items of clothing that used to be not masculine enough in the UK in 19th century?