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Researching fashion studies: A brief

historiography
Olivia Warschaw

F ashion is often held synonymous with frivolity, excess, and luxury; as such, the study of costume
history and theory has historically been considered impractical or subsidiary. The significant rise in
costume education and scholarship during the 20th century has brought new and more frequent queries
regarding the histories of fashion, etiquette, and material culture to our libraries. We are now often asked
to assist in researches of cultures of style, and how they may be analyzed in a multidisciplinary context. Is
it possible to analyze fashion trends through the lens of the law? Are effects of American colonialism
present in fashion trends today? This brief historiography of costume and fashion studies seeks to utilize
a multi- and interdisciplinary lens that reference librarians may employ to assist patrons with style-
related inquiries.

Introduction and Aims

Historically, fashion researchers often became buried within more ‘legitimate’
disciplines, but the significant rise in costume education during the 20th century
resulted in the publication of a diverse variety of fashion scholarship. Growing
collections of fashion, textile, dress, and style attract an increasing number of
related inquiries to our libraries. Fashion studies encompass an incredibly inter-
disciplinary field, allowing scholars from not only fashion and textile studies, but
also anthropology, critical studies, material culture, and many others to utilize
completed scholarship. This advantageous interdisciplinarity, however, stems
from a perceived frivolity of fashion studies, which formerly found itself sup-
pressed and ridiculed within disciplines such as economics, sociology, and phil-
osophy. Current fashion researchers require an essential influx of new
scholarship, yet it is imperative that we direct our library patrons to these original,
multidisciplinary works. This brief historiography of fashion studies seeks to
utilize a multi- and interdisciplinary lens that reference librarians may employ to
assist patrons with style-related inquiries.
I begin with an overview of the rhetoric surrounding the term ‘fashion studies,’
as well as a discussion of interdisciplinarity within the field. If affiliated with
specific academic institutions or museums, the institution’s mission statement
usually dictates the interdisciplinary research methods that are adopted. Our
patrons’ research goals remain dependent on the wide variety of disciplines that
encompass fashion scholarship, as well as their approach to the various types of
source materials. I will survey these types of source materials as background for
my analysis of early, multidisciplinary fashion scholarship. Finally, I will examine
specific fashion research challenges, and outline the steps that we can take to
assist our patrons in navigating this challenging array of diverse tools and
sources.

What are Fashion Studies?

‘Fashion studies,’ as I will refer to the academic research of fashion, style, dress
and textile in this article, is part of a larger discussion of rhetorical differences
surrounding fashion scholarship. The lack of precision is evident in the range of

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labels applied (inconsistently) to the field. ‘Fashion theory,’ ‘fashion history,’ 1. Peter McNeil. “Conference
‘dress history,’ and ‘costume studies’ are used interchangeably, and this phe- Report: “The Future of Fashion
nomenon has shaped much of the discussion of methodology in the late-20th and Studies”.” Fashion Theory: The
early-21st centuries.1 The term ‘fashion’ often stands synonymously with frivolity, Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. 14,
excess, and luxury; as such, ‘fashion studies’ has historically been considered no. 1 (2010): 105–110. doi:10.2752/
impractical or subsidiary.2 ‘Costume studies,’ meanwhile, often gets mistaken for 175174110X12544983515312.
‘costume design,’ and the title of ‘dress history’ would imply an object-based 2. Efrat Tseëlon. “From Fashion
approach focusing on clothing alone. Rebecca Arnold noted, as reported by Peter to Masquerade: Towards an
McNeil, that we need to determine what difference, if any, exists between these Ungendered Paradigm.” In Body
Dressing, ed. by Joanne Entwistle
specific titles, as well as determine what scholars ‘expect of the term “fashion
and Elizabeth Wilson. (Oxford:
studies.”’3 Francesca Granata, when developing her doctoral thesis at Central
Berg Publishers, 2001), 103.
Saint Martins, found that the university ‘required a definition of the emerging field
3. McNeil, “The Future of Fashion
of fashion studies,’4 which she noted as more difficult a task for her than for Studies”, 108.
students in ‘more established disciplines.’5 This, of course, poses difficult ques-
4. Francesca Granata. “Fashion
tions regarding what type of research academic institutions expect from fashion Studies in-between: A
scholars, and simultaneously speaks to the interdisciplinary nature of fashion Methodological Case Study and an
education and fashion scholarship. Inquiry into the State of Fashion
Interdisciplinarity ‘can usefully be seen as combining and using research Studies.” Fashion Theory: The
methods, forms of inquiry, and agenda from any discipline.’6 Christopher Journal of Dress, Body & Culture.
Breward has noted, ‘. . .studies in fashion enjoy unprecedented buoyancy in terms 16, no. 1 (2012): 68. doi: 10.2752/
of disciplinary range and type of product,’7 while Peter McNeil states, ‘[fashion 175174112X13183318404221.
studies integrate] history, film and theater studies, cultural studies, business 5. Ibid.
studies, curatorship, and sociology and other disciplines within the humanities 6. Jan Parker. “Disciplinarity”. In
and social sciences.’8 Fashion scholarship, in this regard, becomes not only an Encyclopedia of Educational
amalgam of research from other disciplines, but also represents a useful tool for Theory and Philosophy. edited by D.
C. Phillips. (Thousand Oaks: Sage
all scholars completing multidisciplinary work. Sara B. Marcketti, for example,
Publications, 2014). http://search.
noted, ‘because material culture reflects the social, political, economic, and
credoreference.com/content/entry/
technological characteristics of an era, it can strengthen the understanding of sageedthphly/disciplinarity/0.
history and human behavior.’9 When analyzed within the context of their own 7. Christopher Breward. “Between
disciplines, fashion research can therefore heighten the academic experience for the Museum and the Academy:
scholars in other fields.10 However, the interdisciplinary nature of fashion studies Fashion Research and its
may leave fashion scholars unaware of where to begin new research. Does one Constituencies.” Fashion Theory:
start with anthropology? Or, cultural studies? Or, law? The Journal of Dress, Body &
Culture. 12, no. 1 (2008): 85. doi:
10.2752/175174108X269568.
8. McNeil, “The Future of Fashion
Methodologies and Early Research Studies”, 105.
The research path that a fashion scholar takes presumably relies on his or her 9. Sarah B. Marcketti. “Effective
area of interest within the fashion world and the specific research question at Learning Strategies in the History
hand. Understanding the methodological goals of library patrons becomes of Dress.” The History Teacher.
44, no. 4 (2011): 551. http://www.
imperative to the librarian seeking to offer superior research assistance. For those
jstor.org/stable/41304010.
who work in academic or research libraries, this may require a familiarity with the
10. Lindsay M. King and Russell
basic curriculum of relevant courses that stem from the variety of disciplines able T. Clement. “Style and Substance:
to be examined by fashion practices. For example, a scholar in the Courtauld Fashion in Twenty-First-Century
Institute of Art’s ‘History of Dress and Textiles’ program, whose basis lies within Research Libraries.” Art
‘art methodologies’11 may require different assistance than a scholar studying Documentation, 31, no. 1 (2012): 94.
fashion’s ‘broadest aesthetic and cultural context’12 in the Costume Studies pro- http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.
gram at New York University. Research paths may also be dictated by the 1086/664912.
resources and objects available to a patron. A curator at the Los Angeles County 11. “History of Dress and Textile.”
Museum of Art13 may possess a differing outlook than a curator at the Autry Accessed June 26, 2016. http://
Museum of the American West.14 Does one want scholarship to support their courtauld.ac.uk/research/sections/
observation of a curatorial object? Or, does the patron want to observe pieces history-dress.
after researching a specific topic? Is the research question object driven at all? Or, 12. “Master of Arts in Costume
is it for academic interest only? These are the types of questions one must ask Studies.” Accessed June 26, 2016.
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/art/
before delving into the research process.
costume/.
Research methods for fashion scholars fall within three closely related
13. “Overview.” Accessed July 5,
approaches: object-based study, visual study, and textual analysis. Object-based
2016. http://www.lacma.org/
approaches, including identification, conservation, and interpretation, are exam- overview#ms.
ined in-depth in Lou Taylor’s The Study of Dress History, in which the author 14. “What is the Autry?”
observes that clothing and bodily adornment act as ‘powerful analytical [tools] Accessed July 5, 2016. https://
across many disciplines’15 due to their presence in every culture and every theautry.org/about-us.
society. Museum scholars, for example, have the unique opportunity to engage in 15. Lou Taylor. The Study of
object-based study and curation. However, object-based research can still present Dress History (Manchester:
difficulties. Specifically in regards to object-based research, Taylor notes, ‘the Manchester University Press:
acquisition of identification skills is a never-ending learning process. . .few 2002), 1.

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garments are ever the same and dating mistakes are easy to make.’16 She 16. Ibid., 12.
insinuates that this represents the reason that fashion studies was not ‘properly
acknowledged in ‘academic’ circles,’17 and that these close observations focus 17. Ibid., 3.
overtly on critiquing minute details, such as the curve of a corset or the length of a
skirt. Instead, Taylor commends these close observations and notes the ‘social
and cultural insights’18 of details and alterations. 18. Ibid., 15.
Unlike object-based research, visual study focuses on the analysis of paintings,
sculpture, prints, and other visual resources. From these, researchers may
examine the way bodies are interpreted, the changing ideal of the body itself, and
how fashion functions to form, or at least, to frame that ideal. However, visual
resources must be contextualized. For example, illustrations from Godey’s Lady’s
Book exist as interpretations of actual clothing pieces; we cannot analyze the cut
of the fabric or the stitching techniques, nor can we ascertain that the advertised
image is an accurate depiction. However, the illustrations reflect an image of the
‘ideal woman’ of the time and, in that respect, remain beneficial as primary
source material for a research project on beauty ideals. Visual analysis and
interpretation of fashion images examine how we understand bodies and,
therefore, they also tangentially tie into the study of anatomy.
A long line of scholars, journalists, and philosophers spent their careers con-
templating and criticizing men’s and women’s fashions. Often, men wrote the
early academic analyses of fashion and justified their research as observational of
men’s placement in a feminine sphere. While many modern writings are under-
stood to hold a place in fashion scholarship, books and essays published as
recently as the mid-20th century hid fashion analyses within works of other dis-
ciplines. Paul Nystrom’s19 dissection of fashion and consumption is posed within 19. Paul Nystrom. Economics of
economic analysis, while Georg Simmel’s Sociology20 discussed the social Fashion (New York: The Ronald
pleasures of adornment. The fashion scholar must then pull meaning from these Press Company, 1928). https://
multidisciplinary works in order to apply them toward fashion analysis. catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/
Paul Nystrom’s The Economics of Fashion, for example, begins with a dis- 000967740.
section of the meaning and uses of the terms ‘fashion’21 and ‘good taste’22 for 20. Georg Simmel. “Adornment
from Sociology (1908)” in The
greater economic understanding. Nystrom’s discussions of ‘the power of fash-
Rise of Fashion: A Reader, edited
ion’23 being stronger than sales promotion or advertising exudes confusion, awe, by Purdy, Daniel. (Minneapolis:
and a desire to understand the inner workings of a complex social phenomenon. University of Minnesota Press,
Most notably, however, Nystrom begins The Economics of Fashion with an aca- 2004).
demic justification of his research. He states that ‘wiser’24 men know not to ‘[flout] 21. Nystrom. Economics of
or neglect’25 fashion, and that ‘no man can belong to present-day society and at Fashion, 4.
the same time be out of present-day fashions.’26 The overall analysis becomes 22. Ibid., 6–7.
displayed as comment on enigmatic economic practices, as opposed to com- 23. Ibid., 9.
mentary on the fluctuation of fashion. Georg Simmel, however, attempts to 24. Ibid.
explain his understanding of the sociological desire for fashionability and shared 25. Ibid.
acceptance in his 1908 work, Sociology. Simmel describes ‘adornment’ as 26. Ibid., 10
‘objects of considerable value’27 and notes that ‘style’ represents a public display 27. Simmel, “Adornment from
meant for showing off so that it may become ‘accessible to many.’28 Fashion, in Sociology (1908)”, 81.
this sense, belongs to the wearer because of their attachment to acceptance, 28. Ibid., 82.
while also belonging to the viewer who needs something to emulate.29 This 29. Ibid., 80.
represents an important phenomenon, as Simmel wants to make clear that the
adorned man seeks to ‘win like recognition and admiration for himself.’30 In this 30. Ibid.
sense, fashion becomes a vehicle for one’s desire for acceptance, and Simmel
explains that the purpose of fashion as an outward expression of personal
interactions.
The power and purpose of fashion have been questioned through a myriad of
multidisciplinary perspectives over centuries. As modern scholars continue to
pursue multi- and interdisciplinary research projects focused on clothing and
related elements, fashion scholarship evolves. Current students and scholars
remain fortunate to have a large and growing volume of secondary sources
related to fashion, in addition to primary source object and visual material. The
truly creative librarian can best guide their advanced patrons (in fashion studies,
as in most if not all interdisciplinary topics) by pointing them toward disciplines
that might seem totally out of the fashion arena.

Current Research and Difficult Questions

Fashion scholarship and research often cover the history of fashion, style, dress,
and textile. However, as fashion studies become more legitimized, scholars can

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begin to shift their focus toward observations of contemporary fashion practices in

addition to historical analyses. Advances in technology, changing bodies, and the
increase of accessible media inspire modern fashion scholars to question how
socioeconomic, environmental, physical, and technological changes affect the
things we wear. Fashion scholars observing these changes can benefit from
up-to-date research in the disciplines incorporated within their work, including
environmental science, medicine and physical therapy, computer science, and law.
Though not all fashion scholars have the opportunity to engage in highly scientific,
governmental, or technical fields, studies from these disciplines help support and
drive scholarship on sustainability, body modification, consumerism and design.
I will briefly survey examples of multi- and interdisciplinary scholarship in law
and sustainability for the purpose of demonstrating the connection of older
scholarship and writings to new and emerging ideas.

Law
The longstanding relationship between law and clothing and textile partly stems
from early sumptuary laws, which continue into today’s ties between design,
consumption, and style regulation.31 The nature of this relationship grew from 31. Alan Hunt. Governance of the
Consuming Passions: A History of
strict parameters into flexible creative guidelines that vary based on geographic
Sumptuary Law. (Houndmills:
and cultural areas. Researchers must possess a basic understanding of sumptu-
Macmillan, 1996).
ary law if they plan to engage with topics such as dress codes and uniforms,
haute couture exclusivity, and brand loyalty.
Sumptuary laws, or ‘laws created to limit the consumption of specific com- 32. Giorgio Riello. “Sumptuary
Laws”. In Encyclopedia of
modities,’32 restrict the purchase and consumption of food, textile, and other
Consumer Culture. edited by Dale
goods. Alan Hunt begins his renowned work, Governance of the Consuming
Southerton. (Thousand Oaks:
Passions: A History of Sumptuary Law, with discussions of why the significance Sage Publications, 2011). http://
of studying sumptuary law and the history behind it. Hunt’s definition of the term search.credoreference.com/
‘governance’ as a ‘social object that is acted on in such a way as to control, content/entry/sagecc/sumptuary_
restrain, limit and direct the activities of the selected object of governance,’33 laws/0.
gives allowance for the ‘major transformations’34 in sumptuary law to be 33. Hunt. Governance of the
described in the remainder of his book. This kind of governance over clothing and Consuming Passions, 3.
textiles – formerly reserved for specific classes – has subsequently shaped itself 34. Ibid., 2.
into current uniform or dress code regulations for school children, military per-
sonnel, and law enforcement officers. From modern regulations, supported by
scholarship and primary source material on sumptuary law, scholars now pos-
sess the means to discuss regulations on clothing and how they affect today’s
society. Jennifer Ingrey, citing Hunt, discusses the presence of separate school
dress codes for girls and boys as ‘[inciting] subjects to participate in a mechanism
of power,’35 which perpetuates the gender binary. Ingrey supports her theory with 35. Jennifer C. Ingrey. “Troubling
Gender Binaries in Schools: From
fashion scholarship, philosophy, and transgender theory in order to argue that
Sumptuary Law to Sartorial
the perpetuation of the gender binary is exacerbated by the strictly separate rules
Agency.” Discourse: Studies in
delegated to boys and girls in their educational institutions.36 the Cultural Politics of Education
Another aspect of law that has a strong, yet contentious relationship with 34, no. 3 (2013): 427. doi: 10.1080/
fashion studies presents itself in the form of United States copyright. As far back 01596306.2012.717194.
as the early 20th century, fashion designers and trade workers, such as Vivian 36. Ibid., 428.
Burnett, called for copyright reform, noting its importance to the ‘lace, embroi-
dery, veiling, and trimming trades.’37 Kimberly Ann Barton, for the Journal of 37. Vivian Burnett, “Pirating of
designs: Call is issued for all
Corporation Law, discusses Burnett’s ‘[appeal] to the industry through the
interests affected to get together,”
importance of the international effect on design piracy.’38 Barton’s appeal, which
New York Times, May 12, 1913, 8.
is a law paper rather than fashion scholarship, addresses the history of United
38. Kimberly Ann Barton. “Back
States copyright law, other types of intellectual property that may protect fashion, to the Beginning: A Revival of a
and various legal attempts to gain protection for fashion design. Still, over a 1913 Argument for Intellectual
century later, intellectual property law in the United States does not protect Property Protection for Fashion
fashion design, though many countries including most European Union member Design.” The Journal of
states, Japan, and India have relevant protections in place.39 This allows for the Corporation Law 35, no. 2
potential to create strong legal issues for the international fashion industry, and (January 1, 2010): 426. http://
researchers looking into international fashion trade could benefit from studies of search.proquest.com/docview/
copyright law. 89064031?accountid=12768.
39. Ibid., 439.

Sustainability
I would also like to note the interdisciplinary nature of ethics and sustainability in
the fashion industry. The differences in both their marketing and reception greatly
impact consumer reactions to sustainability in the fashion industry. The term

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‘sustainability’ itself is understood in a number of ways, while this particular

definition of ‘ethics’ includes not only environmental ethics, but also ethics of
workers’ rights and fair trade. ‘Sustainability,’ in this sense, means sustainability
for the environment, the communities of workers, and sustainability of the com-
pany. Researchers of ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry may be
directed toward research in environmental science, human rights, and social
communications and rhetoric.
Sustainable fashion may be viewed through social communication and rhet-
oric, as it is in Jessica Hill and Hyun-Hwa Lee’s survey, ‘Young Generation Y
consumers’ perceptions of sustainability in the apparel industry.’40 They cite 40. Jessica Hill and Hyun-Hwa
business sources, environmental science journals, and fashion industry scholar- Lee. “Young Generation Y
ship to gain better understanding of definitions of ‘environmental and social Consumers’ Perceptions of
sustainability,’41 understood by Generation Y, or those born between ‘1977 and Sustainability in the Apparel
Industry.” Journal of Fashion
2004.’42 The term ‘sustainability,’ as a result of her survey, then becomes
Marketing and Management: An
understood by her subjects as apparel durability, preservation of the environ-
International Journal 16, no. 4
ment, and economic preservation.43 The results of Hill and Lee’s survey of eighty (September 14, 2012): 477–491.
members of Generation Y refers to the ‘effectiveness of cultural communica- http://search.proquest.com/
tions’44 in influencing consumer practices, but also the need to promote an docview/1086518527?accountid=
‘accurate definition’45 of the term ‘sustainable’ in the apparel industry. This ana- 12768.
lysis also translates to business ethics and a discussion of how companies 41. Ibid., 479.
seeking to promote sustainable goods are marketing themselves. 42. Ibid.
43. Ibid., 481–482.
Further Discussion 44. Ibid, 487.
45. Ibid.
I briefly note these studies not as specific sources to offer our scholars, but as
examples of the types of research that emerge in multi- and interdisciplinary
fields. Hill and Lee’s sociological survey on the advertised rhetoric surrounding
the term ‘sustainability’ finds its heart in the fashion industry and consumer
ethics, but also represents an effective tool of study for marketing, social com-
munications, and environmental studies. Kimberly Ann Barton’s legal discussion
of fashion design’s lack of protection in United States copyright law refers back to
the troubles of fashion copyright in the early 20th century and subsequent legal
motions to examine the current difficulties surrounding fashion design’s legal
illegitimacy. And finally, Ingrey’s amalgamation of sumptuary law and discipline
theory for the purpose of questioning children’s school uniforms mixes history,
sociology, law, and philosophy to produce a product that encompasses gender
studies, fashion studies, and educational theory.

Conclusion
In comparison to other disciplines, the education of fashion studies remains to be
fairly new. Seeking secondary source materials for many interdisciplinary aspects
of the field can be difficult for scholars beginning their fashion research.
Scholarship mentioning fashion, however, can be found over hundreds of years
in legitimized disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, economics and art his-
tory. It is imperative that we look in these fields, as well as other disciplines
unrelated to fashion studies, when we guide our patrons to support their schol-
arship with multidisciplinary sources. After all, medical or law journals may not
be the first sources fashion scholars think to look at. However, we may find that
the directions we guide our patrons point them toward additional interests to
support future fashion scholarship.

Olivia Warschaw
Reference Associate, Social Science and Humanities
New York University, Division of Libraries
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
USA
Email: olivia.warschaw@nyu.edu

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