The conference of the AHRC- funded network ‘Tailored Trades: clothes, labour and
professional identity 1880-1939’ took place on 12 and 13 September. This research network, coordinated
by Nicole Robertson (Northumbria University) and Vike Plock (University of
Exeter), is a series of linked workshops and public events investigating the
significance of clothes and costumes in the development of professional
communities. The network conference, ‘Clothes, Working Lives
and Social Change’, explored
the relationship between work, clothes and identities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This two-day, interdisciplinary
event brought together scholars from across the Humanities, Creative Arts and
Museum sector to examine the intersecting histories of clothes and
labour. It was hosted by the Bishopsgate Institute (London),
project partners in the ‘Tailored Trades’ network. Keynote
lectures were given by Professor
Lou Taylor (University of Brighton) and Professor Eugenia Paulicelli
(Queen’s College and The Graduate Center City University of New York). Further
information about the conference and the network (including Podcasts of the
workshop papers) can be accessed on the Tailored Trades project website.
