The Costume Society Symposium is the forum for recent academic research into all aspects of dress history and contemporary dress. Our 2009 Symposium will be held in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, at The Abbey Hotel during July 3rd - 5th 2009.
The theme of the symposium is Virtue and Vice: Morality in Fashion which can be interpreted as how dress has functioned as an expression of sexuality, class or social status.
We would be particularly interested to receive papers from lecturers and students from relevant academic fields, museum curators, conservators, designers, garment technicians, collectors, and scholars.
Themes Virtue and Vice: Morality in Fashion offers many possibilities for papers on the subject of costume. Papers are solicited that draw on a wide variety of approaches. No restriction is placed on period, location or nationality. Here are a few ideas to start you thinking:
Revealing clothing Tailored garments replacing unstructured garments in the mediaeval period Plunging necklines from the Minoan onwards Neo-classical dress in late18th - early 19th century/merveilleuses The mini skirt
Decorum The three-piece suit What is appropriate for different classes of society and/ or different occasions/pursuits
Conspicuous consumption Dagging and slashing in the Renaissance period; Ruffs and shoe roses in the late 16th-early 17th Centuries Frills and furbelows in the 18thC
Extremes of fashion High hairstyles and headdresses from the Mediaeval Hennin to the 1960s Beehive Hooped skirts The cod piece petticoat breeches; macaronis Pointed toes, high heels and platform soles
Religious attitudes Railing of the priesthood against fashion change Clothing imposed by 19thC missionaries in Africa The Islamic veil Puritan dress
Miscellaneous Changing attitudes to stiletto heels from 1950 to 2000 The fur and feather trades Effect of British clothing exports on colonial industries
The Costume Society aims to encourage access to costume history, including contemporary dress in various different ways. Costume, the society's journal, is published every year and presents the latest research on all aspects of dress worldwide, from pre-history to the present day. It also reviews recent books and exhibitions. The symposium is a theme-based weekend conference with key speakers and affords an opportunity for members to present their research. It also acts as the society's social focus.