Here I will analyze my experiences in historical dress and research I have done.
Something that's always interested me since childhood was history. I've always been fascinated by old relics of the past, whether it be clothing, toys or makeup. It's no surprise to me that I would want to possibly take this as a career route in the future, and possibly further my education on the topic in the form of a Masters degree. I think the preservation of things from the past is so important, and I think it's such an honourable thing to do. When it was finally time for me to take HECOL 333, I was hardly able to contain myself as it meant we were able to go and have a tour in the Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection in the university, and get to see all of the treasures that were just on the other side of the sewing lab wall. I loved helping my professor, Vlada Blinova with artefacts, and studying them throughout our labs. It was a shame that this class was also cut short due to the March 2020 lock down but I still got to see many fascinating pieces from across the world. Moving forward I would love to recreate some historical garments, and travel to Europe to get to see some primary sources in person.
Two courses that I took in my last year of studies really allowed me to focus my research on historical dress and I thought it was really interesting to take these courses in tandem because they connected so well.
The courses I will be discussing in this section are:
HECOL 460
HECOL 464
HECOL 460
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Advanced study of Western dress from the 19th century to the present. Lectures and labs introduce students to artifact research and the handling, storage, examination, documentation and exhibition of artifacts. Resources include fashion plates, photographic archives and artifacts from the University of Alberta's Clothing and Textiles Collection.
REFLECTION
I remember being told this course was a content heavy class to begin with, and the added level of it being through correspondence did make it all the more difficult. This class typically involves the students creating a physical exhibit that is displayed in the Human Ecology building and has the students mounting, designing and creating this full exhibit. We were unable to do this, and instead did a virtual exhibition based on liminal dressing from 1820-2020. My artefact from the textile collection that I ended up writing my midterm on was a 1960s slip and robe. I have included this essay, as well as the condition report that I was able to do when we were allowed into the collection to study these artefacts in person. Overall this course allowed me to have a more hands-on opportunity with an artefact with the collection, as well as study it inside out. I also learnt a lot about the social connotations that come with lingerie, and how they are seen today compared to in the 1960s.
Online Exhibition of Innerwear: Liminal Dressing 1820-2020
HECOL 464
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Examines the evolution and practice of fashion as a social, economic, political and cultural phenomenon from a cross-cultural perspective.
REFLECTION
This class was really fascinating as it really opened up my eyes to different events in textile history that I had never learnt. Such as textile guilds and learning about the much more involved role of women in textiles that I didn't realize. This was partly why I chose to study 18th century stays for my term paper. I find especially today there are a lot of incorrect opinions on stays and corsetry in general, and I wanted to learn more about them for myself, as well as help educate. The main thesis of this paper was to show how the accomplishments of women in the textile industry at the end of the 18th century paved the way for how women's foundational garments were constructed in the 19th century. I also argued that the staymaking trade was one of the first stepping stones for equality for women. I was particularly proud of this paper. I spent much more time researching than I had anticipated, and that resulted in me staying up for I think 2 days straight trying to finish this paper. I was really proud of my class mark, and I sadly wasn't ever given the mark for this paper. But, I was in a class that doubled as a grad course so I was proud that it appeared that my paper measured up to people who were in their Master's in History.
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