Tailored Trades: Clothes, Labour and Professional Identity, 1880-1939

The conference of the AHRC- funded network ‘Tailored Trades: clothes, labour and professional identity, 1880-1939’ took place on 12-13 September, 2014. 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 19th and early 20th 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.