«The Dress of the Poor»: Investigating the Clothes of the Lower Classes in Europe and North America, 16th–19th Cent. (Seminar)

Mittwoch, 19.03.2025

Collections of costumes in museums today are mostly representative of the elites’ sartorial habits. Similarly, direct information about clothing in archives often relate to the middling to higher social groups. The material history of a whole part of the population has been obscured by the lack of surviving evidence. Which items of clothing could be found in the dowry of a craftsman’s daughter in 16th-century Italy? What were the uniforms of the domestics working in 17th-century Paris? Which garments did the farmer working in 18th-century rural England wore every day? What was available for the long journey of a British sailor crossing the Atlantic in the 1700s? What did the young gangs roaming the streets of 19th-century New York wore to signify their allegiance and revendications? In this seminar, we will explore the dressing habits of the various lower social groups in Western societies, how they used clothes for vital and practical reasons, but also to position themselves within their environment. We will enquire which textiles and items of clothing were available to them, which fashion they followed and how. The cloth consumption of the labouring groups will lead to the study of recycling practices, self-making and the second-hand market. How did the developments in manufacturing techniques and the growing circulation of goods and people changed their dressing habits? Beyond what they could afford, what did they desire? We will explore the meanings that could be attached to the smallest piece of clothing, signifying their aspirations, but also their sense of belonging and identification.

Dozierende(r):	Dr. Moïra Marie Andréa Dato
19.03.2025:	12:15 - 13:45
Ort:	EG, 016 Uni Mittelstrasse Mittelstrasse 43

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