University of Glasgow

Women's Fashion in First World War Britain

Academic History:

2014-2017 PhD, University of Glasgow

2013-2014 MLitt Dress & Textile Histories, with Distinction, University of Glasgow

2008-2011 BA (hons) Textile Design, First Class, Edinburgh College of Art

2007-2008 Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art & Design, with Distinction, Central Saint Martins

Supervisors:

Ms Frances Lennard (Textile Conservation)

Dr Sabine Wieber (History of Art)

Research Interests: 

My thesis explores the use of dress as a historical tool, as a way to communicate social, cultural, emotional or political information from the years 1914-1918 in the present day. I believe that the study of historic dress offers a unique insight into the lives of the women who lived on the British Home Front during the First World War, & this will be demonstrated through investigations into various wartime trends or changes in dressing practices. Using museum objects & printed fashion media, I am seeking to understand the emotional & cultural meaning embedded in objects, that are particularly representative of the unique relationship between women & their clothing. I am also working on the representation of First World War fashion in the present day, with a particular focus on the role of dress history in museums. The purpose of this is to highlight dress as a powerful medium for storytelling. Alongside my PhD studies I also work as an intern with the costume collection at the Museum of Edinburgh.

Previous Research Projects:

MLitt dissertation – Styled by War: Women, Conflict & the Culture of Fashion During the Great War of 1914-1918

Research Assistant at Edinburgh College of Art 2012-2014 – The Needlework Development Scheme: Revival and Re-invention, Embroidery Heritage in the 21st Century

Publications:

(Upcoming) 'A matter of individual opinion & feeling': The changing culture of mourning dress in the First World War. To be published in Women's History Review, 2017

(Upcoming) The project I have worked on as part of my internship at the Museum of Edinburgh is a new Costume Gallery, which will be opening Autumn 2016 with an exhibition of fashion from WW1 & WW2 titled 'War Frocks'.

Contact Details:

Email: l.whitmore.1@research.gla.ac.uk

First published: 30 September 2014