History

A further strand of research makes an historical study of rural clothing, tracing the stories behind specific garments and the biographies of those that wore them. The contention is that clothing is socially and politically charged and that micro studies of individual items of country apparel - notably equestrian dress from the early 1900s - provide avenues into broader discussions regarding contemporary gender, culture and identity issues. FoF has pursued this research via a collaborative relationship with the National Sporting Library, Virginia, USA, successfully securing a John H Daniels Fellowship at its Centre for Horse and Field Sports to conduct archive work on historical riding apparel.