A Study in Style | About me
While I hope to reserve my voice for the articles I publish on this blog, an introduction might still be in order, so I can share a little context about who I am and what brought A Study in Style to life.
I’m Anabelle, nice to e-meet you!
I created A Study in Style to have a space where I can share my thoughts on fashion history, literature, and cultural critique. I’ve always been drawn to the power of clothing as a narrative tool through which we articulate identity, perform emotion, and engage with the world around us.
Academic Foundations
I studied English Studies and Romance Languages (Spanish) at Universität Heidelberg, where I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on historical fiction, focusing on Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White and its contemporary counterpart, Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith. Both are wonderful examples that use sartorial cues to characterise the protagonists and to drive the plot forward.
I later pursued an M.A. in English Literature at the University of Exeter, specialising in Victorian literature. My master’s dissertation examined fashion and identity in Victorian sensation fiction — a genre where characters’ clothing is always deeply revealing.
My Fashion History Highlights
I’m particularly enchanted by the styles of the 1840s-1860s, the silhouettes of ca. 1905-1912, and the structured elegance of the 1940s and 1950s. While I gravitate to elements of style from all these periods in my personal wardrobe, I also enjoy exploring the rich canvas they offer to analyse how dress has historically communicated power and identity.
“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.”
