A Study in Style — All Articles
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Nosferatu and the Gothic Revival
When the first stills from the 2024 Nosferatu remake were released, I was immediately captivated. The images hinted at some exquisitely rendered 1830s-inspired costumes — with their distinctive silhouettes and rich textures, they promised a feast for any lover of Gothic fashion history. Judging by the promotional photography alone, the costume department had clearly paid…
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More Than a Dress Code: Revisiting Gilded Glamour at the 2022 Met Gala
The Gilded Age was a time when fortunes were worn as armour, and fashion was the language of power: ornate, excessive, and never quite what it seemed. In 2022, the Met Gala invited its guests to revisit this opulent era under the dress code Gilded Glamour, conjuring visions of silk bustles, boned bodices, and social…
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Fashioning the Self: Rethinking Fashion’s Feminine Identity
“Costumes can be read as easily as any text.” This assertion by fashion historian Leigh Summers (in Bound to Please, 2001) captures a truth long understood by artists, writers, and wearers alike: clothing is never just clothing. And yet, fashion is often dismissed, especially in everyday, media, or political discourse. Fashion is perceived as inherently…
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We Never Go Out Of Style: Fashion at the Eras Tour
When Taylor Swift first announced The Eras Tour on Good Morning America in late 2022, no one could have predicted the cultural imprint it would leave behind after its final bow two years later. The Eras Tour has since become the subject of countless thought pieces — from its staggering boost to local economies and…
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Victorian Mourning: Sartorial Symbolism in George Eliot’s “Middlemarch”
The image that most readily comes to mind when we think of Queen Victoria is that of an elderly, white-haired woman dressed entirely in black, her white widow’s cap perched solemnly atop her head. Portrait of Queen Victoria by Bertha Müller after Heinrich von Angeli, 1900. Source: National Portrait Gallery, London. This enduring portrayal of…
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Why I’m Disappointed in the Kensington Palace Exhibition “Dress Codes: Decoding the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection”
When Kensington Palace announced its latest exhibition, Dress Codes: Decoding the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, I was genuinely excited. With a fashion archive said to include over 10,000 pieces spanning five centuries of court life, and the palace itself as a backdrop, there was so much potential to create something truly immersive, educational, and moving.…