Making School Essays Count Part II - Electric Boogaloo

I really do have a lot of beef with fashion theory/fashion theorists, partly because I was forced to read so much of their sh!+. But I did get to do some interesting research for my papers, including the one below. I focused a lot more on my case study than I think we were probably supposed to, but that is because that was way more interesting to me than the theory. I was supposed to respond to the quote from Rocamora and Smelik, which was a tad difficult because I'm not sure I agree...

‘Theorists provide invaluable tools to "think through fashion" [and ...] engaging with theory is essential in order to understand and analyse fashion’ (Rocamora and Smelik, 2016).

Introduction - In this essay, I will explore the emergence of the community of historical costume enthusiasts and history bounders in predominantly online environments, responding to the above statement regarding the significance of theory to understanding such phenomena. Utilising primarily subcultural studies, I will attempt to shed light on the cultural and personal motivations behind this unusual community of creatives and their unique approach to fashion and style.

There is no agreed upon definition of subculture amongst theorists, however, there are some criteria that are widely employed to classify a group as such. Hebdige understood subcultures as a method for semi-disenfranchised groups of youth, mostly men, to enact symbolic resistance to the mainstream culture, in the postwar period. Part of this resistance involved the creation of new styles of clothing, music, dance, etc. New clothing styles were achieved, in part, through bricolage, seizing items from the dominant culture and reinterpreting them out of their original context, assigning new meanings to familiar objects. The apparently radical aims of subcultures were, in Hebdige’s view, doomed to failure as their aesthetic became commodified and fetishised. (Hebdige 2002) Many theorists debate this definition and the continued relevance of subcultures and subcultural studies. Theorists like Sarah Thornton debate the “authenticity” of subcultures by focusing on the role the media plays in their creation. Clarke expressed scepticism of Hebidge’s focus on urban centres and his generally narrow lens when considering which groups might be thought of as subcultures. Muggleton asserted his belief that we are now in a post-subcultural era. (Gildart 2020) I think what we are seeing is an evolution of subculture, facilitated by the internet and social media. The historical costume community is an excellent example of a modern subculture involving a large group of people, often quite young, with unique interests and beliefs about the importance of history and, of course, a very distinctive aesthetic. However, instead of adopting mainstream items to wear out of their modern, social context, costumers are also wearing things out of their historical contexts.

The Historical Costume Community - The historical costume community is a fairly heterogeneous group of individuals linked by their interest in history, most especially, their interest in, not just learning about, but wearing and making historical clothing. Some community members are actively involved in living history work and education, including historical reenactment, but many are simply passionate lay persons who have an intense and consuming hobby. The community is incredibly active online, particularly on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. So much time, effort, and money is invested in crafting detailed, historical recreations, and historically inspired clothing, that many costumers have begun to wear them outside of events or their own homes, and have adopted them as daily attire. Many engage in a practice known colloquially as “history bounding”. This involves incorporating aspects of historical costume into a more modern wardrobe to evoke the feel of a particular era while still being integrated into the 21st century. (Donner, 2019)

Fig. 1. Morgan Donner at bus stop in full, Middle Ages dress

Bricolage - History bounding is an unusually clear and deliberate example of the practice of bricolage, with participants carefully selecting items of dress from different centuries, and styling them to blend with modern clothing. The deliberation with which such clothing choices are made is abundantly clear in Costuber Rachel Maksy’s statement, "I like to craft my outfit." (Maksy, 2020, 9:14). Using the term “craft” strongly implies that the wearer is not simply putting on clothing, but is instead creating an image, a persona to embody. This is more than just a stylistic choice, it is a rejection of modern beauty ideals and fast fashion. But it is also a reinterpreting of these historical items that we are not accustomed to seeing outside museums or costume dramas. The juxtaposition of the modern and the historical on one individual creates a sense of living outside of time.

Identity - Goffman’s concept of “identity kits” comes into play here, as costumers utilise their knowledge of history and fashion, and their extensive, finely crafted wardrobes to cultivate the exact image of themselves they wish to project, with a high level of self-awareness. Identity kits consist of the tools and supplies a person may regard as necessary to manage their appearance in accordance with their own self-image. (Goffman 1959) Costuber Bernadette Banner states, "People do treat you with a... sort of reflected sense of propriety and elegance… It's almost as if you can sort of cheat that system by taking on a style of dress that people associate with respected positions in society, and especially if you know how to sew… you can make these appearances yourself. You don't necessarily have to be that sort of class status, in order to achieve that level of respect." (Banner, 2020, 6:36). As Goffman would say, "people do not possess an essence behind the performance; they are the performance" (Goffman, 1959, pp. 171) And many costumers are deliberately manipulating their own performance of identity to become someone of a higher class, a different time, or both.

The theatrical nature of the subculture connects it strongly to ideas around performative identity; “identity not as a state of being but as acts of doing” (Rocamora and Smelik, 2015, p. 154). These identities are carefully and deliberately constructed “from the skin out” (V, 2021). Costumers frequently discuss the importance of underpinnings, stays, corsets, petticoats, bum rolls to achieve the desired silhouette, the shape that elicits a feeling of time travel, of being outside of modern time. Partly for this reason, there are an abundance of videos of Costubers trying on all their different corsets and stays to demonstrate the way they affect their shape. This forms the basis for a costumer’s “identity kit” (Goffman, 1959), which may include shifts, hoop skirts, gowns, etc.

Fig. 2. Rebecca Maiten in 1860s corset

The costumer has to decide how much historical accuracy to embed in their crafted image, including braiding or powdering their hair, wearing makeup of a particular period or no makeup at all, until an image is created that is both self expressive and evocative of a bygone era. The clothing, hair, and makeup becomes part of a performance of self as a modern individual, and a person outside of time, coalescing in a dialectical image. (Ekardt, 2020, pp. 44) Two opposing concepts, the quintessentially modern, 21st century young person and the anachronistic time traveller, are blended harmoniously in one individual.

Fig. 3 Cheney McKnight in Brooklyn, NY

Fig. 4. Rachel Maksy in 1900s menswear

Many of these costumers regard their wardrobes as a form of personal and artistic expression and, in some cases, a method of storytelling or performance for personal fulfilment. There is an interesting blurring of the lines between these ideas. Rachel Maksy expressed her interest in "outfits that tell a different story" and directly commented on the way “style can tell your own narrative" suggesting that for Maksy, at least, telling different stories is part of her own narrative, part of her own identity. (Maksy, 2020, 3:47) Some costumers regard performing, or inhabiting a character, to feel extremely natural and intuitive. Many members of the community seem to have some amount of interest in theatre, storytelling, filmmaking, or creative writing and find this unusual style of dress to be yet another medium for storytelling and character building.

But it goes far beyond performance. Many costumers discuss the feeling of comfort in their own skin, feeling like their personal style reflects who they are or emboldens them in some way. "When you find your true style… and you feel that expresses yourself really accurately, you have a different sort of confidence about you, you exude this sort of power… You don't necessarily have to conform to very rigid, specific set beliefs and rules of society… You are allowed this freedom in your life." (Banner, 2020, 4:07) This is, in some ways, a subtler form of rebellion against the mainstream than in prototypical subcultures like the punks or the Teds. Less pointed and aggressive, but no less assertive of the individual’s and the group’s desire to buck convention in the form of modernity. (Hebdige 2002)

Fig. 5. Bernadette Banner hand sewing

Subculture Online - Most of what has been mentioned thus far, is primarily concerned with the individual’s experience of the community. Now we will turn to the community itself. There has been a strong online presence for costumers for many years now, but for the last two years (2020-2022), the community has found itself even deeper entrenched in online spaces as a direct response to COVID-19. Events like Dickens Fair, the Renaissance Faire, reenactments, and various other live events were moved online or cancelled entirely. This was less detrimental than might be initially supposed, though doubtless frustrating for participants. Many Costubers saw increased interest in their channels and many creators found lockdown inspiring, or perhaps forcing, greater creative output. And, with so little recourse to other activities, more and more people are seeking expression of their interests online. An unusual number of YouTube channels went from hobbies to full time jobs in this period.

Partially due to the online nature of this subculture, certain members also function as cultural intermediaries online, both creating and reproducing the norms of the community. They are “tastemakers” on a subcultural level. (Smith Maguire & Matthews 2014) Key influencers in the subculture include individuals like Bernadette Banner, Morgan Donner, Karolina Zebrowska, and Abby Cox. All are young, white women with a strong social media presence and each possesses their own YouTube channel, in which they document the process of researching and creating their historical garments, discuss historical fashion in general, and their own lifestyles. They often participate in collaborations with other creators and serve as unofficial spokespeople/representatives for the group. In their videos, they do not merely discuss their own projects and lives but, perhaps unwittingly, create rough templates for members of the community or aspirants to emulate, sparking new trends in what people make and what supplies they buy.

As the community has matured, these templates have helped to engender unique forms of subcultural capital within the community, especially as regards fashion. The capital grants the holder an elevated status within the confines of the subculture. (Thornton 1995) Here is a space in which both fast fashion and modern luxury brands are viewed as equally inauthentic, if occasionally useful. Thrifting and shopping vintage is highly encouraged and clothing made by oneself is the ultimate goal for many. And if one can make the clothing using historical methods, so much the better. It is an inversion of the construction of identity through consumption, however unethical, that is so often employed in other contexts. Outside the subculture, for many years people have engaged in the purchase of luxury goods, or faked luxury goods, to establish identity through consumption. (Perez, Castano, Quintanilla, 2010). In this instance, identity is being constructed and one’s place in the group affirmed by what one does not consume, or appear to consume, as much as by what one does, and the manner of consumption is commensurately significant. There are many debates both about what historical accuracy consists of, and whether or not it is essential in one’s costumes and dress. Regardless, doing extensive research and posting openly about it, is a key part of success in the community.

Finally, a certain amount of liberal allyship to marginalised groups is expected. The hashtag #vintagestylenotvintagevalues is a commonly used signal to put forward one’s progressive values. However, this support can often be performative. There are still instances of prejudice toward many community members who are also minorities The illusion of allyship, as much as allyship itself, has become fashionable, causing a disparity between avowals and actions. This performance then becomes part of the creative’s personal brand and their values become an element of a potentially monetizable identity.

Subculture and Gender - One of the aspects of the historical costume community that sets it apart from many traditional subcultures, is the fact that its members predominantly identify as women and nearly all the key influencers in the group are women. This is unusual in almost any field but there is a certain amount of precedent in this case. There is of course a strong association between modern concepts of femininity and fashion. Perhaps more interestingly, there has long been an association between the feminine, the past, and tradition. (Parkins, 2013, pp. 27). Historical costume and history bounding tie the two concepts explicitly and, when worn on a female presenting body, powerfully evoke a traditional, Eurocentric idea of femininity. This is not to say that all members of the community adopt the style for this purpose. Many are staunchly feminist and firmly oppose gender stereotypes and traditional roles. For certain costumers, the reach into the past connects them to the women’s liberation movement and recognizes the valour and independence possessed by women in other eras that were deeply oppressive to people of their gender. Some costumers also take the opportunity to blur gender lines and boundaries by wearing historical clothing intended for a different gender like Zachary Pinsent, Kaz Rowe, or Nicole Rudolph.

Fig. 6. Zachary Pinsent in Elizabethan ladies’ dress

The subculture also provides professional opportunities for women. What is unusual is that it does so through the commoditization of stereotypically feminine interests and skills i.e. fashion, sewing, hairstyling, makeup etc. A surprising number have managed to turn their participation in the subculture into a lucrative career in which their gender identity is an asset. Platforms like YouTube and Instagram play a crucial role in these careers.

Politics - Like many other subcultures, the historical costume community is not overtly political; the community does not cohere for the purpose of political or social change. However, there are still radical ideas interwoven into the basic concept of the group. For many, part of their membership in the subculture stems from their determination to eschew fast fashion, to reject trends and microtrends that contribute to perceived obsolescence and greater waste. One’s historical wardrobe is, by definition, not in fashion and therefore cannot fall out of fashion. It cannot be rendered irrelevant on those grounds. Clothing that is handmade and tailored to fit can dramatically alter a person’s relationship to it. The disposability of fast fashion cannot be replicated in this type of clothing which more neatly lends itself toward status as a keepsake.

Historical styles can also serve as an unexpected foundation for a rejection of modern beauty standards. To most, it might seem like in the past, women’s appearances were more highly scrutinised and the window of acceptability was much narrower, but there are some surprising liberties that historical fashion can provide. Abby Cox spoke at length about the experience of wearing 18th century clothing everyday, for five years, and the freedom this gave to her physical appearance. "Your body is always on display in modern clothes… We now have a standard of beauty based on things we have almost no control over… What I do get, that I cannot get in modern clothing, is a mental comfort… I have constructed my outward appearance to fit an ideal using padding, boning, tailored garments... But my actual body, my private body, is completely hidden from you. You have no idea what I look like… So the mental comfort I have as a woman knowing that I fit the fashionable ideal for this era by dressing this way, has nothing to do with my diet or exercise plan” (Cox, 2020, 6:33). For Rebecca Maiten of the YouTube channel Lady Rebecca Fashions, historical fashion offers a reminder that plus size people have existed in every era and that "it's a very modern idea that size matters. For most of history, it was the shape, not the size that mattered." (Maiten, 2021, 1:30)

The focus on history and research also serves as an opportunity to not only learn about our past, but also to recontextualize the knowledge we already possess. There is a strong tendency, culturally, to view our modern society as having reached the acme of human progress. But progress is not linear and humans in the past were not less intelligent or less evolved. The construction of textiles and garments over the centuries communicates that our ancestors were capable of extraordinary things to meet the needs that were felt at the time. Often the purposes of historical clothing are difficult to comprehend in a modern context but they frequently served a deeply practical function. Banner stated, "We just naturally assume that because we are now in the present, we have technologically advanced such that our clothes are better, our technology is better, our methods are better and more superior, and our clothing is more comfortable and practical. That is not necessarily true" (Banner, 2020, 0:02) For some of the costumers, rediscovering these styles is an unexpected opportunity to create something new. "By going back and looking at all the good parts about the past, when it comes to our clothing, we could create a movement and a style that is flattering, comfortable, logical, beautiful, economical, and ecological” (Cox, 2021, 16:07).

Conclusion - Through the analysis of the historical costume community as a subculture, I have demonstrated that it confounds boundaries by being a subculture composed of many different societies, organisations, and individuals. It is a profession and an art form. A social media phenomenon and a fashion trend. And it can be a social justice/climate justice movement to re-envision history. This complexity cannot be fully plumbed without rigorous research and the application of the full breadth of our knowledge of cultural studies and sociology, as well as that of historical fashion. While examining the community through the lens of subcultural studies sheds light on the composition and function of the community, there is so much more research that could be done and countless ways it could be interpreted. Humans can be chaotic and complicated and our relationship to our clothing is equally so. These costumers have layered in centuries of history, deliberately being interpreted and reinterpreted to further complicate the conversation being had through dress.

List of References

Banner, B. (2020) Why Are You Dressed Like That? Embracing Bygone Styles with Rachel Maksy and Morgan Donner. 16 February. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BdnsB4RTcU (Accessed 4 January 2022)

Cox, A. (2020) I Wore 18th-Century Clothing *Every Day for 5 Years & This is What I Learned (Corsets Aren’t Bad!). 10 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyWnm0Blmh4 (Accessed 4 January 2022)

Ekardt, P. (2002) Benjamin on Fashion, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ProQuest Ebook Central, Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=6162671. (Accessed 4 January 2022)

Gildart, K. (2020) Hebdige and Subculture in the Twenty-First Century : Through the Subcultural Lens. Springer International Publishing AG. Proquest Ebool Central, Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=6181552.

Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. USA: Anchor Books.

Hall, S. (2006) Resistance through rituals: youth subcultures in post-war Britain. New York: Routledge.

Hebdige, D. (2002) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. Abingdon: Routledge.

Maiten, R. (2021) Plus Size Historical Costuming Tips - The Importance of Proportion… 16 January. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eqopY8w72U (Accessed 4 January 2022)

McRobbie, A. (2002) Clubs to Companies: Notes on the decline of political culture in speeded up creative worlds. Routledge. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/52601888/Clubs_to_companies_Notes_on_the_decline_of_political_culture_in_speeded_up_creative_worlds. (Accessed 4 January 2022).

Morgan Donner (2019) Historybounding: Wearing Historical Fashions in Your Everyday Wardrobe. 3 September. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYzeFK07leY&t=2s (Accessed 4 January 2022)

Parkins, I. (2013) Poiret, Dior and Schiaparelli: fashion, femininity and modernity. Bloomsbury Academic.

Perez, M., Castano, R., Quintanilla, C. (2010) ‘Constructing Identity through the Consumption of Counterfeit Luxury Goods’, Qualitative Market Research, 13(3), pp. 219-235. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235313983_Constructing_identity_through_the_consumption_of_counterfeit_luxury_goods. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Rocamora, A. Thinking Through Fashion : A Guide to Key Theorists, edited by Anneke Smelik, I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=4444010. (Accessed January 4 2022)

Smith Maguire, J. & Matthews, J. (2014) The Cultural Intermediaries Reader. UK: Sage Publications Ltd.

Thornton, S. (1995) Club Cultures : Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Polity Press. ProQuest Ebook Central. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=1584071.

List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Donner, M. (2019) Wearing Historical Fashions in Your Everyday Wardrobe. Available at: https://ducatus.org/wearing-historical-fashions-in-your-everyday-wardrobe-by-morgan-donner/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Figure 2. Maiten, R. (2020) ‘My other favorite corset - my 1860s corset’ [Instagram]. 3 December. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWVwtwACEy/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Figure 3. McKnight, C. (2021) ‘A scene from 1750 Brooklyn’ [Instagram]. 26 November. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWwMAHpvxfa/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Figure 4. Mayo, R. (Date unknown). ‘Rachel Maksy’ [Pinterest]. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14918242505022204/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Figure 5. Julian (2019). ‘Bernadette Banner’. 21 November. Available at: https://naibuzz.com/how-much-money-bernadette-banner-makes-on-youtube-net-worth/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).

Figure 6. Pinsent, Z. (2021). ‘Untitled’ [Instagram]. 8 March. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKotd8Alun/. (Accessed 5 January 2022).