Early Modern Dress and Textiles

在近代早期的欧洲，你的穿着被认为可以定义你是谁。从头上的帽子或头巾到脚上的丝袜和鞋子，身份（性别、社会、地理）都应该清楚地显示在身体上。其中大部分是由昂贵的纺织品制成的，社会各阶层对服装的投资是巨大的，这引起了人们对监测和规范这种展示形式的持续关注。越来越多的不同学科的学者现在开始研究服装和纺织品及其历史，以便更好地理解它们在1500年至1800年间在欧洲不同地区所提供的多种含义。他们的研究通常涉及档案工作和文学分析。与此同时，那些参与保存和展示这些物品的人，以及那些关注重建服装（通常是为了戏剧目的）的人，对早期现代服装和纺织品的材料质量——它们是由什么制成的以及如何制成的——有了更深入的了解。这个网络将这些研究人员聚集在一起，他们通常在非常不同的环境中工作，并在两年的时间里使用非常不同的资源，以研究一系列常见的问题。通过将这群人聚集在一起，在博物馆和保护环境中与物品本身一起工作，我们的目标是跨越不同的专业领域，并参与到重建历史服装的非常重要的公众利益中。

In Early Modern Europe, what you wore was supposed to define who you were. Identities (gender, social, geographic) were meant to be clearly displayed on the body from the hat or kerchief on the head to the stockings and shoes on the feet. Much of this was made from expensive textiles and the investment in clothing at all levels of society was enormous, generating a constant concern to monitor and regulate this form of display.An increasing number of scholars in different disciplines are now turning to dress and textiles and their histories in order to better understand the multiplicity of meanings that they offered in different parts of Europe between 1500 and 1800. Their study often involves archival work and literary analysis. At the same time those involved in preserving and displaying these items, and those concerned with reconstructing dress (often for theatrical purposes) have developed a much deeper understanding of the material qualities of Early Modern dress and textiles- what they were made from and how. This network brings these researchers, who often work in very diverse settings and with very different sources together over a two year period in order to actress a series of common questions. In bringing together this group to work with objects themselves in museum and conservation settings, we aim to work across different professional fields and engage with the very substantial public interest in the reconstruction of historic dress.