Early Modern Dress and Textiles

在早期的现代欧洲，你的穿着应该定义你是谁。身份(性别、社会、地理)应该清楚地显示在身体上，从头上的帽子或头巾到脚上的袜子和鞋子。其中很大一部分是由昂贵的纺织品制成的，社会各个阶层对服装的投资都是巨大的，这引发了人们对这种展示形式的持续关注。现在，越来越多不同学科的学者转向服装和纺织品及其历史，以更好地理解1500至1800年间它们在欧洲不同地区提供的多种含义。他们的研究经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，以及那些关心服装重建(通常是为了戏剧目的)的人，已经对早期现代服装和纺织品的材料质量--它们是用什么制成的以及如何制作的--有了更深刻的理解。这个网络将这些研究人员聚集在一起，他们经常在非常不同的环境中工作，在两年的时间里拥有非常不同的来源，以便扮演一系列常见的问题。通过将这个团队聚集在一起，在博物馆和保护环境中与物品本身合作，我们的目标是在不同的专业领域工作，并参与到重建历史服装的非常重要的公众兴趣中。

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.