Participant Info

First Name
Kate
Last Name
Strasdin
Country
United Kingdom
State
Affiliation
Falmouth University
Website URL
Keywords
19th and early 20th century dress historian. Material culture, object based research, Royal dress, clothing as communication, hidden women
Availability
Media Contact
Additional Contact Information
strasdins@hotmail.com Kate.Strasdin@falmouth.ac.uk
PhD
PhD

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

I have spent my academic career to date debunking myths about women’s clothing in the 19th & early 20thc. From considering the dress & achievements of early women mountaineers (and no they weren’’t all foolish women in long skirts & corsets!) to looking at women’s tailors, I enjoy dispelling accepted notions of women’s clothing in earlier times. Looking at the wardrobe of Queen Alexandra, I was able to uncover not only the stories of her own clothes royal body but of those hidden women around her – launderers, dressers, suppliers. My latest research project takes a mid-19thc dress diary compiled by one woman on Lmacashire & examines the community of women it encompasses

Recent Publications

Inside the Royal Wardrobe-a Dress History of Queen Alexandra, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017

Historical consultant on Royal Women exhibition, Fashion Museum, Bath 2018-19

Gold & Silver by Night – Colour in the Dress of Queen Alexandra  chapter in Colour in Fashion, Bloomsbury Axademic, 2016

Fashioning Alexandra, Costume Journal, 2013

High Climbers: The Blessings of a Good Thick Skirt, Selvedge Magazine, Nov 2012

Empire Dressing: the Drsign & Realisation of Queen Alexandra’s Coronation Dress, Journal of Design History, 2012

An Easy Day for a Lady: The Dress of Early Women Mountaineers, Costume Journal, 2004

 

Media Coverage
BBC World Service interviews, various
Country Focus
Expertise by Geography
British Isles, China, Western Europe
Expertise by Chronology
18th century, 19th century, Modern, 20th century
Expertise by Topic
Art & Architectural History, Libraries & Archives, Material Culture, Museums, Women