Wardrobe Inventory

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Wardrobe Inventory
Part 1
The material culture and the design historical methods, which focus on objects play a major role in the analysis of fashion history. These methods have crossed over into museological practice and theory, as evident in "A museum of fashion is more than a clothes bag" by Valerie Steele. In this article, the value of the material culture of the study of fashion is detailed. To Valerie, the most valuable method of studying fashion is the interpretation of objects (327) (Bruzzi and Gibson 376). Therefore, towards this, this analysis will study "men`s shirt" as represented by a photograph. According to Bruzzi and Gibson, "the use of representations and a focus on garments as objects … is highly complementary and even revelatory" (376). The object is first described, deducted, and its place in fashion speculated. The object in question is a man`s shirt, this is because, the buttons are to the left (by looking at it) or are on the right (when the shirt is put on), it has long sleeves. The object has a straight point collar, characterized by the small spread found between its collar points, and is often worn to work, formal wear, evening or as a casual/smart casual attire. The historical timeline of this material culture began in the 1800s, but the casual smart shirt was heightened in the early 1990s, to increase morale among employees and reduce clothing expense.
Though the type of fabric cannot be determined from the photograph, the type of collar can place this object in historical context. This object can be traced back to the late 1800s during the civil war era, where shirts were made from light wool, flannel, cotton and linen, but were determined by the type of collar, cuff and front opening (Condra and Stamper 164). The shirt began from a simple faced or bound opening at the front center, which was closed with a button. Shirts then were long sleeved full at the armscye, but gathered at the cuff for ease and comfort (Condra and Stamper 165). One characteristic of this era that is also seen in the object is a tail, for the 1800`s shirt, were market with long tails to keep it tucked in the pants while working and physical activity (Condra and Stamper 166). These shirts gave rise to the modern men`s shirt, for they were designed with a narrow band collar that was fitted with a detachable collar that was later folded over the narrow band (Condra and Stamper 166). This saw the rise of the folded over collar on the band, as seen in the photograph of the object. In the day, the folded collar with a pointed like wing tips (collar points) was used for eveningwear, which also had the French cuffs that used cuff links or closed with buttons (Condra and Stamper 166).
Part 2
The shirt in focus is used as part of the smart casual wardrobe of the wearer. Though it has the formal look, the owner prefers to use the attire for semi-formal occasions, which do not require a tie or clothing without prints. Due to the fine print lines, and black and white stripes at the button hem, the wearer uses the shirt for social occasions that require a relaxed atmosphere. This approach implies that the wearer of this shirt has a higher or middle social class status that demands respect and recognition from peers. Moreover, it dictates, that the wearer prefers to reveal a certain level of maturity even during a relaxed social occasion. The goal of this wearer is to follow the dress code of his social class, which seeks to be casual, bu...