What the book is about
The Dress Detective by Ingrid Mida and Alexandra Kim is the first practical guide to analyzing fashion objects, clearly demonstrating how their close analysis can enhance and enrich interdisciplinary research. This accessible book provides readers with the tools to uncover the hidden stories in garments, setting out a carefully developed research methodology specific to dress, and providing easy to use checklists that guide the reader through the process.
Edwina Ehrman, Fashion Curator and Historian writes:
“For the first time, The Dress Detective offers a clear and systematic framework for the object-based study of dress. Advocating a 'Slow Approach to Seeing', it arms readers with the tools to learn this important research skill while encouraging them through well-chosen case studies to measure their findings against inter-disciplinary and theoretical writing on fashion.” –
Amy de la Haye, Joint Director of the Centre for Fashion Curation, London College of Fashion, writes:
“This is the book we have been waiting for without realizing it! The Dress Detective offers a rigorous and entirely accessible guide to examining and thinking about dress using objects as evidence. Case studies and checklists guide the reader – specialist and non-specialist alike – to explore and articulate garment construction, materials, design, alterations and the nuances of wear. I have no doubt it will become a seminal text.”
Colleen Hill, Associate Curator, The Museum at FIT, writes:
“The Dress Detective is a smart, accessible text that provides a long-overdue methodology for examining clothing and accessories. This book is essential for new students, but its concise framework will also be useful to seasoned researchers. Diverse, thorough case studies demonstrate the combination of visual analysis, history, and theory that is crucial to fashion studies today.”
Edwina Ehrman, Fashion Curator and Historian writes:
“For the first time, The Dress Detective offers a clear and systematic framework for the object-based study of dress. Advocating a 'Slow Approach to Seeing', it arms readers with the tools to learn this important research skill while encouraging them through well-chosen case studies to measure their findings against inter-disciplinary and theoretical writing on fashion.” –
Amy de la Haye, Joint Director of the Centre for Fashion Curation, London College of Fashion, writes:
“This is the book we have been waiting for without realizing it! The Dress Detective offers a rigorous and entirely accessible guide to examining and thinking about dress using objects as evidence. Case studies and checklists guide the reader – specialist and non-specialist alike – to explore and articulate garment construction, materials, design, alterations and the nuances of wear. I have no doubt it will become a seminal text.”
Colleen Hill, Associate Curator, The Museum at FIT, writes:
“The Dress Detective is a smart, accessible text that provides a long-overdue methodology for examining clothing and accessories. This book is essential for new students, but its concise framework will also be useful to seasoned researchers. Diverse, thorough case studies demonstrate the combination of visual analysis, history, and theory that is crucial to fashion studies today.”
The Dress Detective can also be ordered from Amazon or your local bookstore.