{"id":11787,"date":"2023-04-14T10:41:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T09:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/?p=11787"},"modified":"2023-04-14T15:02:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T14:02:32","slug":"wendy-ward-researcher-blog-a-fashion-for-keeping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/wendy-ward-researcher-blog-a-fashion-for-keeping\/","title":{"rendered":"Wendy Ward Researcher Blog: A Fashion For Keeping"},"content":{"rendered":"

CCRI PhD candidate Wendy Ward has recently had two opportunities to engage the public with her developing early PhD work around clothing longevity. She shares them with us here.<\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Wendy Ward is a PhD candidate at Sheffield Hallam University<\/a> in Art & Design researching sustainability in fashion through the lens of people’s relationships with their clothes, and the potential for using these relationships to lengthen the time that people keep their clothes.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Do You Love Your Clothes?<\/h3>\n

At the end of last year I was invited by another Hallam student Sacha Gray to take part in Re-Fashion Fare<\/a> in Doncaster, an event to celebrate ideas and skills around slower fashion. My work draws on the use of \u2018wardrobe methods\u2019, a methodological approach to studying everyday garments and garment practices*, and I decided to use the event to trial a method for finding out more about people\u2019s loved clothes.<\/p>\n

Related news: 7 Dec 2022 Re-Fashion Fare in Doncaster<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In the chilly church hall I hung up a used shirt with the message<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you love your clothes?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

spelled out on the shirt\u2019s back in black felt, set out a long roll of paper on a table with another used shirt laid beside it along with a Sharpie pen and a simple invitation:<\/p>\n

Tell me about your favourite \/ most-loved garment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then, I waited. Would people engage with me? Would they be willing to tell me about their clothes? Would they even understand the question?<\/p>\n

As the first few visitors arrived, people started to drift in my direction looking curious. I began to chat with people; telling them why I was there and what I was trying to do before asking:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your favourite or most-loved piece of clothing?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That was all it took. Everyone had something to say; some wanted to chat, some just wanted to pick up the pens and write. None needed much persuasion.<\/p>\n

I kept my questions deliberately simple and deliberately open, I wanted each individual to decide how much or how little they shared and what sort of information; the material qualities of the garment, how it makes them feel, the experiences embodied within it or the memories that it evokes. I offered people two ways to contribute:<\/p>\n