Social media can be a fantastic place to find historians. Some subfields are better than others, but in terms of staying connected with history, Twitter has been invaluable. I have discovered many of the fashion history talks that I adore, and online exhibitions, too. So, to make your fashion history searching easier, and your timeline more stylish, I’m sharing my favourites. I’ve rounded up 25 of my favourite fashion historians on Twitter! And no need to worry, I’ve got several different areas of fashion history for you to follow. Without further adieu, onto the list…
Before we start, I must stress- this is not an exhaustive list. There are many, many more historians that I look forward to seeing pop up on my timeline, but these are historians that I regularly see. Once you are following some of these historians, you will quickly see more related accounts to follow (not to mention those that they retweet and converse with).
Fashion History Museums on Twitter
The large majority of my list is individual fashion historians, but I wanted to include some fashion history museums/organisations, as well. These museums all have fascinating collections, and in addition to sharing them, they also host events and courses. If you have the chance to visit any of these museums in person (when safe) or online, please do!
Fashion History Timeline, @FITfashionstory
The FIT Fashion History Timeline is an open access project, and covers a wide variety of eras and topics.
Bata Shoe Museum, @BataShoeMuseum
As you might expect, the Bata Shoe Museum has an amazing collection of all sorts of footwear (and more!)
One of my favourite BSM exhibitions? Want: Desire, Design and Depression Era Footwear
Fashion Museum, Bath, @Fashion_Museum
The Fashion Museum is one of my favourite museums, and has more incredible pieces than I could have ever imagined. They share several different collection highlights throughout the week!
Check out the Royal Women exhibition here: Part I and Part II!
V&A, @v_and_a
Obviously the V&A isn’t solely dedicated to fashion history, but it has the biggest dress collection in the world, and they do such an incredible job with exhibitions!
Of course, the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition needs to be mentioned…
Fashion and Textile Museum, @fashiontexile
I sadly haven’t been able to visit in person yet, but the Fashion and Textile Museum is at the top of my list for my next London trip. However, I adored their On Demand talk on Liberty London and the Influence of the East!
Fashion History Museum, @FashionHistoryM
Another Canadian gem, the Fashion History Museum is a smaller but dedicated fashion history museum. (They have online exhibitions, too!)
Fashion Historians on Twitter
As I mentioned above, this list is not exhaustive, by any means. These aren’t all of the fashion historians I follow, but many of the ones that I enjoy! Some work in an academic capacity, some work in museums or research organisations, and some pursue fashion history on their own time. They share their own work, their own events and others’, favourite garments, and much more. Follow away and add some more fashion to your Twitter!
Allison Matthews David, @amatthewsdavid
Dress Historian at Ryerson School of Fashion
Ben Barry, @drbenbarry
Chair of Fashion at Ryerson School of Fashion
Bethan Bide, @bethanbide
Lecturer in Design and Cultural Theory at the University of Leeds
Cassidy Percoco, @mimicofmodes
Fashion/Material Culture Scholar
Cassidy Zachary, @theartofdresscz
Dress and Fashion Historian, co-host of Dressed: A History of Fashion podcast
Elizabeth Semmelhack, @esemmelhack
Creative Director and Senior Curator at the Bata Shoe Museum
Ingrid Mida, @ingridmida
Art and Dress Historian, author of Reading Fashion in Art and The Dress Detective
Justine de Young, @addressingart
Professor of Art/Fashion History at FIT
Kate Strasdin, @katestrasdin
Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University
Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, @hottycouture
Fashion Historian, author of Worn On This Day
Kimberly Jenkins, @profkimj
Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Ryerson School of Fashion, founder of Fashion and Race Database
Lauren Deutsch, @laurencdeutsch
Emerging Museum Professional
Lucie Whitmore, @luciewhitmore
Fashion Curator at the Museum of London
Lydia Edwards, @howtoreadadress
Fashion Historian, author of How to Read a Dress and How to Read a Suit
Rebecca Tuite, @rebeccatuite
Fashion Historian, author of 1950s in Vogue and Seven Sisters Style
Sally Tuckett, @sallytuckett
Lecturer in Dress and Textile Histories at the University of Glasgow
Serena Dyer, @serena_dyer
Historian of Dress, Material Culture, and Consumers at DMU Leicester, author of Material Lives, co-founder of Sartorial Series
Shelbey Ivey Christie, @bronze_bombSHEL
Fashion and Costume Historian
Shelley Tobin, @PrincessHamira
Dress Historian and Fashion/Textiles Curator
Looking for More Fashion History?
Find my roundup of 2020 Online Fashion History exhibitions here! (My 2021 post will be up soon, and will be linked here)
Want to listen to my favourite fashion history podcasts?
Looking for fashion history books? I’ve got my favourite academic fashion history books and pop fashion history books!
Which fashions historians on Twitter are you following?
Cheers,
The Historian
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