Volume 2, Issue 1, #2 - 2019
Entanglements of a Dress Named Laverne: Threads of Meaning between Humans and Things (and Things)
By Jessica Kennedy and Megan strickfaden
DOI: 10.38055/FS020102
MLA: Kennedy, Jessica, and Megan Strickfaden. “Entanglements of a Dress Named Laverne: Threads of Meaning between Humans and Things (and Things).” Fashion Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, 2019, 1-35. https://doi.org/10.38055/FS020102.
APA: Kennedy, J., & Strickfaden, M. (2019). Entanglements of a Dress Named Laverne: Threads of Meaning between Humans and Things (and Things). Fashion Studies, 2(1), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.38055/FS020102
Chicago: Kennedy, Jessica, and Megan Strickfaden. “Entanglements of a Dress Named Laverne: Threads of Meaning between Humans and Things (and Things).” Fashion Studies 2, no. 1 (2019): 1-35. https://doi.org/10.38055/FS020102.
Abstract:
This is a narrative about a dress named Laverne and a woman named Elizabeth told through Ian Hodder’s proposition about entanglements. Elizabeth Withey wrote a blog called Frock Around the Clock about her lived experience of wearing the black dress “Laverne” every day for one year. Through Hodder’s three themes of entanglement — humans depend on things, things depend on things, and things depend on humans — the interdependencies between a woman and a dress are uncovered. Laverne is a thread within a web of other threads of entanglement driven by her relationship with a person. This is demonstrated through Hodder’s illustration of sequential staging and the vast network of things required for Laverne’s existence. Laverne and Elizabeth’s interdependent relationship is further developed through a close examination of their interactions, including how Laverne is reliant on Elizabeth to acquire and maintain agency. In turn, Elizabeth finds comfort during a tumultuous year by constructing and reconstructing her identity with Laverne as a kind of transitional object. Our discussion concludes by offering three general insights into the entangled and complex human-clothing relationship. The complexities of a human relationship and interactions with a dress are exposed in this case study through an in-depth dive into slow fashion that reveals significant insights into the entangled relationships and interactions people have with clothing.
Keywords:
blog
case study research
lived experience
reflexive research
slow fashion