Fashion and costume historians were often mentioned in previous posts on this blog in connection with exhibitions or museum events.
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming to the blog an independent fashion and textile historian, Heather A. Vaughan.
Heather regularly writes and lectures on various aspects of 20th Century Fashion History, offering her expertise and experience to museums, historical societies, private collections and enthusiasts. She recently contributed to the volume Essays on Women's Artistic and Cultural Contributions 1919-1939 with an essay on Elizabeth Ginno's Costume Etchings at the 1940 Exposition on Treasure Island and also co-authored a chapter for the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing in American History.
Heather regularly contributes to the blog Worn Through (the sort of blog that will make you reconsider the statement "all academics are boring"), a very useful site not only for students but for all those readers genuinely interested in fashion history, costume and society that includes writings by Monika Sklar (Worn Through founder), Lauren Michel, Tove Hermanson (check out also Tove's own blog, Thread for Thought) and Lucy Collins.
In the interview that follows Heather talks about her work, her researches and writing for the blog. Towards the end of the interview she also gives tips to students who would like to follow her steps.
Remember to stay tuned on Worn Through to read more posts by Heather and Co. If you are a Twitter user, you can keep updated with Heather's work by following her on Fashion Historia.
Whenever the words ‘fashion historian’ are pronounced, most of us automatically think about museum work and old costumes, yet there is definitely more about this job than just that: what does being a fashion and textile historian mean to you?
Heather Vaughan: In terms of my every day life, it means keeping track of museum exhibitions, trends that relate to historical styles and new research tools that become available. I am not affiliated with a specific museum collection or institution and so my work revolves primarily around historic research and writing. I've been published in several journals, and have had chapters published in books. Researching using historical databases online, going to libraries to utilise their book collections and travelling to museums and collections to look at relevant material is also part of what I consider my job. I also spend a lot of time networking online and keeping track of what's happening in the academic community that might impact my work.
Heather Vaughan: I've always loved clothes – not necessarily fashion with a capital F, but the things people have chosen to wear for whatever reason through time. As a kid I spent a lot of time playing 'dress up' with hand me down clothes and fanciful costumes my mom made. I harboured an interest in theatrical costumes in high school and college, but it wasn't until I had begun doing community theatre and I happened upon the Graduate program at NYU that I got really interested. Having classes and internships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute really brought the history alive for me, and got me interested in doing the research. It wasn't so much a 'who' inspired me as a 'what' – my love of history and I suppose of mystery. 
What’s the most appealing aspect of your job?
Heather Vaughan: The digging – researching clues left behind, tracking down facts, dates and quotes to put together a story are what appeal to me most. I also love lecturing on something that very few people know about, but are interested in. One of my favourite things is to spend time with a piece, looking at its construction, figuring out what preferences the designer has and thinking about who wore the piece and why. Who made it? Who designed it? Where did the materials come from? What was the designers intention and how does it fit with in the social constructs of its time period. In effect, what can it tell us about history.
In the history of textiles, is there a period that you particularly like for the technique it was developed during it, the colours used, etc?
Heather Vaughan: For a long time I have been focused on the 1920s and 1930s, and, for a long, that was my favourite time period. But, in textiles specifically (rather than fashion), I am fond of Ottoman empire work – I suppose it is because of the link between the 1930s and the fascination with 'orientalist' motifs. I find quite inspiring the luxurious gold thread, the exotic designs and the rich, often jewel toned colours.
Which aspect of Natacha Rambova’s work fascinates you the most?
Heather Vaughan: Her fascination with the 'foreign' and to try and make her clothes and herself 'other-worldly'. Exoticism, Fantasy and Orientalism were large influences on her work. Her interest in jewel-toned colours, what Rudolph Valentino called her "violent and definite" preferences only reinforce the sense of drama and theatricality. I'm also interested in the collaborative aspects of her work – those she worked with and for. I'm still working out a good many of those connections, but she's known to have worked with Alla Nazimova, Mercedes de Acosta, Paul Poiret and Svetoslav Roerich, all rather eccentric characters.
You are senior contributor of the Worn Through blog, which is rather different from many other blogs on fashion or costume out there: what inspired it originally?
Heather Vaughan: Though I didn't originate the blog – Monica Sklar did – I came on as a contributor fairly early on in its development. Worn Through aims to fill a void in the world of academic blogs – by focusing clearly and specifically on fashion, fashion theory, and academic issues associated with teaching, researching, writing and museum studies as they pertain to fashion, costume, clothing, dress and textiles.
So far which is your favourite post on the blog?
Heather Vaughan: That's a hard one – of my own posts, I'm particularly fond of the series of interview posts with Christina Johnson of FIDM Museum, but exhibition reviews are always fun and interesting. From my other contributors, I really enjoy Tove's work. Her ability to draw connections between current fashion and history is wonderfully insightful. Especially her post on Yulia Tymoshenko. That was definitely a high point for me.
Nowadays, many costume museums or fashion exhibitions often launch blogs or upload their own videos on the Internet, showing rare pieces from their archives, giving viewers highlights on future events and so on. According to you, in which ways have blogs influenced/changed the world of fashion, style and costume?
Heather Vaughan: I don't know if museum blogs have really changed it that much. Museums and their exhibits create buzz about a specific trend, especially the Mets Costume Institute, and by getting the word out (on say animal prints in fashion or goddess dresses) they push that trend out to a larger audience. Blogs, to some extent (whether affiliated with a museum or not) have yet to gain that kind of cohesive and influential impact. Pushing trends or influencing fashion is not the point of Worn Through. Rather it is the other way around, when fashion and history meet, at least for me, I hope that Worn Through will be there to point it out. 
Heather Vaughan: When I initially began my research on her, I didn't know that she had worked in the same area with Diego Rivera in the artists section of the 1939 world's fair. Finding newspaper clippings with photos of herself at a costume party with Rivera was an exciting moment. Among a collection of memorabilia in her sons' house, there was an invitation to that party with a sketch of the costume she would create and wear and that was a fun connection to make.
Many designers brought different revolutions into the fashion scene throughout the 20th century: which is your favourite one and why?
Heather Vaughan: That's really quite a difficult one to answer, but I suppose my favourite is Dior's first collection in 1947, after World War II ended. I suppose it's a generational favourite, but it seemed to have brought a strong sense of the feminine back into the post-War world. I'll be interested to see if there is ever another major fashion revolution.
Your work puts you in touch with lots of students: which piece of advice would you give to young people who want to become fashion historians? Which are the best institutions were to study for example?
Heather Vaughan: This is a question I am often asked. My answer is specifically for students interested in museum work and writing (rather than teaching). My first piece of advice to students considering this as a career: make sure you really want to do it, be willing to move anywhere for a job and be willing to be paid less than you are worth. Unless you are very lucky, museum jobs are few and far between (especially in today's economy) and even those that do become available are incredibly hard to get. Unfortunately, the market is saturated with qualified applicants and simply too few openings. Writing is another avenue, but there too the economy is squashing opportunities. The publishing industry is in flux right now with advent of Kindle, the Nook and the new book reading application for the iPhone. Publishers ac
ross the country, especially University Presses, are having to re-examine their programs and my fear is that the already smallish field of academic fashion writing will get even smaller. With regards to schools, there are a number of options with different requirements for attending: NYU, FIT and Parsons all have programs in the field of fashion studies. But again, you have to way the cost and time commitment against the possibility of finding work.
Are there any interesting costume/fashion exhibitions you would like to visit at the moment?
Heather Vaughan: I would love to be about to go to Paris to Les Arts Décoratifs to see Madeleine Vionnet, Puriste de la Mode. A friend of mine was travelling in Europe this summer and got to see it, and I'm incredibly envious of her experience! Vionnet was a master of her craft and was strongly influenced by cubism. The way she puts angular pieces of cloth around a curved and fluid body is a testament to her geometric genius.
What are you reading at the moment? Any fashion related books? Can you recommend us a book to read during the Christmas holidays or to give as a present to fashion history lovers?
Heather Vaughan: You'll have to stay tuned to Worn Through – I am planning a string of book reviews to lead up to the Holiday season. I have some goodies on my desk. I'm reading a book now that's definitely going to get some high marks. So keep an eye out, December will be chuck full of reviews!
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