Protection, Mobility, & Comfort: The Effects of Global Pandemics on Women's Dress

This study explores the effects that global traumatic pandemics have on the material culture of women's dress. Scholarly research surrounding global medical health crises often focuses on epidemiology and public health measures taken to limit the spread of infection, rarely exploring fashion. The current study argues that fashion is an active and important agent within the experience of global pandemics. By exploring dress within the 1918 Flu and 2020 COVID-19 pandemics, this research highlights the capacities that fashion is used by women when navigating global health crises. Through object-based research and archival study, this MRP reveals the breadth of dress changes and methods women used clothing, when adapting to, and enduring the traumatic environment of a global pandemic. This research demonstrates that the function of women's fashion during traumatic global pandemics has evolved both in utility and expression, and acts as a consistent tool for protection, mobility, and comfort.