Dressing for the Viola: An Autoethnographic and Historical Exploration of Women’s Orchestral “Blacks”

Brayshaw, E

Dressing for the Viola: An Autoethnographic and Historical Exploration of Women’s Orchestral “Blacks”

Brayshaw, E

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Publisher:: The Association of Dress Historians
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: The Journal of Dress History, 2023, 7 Autumn, (2)
Issue Date:: 2023-11-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Brayshaw, E https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8549-0947
dc.date.accessioned	2023-10-10T23:49:36Z
dc.date.available	2023-10-10T23:49:36Z
dc.date.issued	2023-11-01
dc.identifier.citation	The Journal of Dress History, 2023, 7 Autumn, (2)
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172621
dc.description.abstract	This article explores the little-studied relationship between classical musicians and their “blacks”—the name given to the black dress typically worn by orchestra members and soloists in formal classical performance settings. A musician’s performance attire must allow them to make the continuous bodily movements required to perform often remarkably complicated repertoire while functioning as a quasi-performance costume that signals identity, professionalism, class, gender, and a sense of occasion. Rather than being a study of fashion history, this article is an autoethnographic historical study that examines the origins, embodiment, and cultural meanings of historical dresswear that have shaped how contemporary women dress to perform on the viola as part of a symphony orchestra.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	The Association of Dress Historians
dc.relation.ispartof	The Journal of Dress History
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Dressing for the Viola: An Autoethnographic and Historical Exploration of Women’s Orchestral “Blacks”
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	7 Autumn
utslib.location.activity	UK
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2023-10-10T23:49:36Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	In preparation
pubs.volume	7 Autumn
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

This article explores the little-studied relationship between classical musicians and their “blacks”—the name given to the black dress typically worn by orchestra members and soloists in formal classical performance settings. A musician’s performance attire must allow them to make the continuous bodily movements required to perform often remarkably complicated repertoire while functioning as a quasi-performance costume that signals identity, professionalism, class, gender, and a sense of occasion. Rather than being a study of fashion history, this article is an autoethnographic historical study that examines the origins, embodiment, and cultural meanings of historical dresswear that have shaped how contemporary women dress to perform on the viola as part of a symphony orchestra.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/172621