The Costume Society’s latest journal edition is now out!

27 September 2026, by Suzanna Hall

In this week's blog post, we are introduced to the new issue of Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society. Society members will soon be receiving their print copies, while access to all editions past and present is also available for members to access digitally.

This issue contains varied contributions, which share cross-cutting themes of transnational fashion processes, and the interplay between high fashion and the wearers and consumers of fashion:

‘A Marie-Antoinette Fichu’: Fashion and Fancy Dress in Victorian Britain by Susan North

The clothing worn by Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France (1755–1793), had considerable influence on Victorian Britain. It inspired contemporary fashions in the 1860s and 1880s and provided popular styles of fancy dress, both linked by the same accessory, the fichu. This article examines the very different contexts for these phenomena, relating to the influence of the French Empress Eugénie, contemporary history painting, theatre and tableaux vivants, underlying political concerns and Victorian sentimentality. These offer insight into the reputation of Marie-Antoinette in nineteenth-century Britain, very different to narratives about her in following centuries.

‘Must appear on duty clean and neat’: Personal and Sartorial Experiences of Uniform by British Railway Workers 1890–c. 1910 by Anthony Leslie Dawson

This article examines the uniform and occupational clothing provided to railway workers, and their experience of it, in Britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It does so from study of the minutes from stores and traffic committees generated by railway companies, as well as correspondence published by railway trade union journals. It demonstrates that British railway companies did not design their uniforms; they were supplied by outside clothing contractors invariably for the lowest price and little thought was placed on their design in terms of comfort and functionality. Where changes to uniform clothing were made, such as provision of summer uniforms, and some consideration was made toward staff comfort, the overriding factor was the cost-saving such garments presented to the company. The low quality of these garments meant they were not welcomed by their wearers due to their poor fit and lack of practicality, which resulted in low morale. Finally, it also demonstrates that even junior grade railway employees were aware of male fashion and the importance of their sartorial appearance, showing that the working class was increasingly fashion-conscious moving into the twentieth century and challenged boundaries between uniformity and individuality.

Artificial Flowers on Fashion Accessories: Barcelona in 1900 by Núria Aragonès Riu and Fàtima López Pérez

This article provides the first systematic examination of artificial flower production and application in fashion accessories in Barcelona during the Modernisme period (1888–1914). Drawing on commercial directories, instructional manuals, fashion periodicals and preserved objects from Barcelona museum collections, the study addresses three interconnected areas: training and skills transmission, factory and workshop production, and material output as applied to hats and fans. The research reveals artificial flower-making as an essentially female economic activity, identifying female proprietors who headed workshops whilst acknowledging an anonymous workforce that remains largely undocumented. The article contributes to the historiography of European luxury trades by demonstrating how Barcelona developed autonomous production whilst maintaining cultural and technical dependencies on Paris, functioning as a regional hub within transnational networks of fashion circulation. Additionally, the study provides the first inventory of fragile artificial flower accessories preserved in Barcelona museums, establishing methodological foundations for future interdisciplinary research relevant to art and fashion history, economic history and gender studies.

Victor Stiebel, the ‘Quintessentially English Designer’, in Mid-Twentieth Century North America by Ingrid E. Mida

From his debut in 1932 until his retirement in 1963, the name of Victor Stiebel, a London-based, South-African born designer of couture, appeared often in the fashion press and his elegant, tailored suits and romantic evening wear were much admired. Since then, Stiebel’s name has fallen into obscurity and there are relatively few extant garments in institutional collections. Two tailored wool suits with Victor Stiebel’s label donated to a Toronto college study collection inspired this research to consider how the donor may have come to know of Stiebel and acquire the suits, and also more accurately date the suits. Embracing a combination of object-based research and a survey of material published in North American newspapers and fashion magazines, this study establishes that Stiebel’s name was acclaimed in North America during his lifetime, offers a more precise dating for the suits based on the original design sketches, and reflects upon the challenges of object-based research.

In this issue we include obituaries for two key figures of both the Costume Society and the museum world, Naomi Tarrant and June Swann. We are very grateful to the many people who contributed to the memories of these two women, whose great scholarship and camaraderie will be much missed.

The issue also contains the list of recent books compiled by Angelene Wong, a range of reviews of recently published books from across the field of dress history, and information about the Costume Society grants and awards for this year.

Costume Society members receive a physical copy of Costume at every publication, and also have digital access to past and present editions. Find out more about becoming a member here.