45

FSPC 1 (1) pp. 4555 Intellect Limited 2014

Fashion, Style & Popular Culture
Volume 1 Number 1
2014 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/fspc.1.1.45_1
Keywords
abaya
veil
hijab
covering
Muslim
Middle Eastern dress
couture
designer
Christina LindhoLm
Virginia Commonwealth University
Cultural collision:
the branded abaya
abstraCt
Conservative Muslim women from the Arabian Gulf region typically wear an all-
covering black robe and headscarf, the abaya and shayla. These garments adhere
to the Qura
-
nic directive to dress modestly and to avoid attracting attention from
male strangers. With the enormous profits from oil and natural gas, many Muslim
women have engaged in personal expressions of wealth and status through dress for
decades, wearing haute couture beneath their abayas. As the region modernizes with
education and careers for women, the desire for self-expression has spread to their
outer garments and these opportunities have been seized by both regional designers
and international couturiers. This article discusses the rise of the branded abaya.
Few issues in Islam and Muslim culture have attracted more interest and
yet proven so susceptible to stereotyping as issues involving women.
(Esposito 1998: xi)
Designer logos and branded clothing are a recognizable and popular sight in
Europe and America. Their status-giving appeal is now spreading to ethnic
forms of dress in several parts of the world including the Middle East, where
traditional styles have remained little changed for decades, if not centuries.
With increased global interaction through travel and international mass
media, these garments are undergoing external influences and moderniza-
tion at many levels, including branding. To discuss the significance of branded
Middle Eastern dress, it is imperative to understand the enormous differences
between these cultures and Europe and America.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 45 8/30/13 6:05:23 PM
Christina Lindholm
46
The Middle Eastern cultural traditions that expect or require Muslim women
to wear a covering and a concealing dress is a mystery to many westerners.
The origins and history are not understood, nor are the cultural reasons for its
continuation. Significant confusion revolves around the unfamiliar terminology
of hijab, abaya, chador and burqa, to name only a few. The term veiling is politi-
cally loaded and has created issues from news articles to governmental inter-
vention; yet, even the basic term veil itself is not well defined. In various
locations it is a headscarf, a facial cover or a robe concealing the entire body.
Most Muslims who cover or veil cite the Qura
-
n verse Sura XXlV:31:
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to
display of their ornament only that which is apparent, and to draw their
veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their
own husbands or fathers or husbands fathers, or their sons or their
husbands sons, or their brothers or their brothers sons or sisters sons,
or their women, or their slave, or their male attendants who lack vigor, or
children who [know?] naught of womens nakedness. And let them not
stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And
turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.
(Pickthall 1976)
Thus, women are admonished to actively avoid attracting attention to them-
selves. In these conservative societies, women are carefully chaperoned, most
marriages are still arranged, often to a cousin, and unrelated men and women
simply do not socialize together. They do not date, live together or engage
in any activity that might bring shame or dishonour to their families. While
seemingly restrictive by twenty-first century western standards, these behav-
iours are not so very far removed from arranged marriages in Europe and
America in the not so distant past.
Muslim Arab women in the Arabian Gulf region address this directive to
be modest and deflect male attention by wearing their ubiquitous all-covering
black robes and headscarves. These garments, the abaya and the shayla, are
a modern reinvention of a centuries-old style, the ras (meaning head) abaya,
an open square cloak worn atop the crown of the head and cascading down
each side of the wearers face, covering the body. It was held closed by hand
and often worn with a mask. In Muslim countries where women were usually
secluded in the home, abayas allowed a woman to appear in public without
concern about unwanted attention from male strangers. The abaya protected
a womans privacy and modesty and her familys honour. It signaled that the
wearer was an observant Muslim and there was a tacit cultural agreement that
men would accord abaya-clad women respect and distance.
Women have worn concealing clothing since biblical times. According to
Noor Al-Qasimi (2010: 47) the abaya originated in the eastern region of what
is now Saudi Arabia.
Everyday ras abayas were made from either cotton or wool, with the rare
special occasion abayas made from silk. These abayas often included embroi-
dery around the front openings and down the front edges using gold wrapped
(zari) thread. Najla Al-Wahabi (2003: 40) states this changed during the 1950s
and 1960s [when] increased trade led to an influx of synthetic silk fabric,
mainly from France and Japan. The ras abayas were and continue to be a
simple garment made from a rectangle of cloth that has the cut ends folded,
nearly meeting at centre front and stitched along the selvedge edges to form a
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 46 8/30/13 6:05:23 PM
Cultural collision
47
1. Market or shopping
area.
shoulder seam. If needed, the abaya could be shortened by adding a horizon-
tal pleat at the hip line. Conversely, a longer abaya would feature a horizontal
seam at the hip, joining two lengths of cloth. Small tailor shops existed in the
larger town souqs
1
to make and sell abayas, while women living in the smaller
villages obtained ready-made abayas from itinerant abaya sellers.
Interaction between the Arabian Gulf nations and Europe and America esca-
lated rapidly after World War II. Oil revenues launched several of these nations
to almost immediate and enormous wealth and led to the adoption of many
western practices. Education and international travel became far more attainable
and popular for citizens of the Middle East. Beginning in the 1950s, traditional
Middle Eastern dress was quickly discarded in favour of Euro-American fashion
by both men and women who were eager to express their wealth and status.
In Makers, buyers and users, Ann Smart Martin (1993: 141) noted that the
late 1980s promoted acquisition as a tool of economic growth and unrestrained
consumption as the just rewards of those who had risen to the economic and
political elite. With control of the valuable oil market, the Arabian Gulf coun-
tries were not restrained about becoming major consumers of western goods,
especially fashionable dress. Mai Yamani (1997: 55) argues that women in Saudi
Arabia were particularly encouraged by the Saudi Government to adopt Euro-
American fashion as a vehicle for promoting evidence of national modernity
and sophistication. It had the added benefit of erasing any lingering tribal iden-
tity. Arabia, as a single nation under one ruler, had only emerged in the 1930s,
and tribal loyalties to city-states were still stronger than national loyalties. By
adopting western fashion, tribal affiliations were not as easily discernable and
therefore less likely to contribute to a potential political coup.
This era of conspicuous consumption of Euro-American dress in the Middle
East was somewhat short, lasting roughly from the 1950s to the 1980s. Education
and employment allowed Muslim women a voice and many began using that
voice to demand equal rights. Faced with cultural blurring, diminished control
over women and the possibility of humiliation should the women do anything to
damage the family honour, many Muslims embraced a more traditional, conserv-
ative form of Islam. Mary Morris (1997: 158) identified these concerns as the basis
for Islamism and stated The erosion of tradition has also led to uncertainty and
anxiety, fear of losing cultural identity, and a resurgence of basic fundamentalist
principles. This wave of conservative Islam began in Egypt in the 1970s (Ahmed
1992) and made its way across the region. The main premise of the movement
was a rejection of western secularization and a return to a more fundamental,
religious way of life. Muslims embracing this ideology feel that corrupt western
ways have no place in the Muslim world. They advocate Sharia/Islamic law and
the belief that Islam should guide social and political as well as personal life
(Berman 2003: 258). As a result of this trend, by the 1990s, most women in Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were once again wearing
the abaya to express a culturally motivated religiosity. Although young women
started the conservative Muslim dress movement in Egypt, it is not clear who was
instrumental in the readoption of the abaya in the Arabian Gulf states.
The abaya that appeared in the 1990s features significant differences
from the traditional ras abaya. It is a closed gown, worn over another set
of completely concealed clothing. It is usually a lightweight, silky cloth of
polyester or nylon and it rests upon the shoulders rather than the head. A
woman then covers her head with the shayla, an 182' rectangular scarf that
is wrapped around, covering her hair, ears and neck. The abaya and shayla
may be paired with some type of translucent veil that covers the face partially
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 47 8/30/13 6:05:24 PM
Christina Lindholm
48
or completely. These garments may render a woman completely anonymous,
and are thought to adhere to the Qura
-
nic directive for modesty. This reli-
giously imposed modesty serves as a control to prevent fitna, the social chaos
that Muslims believe will occur when unrelated men and women mingle, and
bring shame and dishonour on the womans family.
Since their reappearance, abayas are primarily made to measure by a tailor.
The basic abaya is a simple garment opening with either a shallow neck slit so
that it can be pulled on over the head or opening all the way down centre front
and fastened closed with snaps. The fabric is always black and usually of a silky
synthetic cloth. The simplest style has the sleeves cut in one with the body
and the edges finished with black soutache braid. Abaya tailors abound in the
Middle East and are often clustered in the same location with tailors usually
males from Nepal or India. Being non-tribal members, tailors are not potential
marriage partners; thus, Muslim women are allowed to interact with them.
Abayas began to feature subtle embellishment in the late 1990s. Black
embroidery, appliques and other types of discrete decoration appeared and
quickly evolved to more noticeable ornamentation including coloured beads,
sequins and lace (Figure 1). Even the basic silhouettes changed to afford a
wide range of choices and new collections appeared twice a year.
2

Figure 1: Embellished abaya, 2007, Doha, Qatar. Photo: Laurence Koltys.
2. Interviews conducted
in Doha Qatar by
author, November 2008.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 48 8/30/13 6:05:25 PM
Cultural collision
49
The abaya has thus changed from a plain, utilitarian garment to a fashion
object, joining the western fashion industry cycle of seasonal offerings and
new trends. Abaya shops are now showrooms with racks upon racks of all the
latest fashion styles. Customers may choose to copy an existing display model
or work with the tailor to develop a garment that expresses their personal pref-
erences. Not all custom-made abayas meet consumer expectations, although
designs that are beautiful on paper or in the imagination may not prove to be
flattering. As women in Qatar confirmed during interviews, some abayas are
only worn once or twice before being donated to charity. Fashion has become
an important symbol of status and modernity in the Middle East and wear-
ing old, unflattering or dated abayas engenders the same disdain as similar
awkward taste does in the West. Marjorie Kelly (2010: 215) explains that a
woman dresses to impress in the knowledge that one will be scrutinized by
ones peers and any dress code violations will be widely noted.
In Brand.New, Jane Pavitt (2000) confirms the concept that identifiable
goods are consumed for a variety of reasons, with status being one of the
primary motivators. She writes the product is promoted as a sign of me a
signal to others of our status, aspiration or personal values (Pavitt 2000: 16).
Several Middle Eastern companies have been established in response to this
demand for more elaborate and status-giving branded abayas. The obvious
contradiction here is that while made to measure abayas are one of a kind
and unique, branded goods are more desirable. Unlike the tailor system,
where everything is made to exact individual specifications and a customer
can order precisely what she wants, these business concerns offer collections
of designer ready-made abayas and matching shaylas to a middle- and upper-
class clientele. Although garments are made to order, stylistic changes are not
accepted and the only adjustments allowed are for fit. They are generally more
costly than a tailored abaya and the shops are luxurious showrooms located in
the modern malls that are springing up all over the Arabian Gulf region.
Al-Motahajiba was one of the first branded abaya businesses, opening in
1982 with a small tailor shop in Doha, Qatar. It now has 36 stores in the Middle
East and employs approximately 1000 people, including designers, tailors and
retail clerks. All designs are produced in-house by a team of professionals
from India, the Philippines and the Arabian Gulf. An Al-Motahajiba shop is
spacious and elegant and offers samples to try on. Selections are made and
the order is placed. Dary is a subsidiary of Al-Motahajiba aimed at a younger
clientele. Like the parent company, Dary produces ready-made abayas and
matching shaylas. Their logo is a discrete D in small rhinestones (Figure 2).
The price points are slightly less and the styles are slightly more trendy. The
parent company reports an annual sales volume of above US$100 million.
3
Numerous abaya designers have emerged since the turn of the twenty-
first century. Most of these are women who actively promote their work by
participating in fashion shows and Fashion Weeks around the Arabian Gulf
region. Further promotion occurs on their websites and on Haute Muslimah
and Hijabtrendz, blogs devoted to abaya fashion and aimed at Muslim women.
Images from the latest fashion shows are posted and transmitted globally,
thus communicating the lure and prestige of the brands.
Dutch-born and French-trained Judith Duriez opened Arabesque in the
UAE in 2001. After attending the prestigious Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale
de la Haute Couture de Paris, Duriez apprenticed at Chanel and worked in
the Paris couture industry for ten years. Duriez moved to the UAE and offers
bespoke tailoring and genuine haute couture design.
4
Rabia Zargarpur also
3. http://www.alibaba.
com/member/
qa108039561.html.
Accessed 19 February
2012.
4. http://www.
arabesque-hc.com/
designer.swf. Accessed
19 February 2012.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 49 8/30/13 6:05:25 PM
Christina Lindholm
50
works in the UAE. Educated in the United States at the Fashion Institute of
Technology, her debut collection of Rabia Z earned her the 2007 Emerging
Designer Award at the Dubai Fashion Week. In 2008, she was the first
winner of the International Young Fashion Entrepreneur and in 2009 she
garnered a position on the Arabian Business News 100 Most Powerful Arab
Personalities.
At the other end of the spectrum are the self-taught designers. Amina
Al-Jassim is a Saudi Arabian fashion designer who began designing jalabiyas
5

in 1984 under the label Dar Breesam Couture. She adapted her business to
focus on abayas when the trend for jalabiyas declined as women adopted
Euro-American fashion, and was the first designer to offer a fashion show
on live models in Saudi Arabia. This occurred in her home as fashion shows
are banned in that country (Wahab 2009). Omani Nawal Al Hooti also lacks
formal training, but is earning a reputation for beautiful garments with tradi-
tional Omani influences (Dahle 2011).
Several other designers are producing abayas for an international market.
Emirati sisters Hind and Reem Beljafla offer the D.A.S. collection at Harrods
in London. They are London trained in Interior Design and Fashion Design,
respectively. The sisters work with a couture clientele to create abayas that
coordinate with their Chanel, Dior or Hermes heels, because they will be
wearing the abaya in public where they cannot show a dress that would match
with their accessories (Newzglobe 2010).
The emergence of decorative abayas has not been lost on the ever-re-
sourceful international haute couture industry. In 2008 British couturier Bruce
Oldfield designed a black silk taffeta abaya encrusted with $365,000 worth of
diamonds. The garment was featured at the Saudi Gulf Luxury Trade Fair,
which was held in London to help boost British exports. He stipulated that a
percentage of the proceeds go towards benefiting Palestinian children. While
Figure 2: Rhinestone logo of Dary, 2008, Doha, Qatar. Photo: Richard Harris
Photography.
5. Jalabiyas are the
traditional loose gowns
worn indoors or under
the abaya. They are
similar to caftans.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 50 8/30/13 6:05:25 PM
Cultural collision
51
he did not find the experience easy, stating the most difficult challenge for me
was to create a garment which did not follow the natural curves of a womans
shape, he is receptive to the concept of abaya design, saying I have enough
clients in the Middle East and if they ask me for them Id be happy to give
it a go (Walker 2008). This widely publicized abaya garnered international
fashion industry news and alerted the haute couture industry to a potentially
lucrative new market. While undoubtedly many Arabian Gulf women were
already couture clients, the possibility of bespoke abayas opened additional
revenue streams.
As Emiratis or women of the Gulf we are brand crazy, thats something
everyone knows about us! stated Badr al-Budoor at the Paris debut of a
collection of haute couture abayas (Radsch 2009). In June 2009, the Saks Fifth
Avenue store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, arranged a fashion show of luxurious
and extravagant abayas at the Hotel George V Hotel in Paris. Participants
included John Galliano, Carolina Herrera, Jean Claude Jitrois, Nina Ricci,
Alberta Ferretti and Blumarine. At the fashion show, Dania Tarhini, the
Lebanese General Manager of Saks Fifth Avenue, Saudi Arabia, told Agence-
France Presse: I realized that women in Saudi Arabia wear designer brands
but have to cover up with a black abaya. I wanted them to be able to wear
it with pleasure, not just as an obligation (Radsch 2009). The show was a
smashing success, with the Riyadh Saks Fifth Avenue presenting the couture
abayas to their best customers. These abayas were made from luxurious fabrics
and featured heavy gold embroidery, beading, crystals, appliques and fine
lace. Beginning Fall 2009, these internationally branded abayas became avail-
able in the Riyadh store.
Pavitt (2000: 16) explored the increasingly global obsession with branded
goods. She states From cornflakes to cars, our daily lives are increasingly
dominated by branded goods and brand names; the brand is the prefix, the
qualifier of character. Thus, Pavitt professes that branded goods are marketed
in such a way as to enable the consumer to relate their personal attributes
and desires through using the branded object. She comments Goods and
their messages contributed to the establishment of popular concepts of self-
identity and individualism (Pavitt 2000: 30). This resonates with the wealthy
Middle Easterners as they seek to establish themselves as individuals, apart
from their historically strong tribal identity. Pavitt (2000: 38), and the essays
by other contributors in Brand.New, explain how the evolution of brand
messages provide an assurance of quality and makes use of already estab-
lished codes of status, desire, fear and need. In this manner, consumers are
lured by brands that promise, through their glamorous advertising and pack-
aging, access to romance, social success and/or a desirable lifestyle through
their consumption.
Included in Brand.New is an essay by Paola Antonelli, Curator of the
Design Department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She states
Among all the promises that brands make to consumers, the signature of
the designer is seen as a particular mark of distinction, hence the endless use
of initials as brand logos, for example. This distinction sets the consumer apart
through her personal choices and confirms wealth, status and superiority of
taste. According to Antonelli (2000: 52), Signature and editioned goods are
promoted as an alternative to the mass-market, by inference, in contrast to
lower class and undesirable mass common goods, which do not carry these
status-giving signature logos. Thus, designer and branded goods reflect not
only high levels of income and good taste but also exclusivity and identity
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 51 8/30/13 6:05:25 PM
Christina Lindholm
52
with a rarified wealthy socially elite upper class. Couture abayas thus indicate
that Middle Eastern traditions are valued and worthy of the couturiers efforts.
Pavitt (2000: 80) adds In a world in which we increasingly form opinions of
others based on what we buy, [] in many cases brands today offer us a reas-
surance that what we purchase will be accepted by others.
The entire issue of couture abayas denotes a significant change in the atti-
tudes of the Paris couture industry towards the Middle East and of Middle
Eastern women regarding fashion and style. In decades past, wealthy Middle
Eastern women travelled to Paris to purchase high-end European fashion
to wear under their abayas. Since 2008, the couturiers seem to be willing to
design abayas and Middle Eastern women are evidently willing to wear them.
This marks a major and significant shift in attitudes towards status,
Figure 3: Counterfeit Burberry, 2008, Doha, Qatar. Photo: Richard Harris
Photography.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 52 8/30/13 6:05:26 PM
Cultural collision
53
cross-cultural design, making and consumption. Lou Taylor (2000: 123)
explained in her article The Hilfiger factor and the flexible commercial world
of couture that the usual attitude of the haute couture industry from the
1890s onward was couture clients will be found and then educated into
the specific consumption etiquettes of the trade. Now, some commercially
astute designers and companies realize that they are neglecting a potential,
wealthy market segment. With shrinking consumer bases and couture houses
ever more dependent on their ready-to-wear lines, accessory and signature
perfumes, creating an entirely new luxury product couture abayas for their
wealthy Middle Eastern clientele presents a heretofore untapped and lucra-
tive market.
Middle Eastern women are as deeply vulnerable to designer brand logos
as all fashionable women are because of the status and international fashion
modernity they imply. Along with the desirability of brands and recognizable
logos comes the inevitable knock-off. Copyright laws are not well enforced
in the Middle East for fashion items; thus, it is not uncommon to see familiar
European designer trademarks in use on unlikely items. The Figure 3 Burberry
plaid accented abaya was of a middle- to low-quality cloth and the abaya was
inexpensive, ensuring that it was not an authentic Burberry product. Similarly,
Figure 4 shows a large pink sequined Christian Dior logo found on the back of
an abaya in a tiny tailors shop in Qatar.
Irrespective of the origin of an ornate or a branded abaya, the underlying
issue of attracting versus deflecting attention has caused consternation among
conservative Muslims. Clearly, logos are meant to advertise sophistication,
wealth, social status and are designed to be seen. This is in direct opposi-
tion to the main intent of the abaya that is to deflect attention. Despite being
decried by various clerics, it is unlikely that the status-conferring branded
abaya will disappear any time soon.
Figure 4: Counterfeit rhinestone Christian Dior logo, 2008, Doha, Qatar.
Photo: author.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 53 8/30/13 6:05:27 PM
Christina Lindholm
54
referenCes
Ahmed, Leila (1992), Women, Gender and Islam, New Haven: Yale University
Press.
Al-Qasimi, Noor (2010), Immodest modesty: Accommodating dissent and
the Abaya-as-Fashion in the Arab Gulf states, Journal of Middle East
Womens Studies, 6: 1, pp. 4675.
Al-Wahabi, Najla (2003), Qatari Costume, London, The Islamic Art Society.
Antonelli, Paola (2000), Signature value, in Pavitt, Jane (ed.), Brand.New,
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Berman, Sheri (2003), Islamism, revolution, and civil society, perspectives on
politics, American Political Science Association, 1: 2, pp. 25772.
Dahle, Stephanie (2011), Middle Easts fashion week, Forbes.com, 1 March.
Esposito, John (1998), Women in Islam and Muslim societies, Islam, Gender,
and Social Change, Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck and John L. Esposito (eds),
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. ixxxviii.
Kelly, Marjorie (2010), Clothes, culture and context: Female dress in Kuwait,
Fashion Theory, 14: 2, pp. 21536.
Martin, Ann Smart (1993), Makers, buyers and users: Consumerism as a
material culture framework, Winterthur Portfolio, 28: 3, pp. 14157.
Morris, Mary (1997), What do women want? Gender and politics in the
Middle East, Middle East Policy, 5: 3, pp. 15590.
Newzglobe.com (2010), Abaya couture at Harrods, 15 July. Accessed
31 August 2010. http://www.arabesque-hc.com/designer.swf. Accessed
19 February 2012. http://www.alibaba.com/member/qa108039561.html.
Accessed 19 February 2012.
Pavitt, Jane (ed.) (2000), Brand.New, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Pickthall, Marmaduke (trans.) (1976), The Glorious Koran, Albany: State
University of New York.
Radsch, Courtney (2009), Abayas get glam revamp from designers in Paris,
Al Arabiya, 28 June.
Taylor, Lou (2000), The Hilfiger factor and the fexible commercial world of
couture, in Nicola White and Ian Griffiths (eds), The Fashion Business;
Theory, Practice, Image, Oxford: Berg.
Wahab, Siraj (2009), Amina Al-Jassim: Passion for fashion, Arabnews.com,
3 June.
Walker,Tim (2008), Princess Diana designer Bruce Oldfield creates red carpet
abaya, The Telegraph, 14 August.
Yamani, Mai (1997), Changing the habits of a lifetime: The adaptation of
Hejazi dress to the new social order, in Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper and
Bruce Ingham (eds), Languages of Dress in the Middle East, Richmond:
Curzon, pp. 5566.
suggested Citation
Lindholm, C. (2014), Cultural collision: The branded abaya, Fashion, Style &
Popular Culture 1: 1, pp. 4555, doi: 10.1386/fspc.1.1.45_1
Contributor detaiLs
Christina Lindholm has served since 2008 as the Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Studies for the 3000 VCUarts students. This follows a five-year
position as Dean of the VCU Qatar campus, where she managed the transition
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 54 8/30/13 6:05:27 PM
Cultural collision
55
from a sponsored programme to the first official off-shore branch campus of
an American university, and seven years as Chair of the Fashion Department
at VCU. Lindholm earned her Ph.D. at the University of Brighton, and a B.S.
and M.S. at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her area of research is the
dress of the Middle East. She is a member of several professional organizations
including the Textile Society of America, the Popular Culture Association and
the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Among her publications are articles in the
Berg Encyclopedia of World Fashion (2010), the third edition (2002) of Dictionary
of American History (Charles Scribners Sons) and the second edition (2002)
of The St. James Fashion Encyclopedia (Visible Ink Press). She has served as a
consultant to many companies, including Proctor and Gamble, DuPont, Play,
Timberland and Olivvi.
Contact: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, 325
N. Harrison St., Richmond, VA 23284-2519, USA.
E-mail: clindholm@vcu.edu
Christina Lindholm has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that
was submitted to Intellect Ltd.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 55 8/30/13 6:05:27 PM
ease [o us Chicac, tL /: 1o1_, zc1; o: he Naoa Coe:ece We w be say a he
Marrott Chcao 0owntown Manhcent Mle The C///C/ s hhy :ea:oeo he acaoemy wh
we ove: _,ccc acaoemc o:a :eseaos ve e:aoay, wo oe: [ou:as ,he ;outna|
o ^met|can cu|tute ao ;outna| o |opu|at cu|tute}, ao ove: _,ccc membe:s Ths yea:'s Chcao
coe:ece shouo be exc wh ae:s o a eo:mous a::ay o sub[ecs The oeaoe o: oe
abs:ac :oosa o ae:s w be i Ncvember zoi ease oo o ema you: abs:ac o a /:ea
Cha:, submssos ca oy be submeo va C/ zc h//ccaacao:/ /ou w seec a Sub[ec
/:ea, ae: ha ee: you: :oosa's e, abs:ac o o mo:e ha z_c wo:os ao a sho: _cwo:o bo
,ease :evew you: ame, uve:sy, abs:ac e ao abs:ac o: se ao :amma:}
Submit cnIy cne prcpcsaI tc cne area /ou may o subm he same :oosa o mue a:eas
Key bates:
1 Nov zc1_ Deaoe o: abs:ac :oosas
1_ Nov zc1_

Deaoe o: T:ave C:a acaos

1_ Dec zc1_ 'La:y B:o' :es:ao oeaoe
1_ }a zc1; Las oay o :ese: o: he coe:ece ao :ema he :o:amme
1 eb zc1; :ema:y scheoue ubsheo oe
fashicn, StyIe, Appearance, Ccnsumpticn & besin s coce:eo wh a a:eas ao asecs o sye,
asho, coh, oes, ao :eaeo :eos, as we as aea:aces ao cosumo us ao/o:
cuo hso:ca sou:ces, mauacu:, aeshecs, ma:ke, b:ao, me:chaos, :ea
, sychooca/ socooca asecs o o:ess, booy mae, ao cuu:a oees, aooo o ay
a:eas :ea o u:chas, sho, ao he mehoos cosume:s cos:uc oey
ae:s :om a mehoos ao osces a:e wecome' ovave ao ew :esea:ch, schoa:sh ao
c:eave wo:ks he a:eas o asho, oes, he booy ao cosume:sm a:e ecou:aeo'
/uho:s who a:e e:eseo shouo subm he: oscoe:ece ao :ew:e mausc:s o he
[ou:a |a:h|on, 5ty|e S |opu|at cu|tute ubsheo by eec o: ouesos ease ema :ca
Loo: }oseh acock a [hh__(o:exeeou |a:h|on, 5ty|e S |opu|at cu|tute s he :ee::eo [ou:a
o hs a:ea
/hoso 'cCeoo, CoCha:
ahosoomcceoo(o:exeeou

}oseh acock, , hD, CoCha: ao :esoeLec C///C/
[osehhhacock(o:exeeou
D:exe Uve:sy
Wesha Coee o 'eoa /:s ao Des
_1;1 Chesu S:ee
U:ba Cee: #11cC
haoeha, / 1_1c;
hoe z1_8__;__/ ,'cCeoo} o: o1c_o;ozcc ,acock}
AnnuaI PcpuIar CuIture Asscciaticn & American
CuIture Asscciaticn's (PCA/ACA)
fashicn, StyIe, Appearance, Ccnsumpticn & besin is seekin
paper prcpcsaIs fcr craI presentaticn at the annuaI ccnference.
FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 56 8/30/13 6:05:27 PM
16 19 April 2014 Spring Conference Chicago, IL (www.pcaaca.org)

FSPC_1.1_Lindholm_45-55.indd 56 9/12/13 9:06:22 PM