Symposium on Historical Dress

November 5-7, 2026

The 2026 Symposium on Historical Dress will look at new research and discoveries in historical clothing and accessories, exploring the stories of objects, their makers, and those who wore them, as well as the processes each step along the way. This symposium will examine the tailor’s trade, including its history, people, processes and products in the broad Atlantic World during the early modern era.   

Call For Papers 

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Development of the tailor’s trade, with a focus on pre-1840 topics.
• Primary source object studies of garments made by tailors.
• Exploration of tools employed by the trade.
• Sources and forces of change in tailoring practices.
• History of labor practices, guilds, combinations and unions.
• Development of drafting systems.
• Garments made by tailors for women.
• Women as practitioners and customers of the trade.
• Regional and cultural variations in tailors’ work and practices.
• Tailoring as seen in African American, Native American and non-Western communities.
• Reproduction or recreation of historic garments as a form of learning.
• Collections and collectors of tailor-produced garments: men’s, boys’ and women’s.
• Personal narratives/biographies of historic tailors.
• Manuscript and archival research: account books, receipts, ephemera and books related to tailoring. 
• Literary and folktale depictions of the tailor’s trade.

Abstract Submission Format:

• 500 words excluding footnotes, one image allowed, must have permission to publish.
• 12-point Times New Roman font.
• Double-spaced with single-spaced footnotes.
• Abstract should be sent in .docx format.
• Include “2026: Historic Dress Symposium Abstract” in the subject line of your email.
• Presenters of accepted papers will be contacted no later than January 15, 2026.

Email submissions to Neal Hurst, [email protected] and Tessa Payer, [email protected].

Due date: October 15, 2025

Those with accepted presenters will receive one complimentary registration to the main conference as well as virtual access to view lectures for up to a month after the conference. Additional workshops, optional dinners and travel accommodations are not included.