Contemporary research has confirmed the close relationship between sartorial studies, history, visual culture and children’s literature and a growing number of studies have attempted to draw unseen parallels between clothing and fashions, as described in many popular children’s books and fairy tales. Some studies have underlined how a closer analysis of clothing and fashion can contribute to a deeper understanding of texts, their contexts, and their innovations, «even challenging, in some cases, traditional readings». 

Taking this perspective, this research project aims to answer the following research questions: is clothing relevant in children’s books and fairy tales? Why? Is there an established standard for dressing characters in children’s classic books? What is the relationship between dressing them and subsequent developments of the tale?

Keywords

clothing, fashion, fairy tales, sartorial studies, visual culture

Publications

Campagnaro, M. (2021). Clothing the Child in Red: A Historical and Comparative Analysis of Italian Visual Retellings of the Grimms’ “Little Red Riding Hood”, Strenæ, (18). https://doi.org/10.4000/strenae.6423

Campagnaro, M. (2018). Corone e berretti, drappi e mantelli, perle e fazzoletti. Per una nuova classificazione dell’accessoristica fiabesca fra storia, moda e infanzia. ZoneModa Journal, 8(2), 61-75. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0563/8664

Other resources