"Detective work is integral to fashion history research, yet very little has been written on how to go about it. Ingrid Mida and Alexandra Kim fill that gap in the bookshelf with The Dress Detective . A concise, well organized, and extremely accessible book that deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in fashion research." --Katy Werlin, The Fashion Historian " The Dress Detective is a smart, accessible text that provides a long-overdue methodology for examining clothing and accessories. This book is essential for new students, but its concise framework will also be useful to seasoned researchers. Diverse, thorough case studies demonstrate the combination of visual analysis, history, and theory that is crucial to fashion studies today." -- Colleen Hill, Associate Curator, The Museum at FIT, New York, USA "For the first time, The Dress Detective offers a clear and systematic framework for the object-based study of dress. Advocating a 'Slow Approach to Seeing', it arms readers with the tools to learn this important research skill while encouraging them through well-chosen case studies to measure their findings against inter-disciplinary and theoretical writing on fashion.

" -- Edwina Ehrman, Fashion Curator and Historian, UK "This is the book we have been waiting for without realizing it! The Dress Detective offers a rigorous and entirely accessible guide to examining and thinking about dress using objects as evidence. Case studies and checklists guide the reader - specialist and non-specialist alike - to explore and articulate garment construction, materials, design, alterations and the nuances of wear. I have no doubt it will become a seminal text." -- Amy de la Haye, Joint Director of the Centre for Fashion Curation, London College of Fashion, UK.