The pivotal positioning of wardrobes as a fulcrum for clothing movement

'This paper develops a reading of the wardrobe which emphasises the wardrobe’s location within the consumption practices of tidying, sorting and the displacement of clothing. Its emphasis is on the circulation of clothing matter and the transience of clothing consumption, not – as recent accounts have stressed – the accumulation, collection and wearing of clothing. Using primarily the example of maternity wear, the paper outlines how clothing circulates amongst and between women (between siblings, between friends and amongst neighbours and acquaintances) and accounts for this practice. It argues that maternity wear circulation is both an embodied divestment/recovery ritual and about the making of mothers, through its appeal to thrift, sacrifice and making-do. The paper concludes by reflecting on the significance of the absence of maternity wear from women’s wardrobes and by suggesting that wardrobes need to be thought of not just as containers of memory, but as temporary holding places in the lives of clothes, and as pivotally positioned as a fulcrum for clothing movement, between wearing, storage and displacement'

- Abstract of ‘Wardrobe matter: the sorting, displacement and circulation of women’s clothing’, a paper by Nicky Gregson and Vikki Beale, Geography Department, University of Sheffield, Elsevier Geoforum websitw (quoted in Private Eye)