Affiliation with the Past : Narrating Identity Through Neo-Edwardian Style in Digital Era

Abstract: The focus of this study is on the contemporary phenomenon of the adaptation the motifs of the European turn-of-the-century fashion – Edwardian fashion (1901-1910) – to daily or a near-daily sartorial practice, defined by the author as neo-Edwardian style. On the premises of ethnographic study, this thesis explores how people transform and embody their identities through garments by living images and motifs of ‘past’ to negotiate the meanings of their clothing, appearances and personalities in the present. There is a scarcity in academic studies on the subject of styles inspired by historical fashion and in particular the neo-Edwardian style as a form of identity formation and representation. By applying a multi-methodological approach, including both historiographic and ethnographic research, the thesis strives to define the role of the neo-Edwardian style as an embodied sartorial practice and motives for its adaptation in the 21st century. The findings show that the neo-Edwardian style serves as an alternative style choice, reflecting an individual taste and should be understood as a visible marker of identity narrative and connected to the sense of ‘true self’ expressed in the personal style.