When Max Chandler-Mather rose to speak in question time, he was criticised for not wearing a tie. But Australian men have been going tie-less for decades.
No baggy shirts and trousers with expanding waistbands, singer Rihanna has chosen form fitting clothing that exposes rather than hides her pregnancy.
Abaca Press/Alamy
While men wrote about women “deforming” their bodies in corsets, there is very little writing from women themselves about what the experience was like.
Rachel Boddy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Billie Eilish received criticism for wearing an ‘oppressive’ corset on the cover of Vogue. But for centuries, the clothing gave women support in work, and in play.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison signals his allegiance to the Cronulla Sharks with his neckwear.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Ties do many things. Though they express identity, they can just as readily act as a ‘uniform’ for their wearers. And they give power to some, while taking it from others.
Melbourne office commuters circa 1940.
Ray Olson/Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd
The history of men’s workwear is clothed in ideas of masculinity, style and comfort. Reforms have happened following times of turmoil in the past and business attire may be due for another shake up.
Far from mere underwear, singlets have many cultural meanings. Once worn chiefly by shearers, laborers and soldiers, they have been embraced on dance floors and in the gym.
Shop workers wearing blouses in the Liverpool store at Marks and Spencer Ltd, 1909.
M&S Company Archive.
In the 1910, the ready-made blouse market was booming and Leicester’s knit giants tried their hand at manufacturing easy to launder, practical blouses.
From the bird masks of plague doctors and large voluminous skirts to hat pins and face masks, this video provides a quick tour through the history of protective fashion.