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PART I—Introduction and Close Reading
Select one garment or accessory from the wardrobe that you will be working on. Use the method of “reading” objects suggested by Valerie Steele in her article “A Museum of Fashion is More than a Clothes-Bag” (PDF available under assignments). Follow the three steps proposed by Steele:1. Description 2. Deduction 3. Speculation
Conduct additional research into the particular type of garment or accessory. Academic fields from which you might find this information include history, gender studies and marketing. You must consult at least 2 academic books and/or journals for this section. Steele’s article can be one of these sources.
PART 2—Critical Analysis and Conclusion
Conduct an interview with the owner of the wardrobe about their relationship to and/or understanding of their clothing and accessories. Analyze one societal or psychological issue raised in the interview in this section. This could be an exploration of gender, sexuality or body image etc. It could also be an exploration of branding, sustainability or consumer culture etc. Also explain how the garment/accessory from the close reading fits within this theme as well as the overall wardrobe. Is it typical? Unusual?
You should use quotations from your interview to help support your argument. In addition, consult at least 2 academic books and/or periodicals for this section of the assignment.
PART 3—Wardrobe Inventory
Statistically summarize the wardrobe by category. Use pie charts or graphs to illustrate this analysis. I also recommend using the statistical information from this section in your analysis of Part 1 and Part 2 to support your arguments. There should be at least 2 aspects to the wardrobe inventory:
1. How many of each garment type is in your wardrobe? Garment categories can include shirts, jeans, socks, etc. You can select the category types, but be as thorough as possible. You can estimate the underwear!
2. How were the garments acquired and what percentage was acquired in each way? Specifically, were garments purchased new or used; were they borrowed or gifted; or did owner create them?
Feel free to add additional categories where relevant.

PART 4—Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a list of selected sources on a particular subject. After each source is referenced, a brief summary of the source is provided. Annotated bibliographies are created is to help researchers remember the most important topics/arguments from a source as well as to help other researchers select the most useful sources for their research.
Each reference in your annotated bibliography must contain:
1. Full referencing of the selected source using APA style.
2. A short annotation paragraph (5-10 sentences). This includes a summary of the key
content/topics, a description of its format and style, and a critical evaluation of its relevance and value to your own project.
You must include a minimum of four sources (maximum of 6) from the following two categories in the following order (use subheadings please):
1. Two academic books: books published by a university (e.g., Yale University Press) or academic trade press (e.g., Berg Publishers). The course textbook, any other textbook or reference works (i.e., encyclopedia, dictionaries) do not count.
2. Two peer-reviewed academic journal articles: search reputable academic journals in fashion (e.g., Fashion Theory, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management). Use the Ryerson Library electronic journal database to locate these journals and then find specific articles on your topic. Newspaper or magazine articles do not count for this section. Your bibliography must follow the APA style of citations.
Final Pages:
A. Figures: These are clear photographs of the selected garment or accessory (and details of it if desired) as well as the overall wardrobe. The images should appear in the order that they are referred to in the first two sections. You may include relevant additional images provided you refer to them in the essay. Each photograph should be numbered and have a caption explaining it.
B. References: Include all sources consulted for your assignment in alphabetical order by author and in APA format (see guidelines for References on Owl Purdue website).
Assessment
You will be evaluated based on:
• Thoroughness of your object analysis.
• Relevance of the approach that you take to your critical analysis.
• Originality and depth of your research.
• Coherence of your argument.
• Content and form of the assignment.
