A sartorial biography can be seen as visual wardrobe research or an exploration of the self through different timelines. This way fashion can be examined as a translating vehicle and an evolving narrative of the self. The observations of different timelines do not necessarily resonate in a chronological order, but as a collective whole, as a combination of memories, creating new meanings and interpretations.
Different expressions of the self reflect on the constant movement of time, leaving no space for the presence of stillness. These various visual translations, embody the characters of each era and resonate with the nature of the environment and personal experience. No person is able to stand still in a world that is structured with the concept of time, which continually moves and expands. It can be possible to repeat the same movement, over and over again, but each era vibrates its own frequencies, which are visually captured in the fashion. Such events as, discovering your mothers old fashion treasures or experiencing your five year old clothes cool again, mirrors a movement that has already been experienced. This encaptures a journey to ones past, evoking a moment that needs to be relived once more. The season that has been long buried is being dug up again.
A sartorial biography echoes ones life with all of its affairs. The family traditions, the culture, the personal beliefs and the social history, are all aspects that influence the identity and the image of the self. Different aspects of life resonate in the clothing that one has in their wardrobe. Because a visual identity portrays information of ones environment and experiences, with the research of a sartorial biography it can be possible to explore a deeper level of understanding about ones character.
The image above is scanned from the book, My Mom STYLE ICON, Chronicle Books, by Piper Weiss.