Call for Participants - PhD student @samanthabarker.bsky.social is recording oral histories of 1970s-1980s LGBTQ+ community memory related to fashion and clothing. For more details:
ljmuarchives.blog/2026/02/11/c...
#lgbt #lgbtq #history #archives #liverpoolhistory #fashion #oralhistory #archive
Woman stood in front of an oversized image of a newspaper article about the band Arctic Monkeys behind glass in a museum
Photograph of outfits worn by the Rolling Stones including a pink suit and a goat coat
Photographs of outfits worn by the band T-Rex including a suit with sequin stars and feather boa
Photograph of outfits worn by Dusty Springfield’s including a long blue dress with a sparkly decollage and a shorter pink dress covered in beading
Yesterday I went to the British Music Experience (one of the only museums in Liverpool I haven’t been to!) for their new Arctic Monkeys exhibition and found a wonderful amount of fashion history too! #arcticmonkeys #rollingstones #Trex #dustyspringfield
Thanks so much for you support! :)
A laptop, a coffee and a diary on a wooden table
I can’t think of a better work set than this! This morning’s reading is also very interesting, looking into how the suit makes the male body ‘impenetrable’, and the suit as a social suit of armour ✨
Forever one of my top four films!
New year resolutions: Read more, buy vintage.
Photograph of a coffee an a book with a photo of David Bowie on the page
Photo of a maroon leather diary with a gold bee on
Christmas gift highlights include a copy of “The Secret Public: A Queer History of Pop” by Jon Savage and a new diary that will keep me organised (and also new coffee to keep me writing!)
Thanks so much for sharing, I really appreciate it! :)
Photo of a dimly lit bar that shows a red chesterfield sofa and some dj decks behind it
Photo of a dj deck with a spinning record on it
Last night was my last northern soul night of the year and I ended up on the decks!
Northern Soul has become a real passion of mine this year and something that will definitely carry on into the new rear!
A poster with a title that says "Call For Participants." The poster states: Are you part of the LGBTQIA+ community and have vivid memories from the 1970s and 1980s? We invite you to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the community. We are looking for volunteers, aged 18 and older, to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the LGBTQIA+ community during the 1970s and 1980s. This study is open to: • Individuals who self-identify as queer or belong to the LGBTQIA+ community and were 18+ in the 1970s and 1980s. • Relatives or close associates of queer individuals from this era, are encouraged to join. You would be invited to participate in an interview session, either online or in-person. If you choose to come to one in person, they will be held in The Townsend Room, located in the Bishopsgate Institute (230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QH) or in public spaces such as coffee shops, public libraries, or LJMU classrooms. If you choose to take part virtually, you will be sent a secure link to a Microsoft Teams meeting which you can join from. Each session would take about two hours of your time. You would be asked to share your personal stories related to the tailored suit, and ideally, bring a photograph or meaningful clothing item, although this is not required. If you are interested and would like more information, please reach out to the investigator. There is no obligation to take part. You will receive a gift card as a thank you for your valuable contributions. Thank you!
Hello! I’m seeking volunteers to be interviewed for my PhD thesis on the cultural significance of the tailored suit within queer communities during the 1970s and 1980s. If you’re interested and would like more information, please contact me. Thank you, and feel free to share this with your networks!
Picture of a piece of paper titled APRIL ASHLEY NEW COLLECTION EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK
Selection of photographs on a table
Section of photographs on a table
Fashion drawings
Great to attend the first look event of the April Ashley collection at @ljmu-sca.bsky.social on Thursday! It was wonderful to see such rich visual and important material. Can’t wait to revisit this as part of my PhD project!
New blog post for the Unity Theatre Archive Project! Over the next year LJMU SCA will be working with the Unity Theatre to catalogue and digitise its archives. If you are interested in volunteering you can apply via the link in this blog. Closes Sunday 19th October.
ljmuarchives.blog/2025/10/14/i...
Black knee length tunic dress with silk shirt underneath. The green pattern at the bottom of the dress was done by Keith Haring.
Short black dress with four buttons on the bust and small white ruffles around the neckline.
Men’s navy blue tartan suit with gold buttons and matching flat cap hat.
Some images from my visit to the Vivienne Westwood exhibition in Liverpool, would highly recommend!
BBC Almost Grown Music & Culture Northern Soul 1990 - www.soul-source.co.uk/videosdirect...
Broadcast around 1990,
includes clips from previous BBC programmes - Something Else - Skelmersdale and Omnibus (1978)
#northernsoul #video #soulsource
Two Armani dresses, one blue and one orange
A close up of a light pint corset
Extreme close up of embroidery on a dress
1920s, flapper style dress in black with beading
Whilst on my holiday in Milan, I got to visit the Giorgio Armani Museum, and wow those dresses were dreamy! #fashion #museum #giorgioarmani #armani
Brown and white Tom Cat stood on grass
Brown and white Tom Cat stood on grass meowing
Unintentionally taken my cat’s LinkedIn headshots this morning
Collection of newspaper clippings on a table relating to fashion in the 20th century
Two boxes and a notebook on a table with a pencil in its spine
My third and final day in London took me to @lselibrary.bsky.social to visit their newspaper clipping collections on fashion, art and homosexual community publications. What a fascinating end to my first official archive trip of my PhD!
Collection of flies and a notebook (open) on a red table
The inside of the Bishopsgate institute. Lots of tables and chairs with pride flags
Day two has landed my in @bishopsgateinst.bsky.social which holds a wonderful collection of ephemera relating to queer lives, plus the friendly and helpful staff made it a real joy to visit!
@annaannawalsh.bsky.social knew it!
A leather jacket with badges on. Covered with campaign badges, this jacket 'belongs' to Kate Charlesworth's cartoon character Auntie Studs.
The letter of the founding members of stonewall
Photographs of pride events. These particular look at the support gay communities gave miners in the 1980s.
Photograph of the first gay pride - The UK's first Gay Pride march went from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park.
Started my research trip this week with a visit to @queerbritain.bsky.social a powerful, thoughtfully curated space.
Inspiring and essential, it centres voices too often left out of the national story. The exhibitions offer rich insight into the UK’s LGBTQ+ history, activism, and everyday life.
My theory that I can write no matter the circumstance is being tested by brain fog caused by heat
Masculin Féminin (1966)🧡
Woman pointing at a presentation
Chicken dinner on a white plate with potatoes and broccoli
Woman stood in front of some stairs with red carpet
Inside of a room
I have had the most amazing time at my first @batw.bsky.social conference for the last three days!
My project, Soulful South Yorkshire: Tracing African American Influence in Rotherham's Northern Soul Movement looked at the transatlantic connection of African American music in the movement #batw2025
Photo taken from the inside of a train out of the window showing tracks and countryside as the sun is setting
Photo taken from the inside of a train out of the window showing tracks the sun setting over some houses
There is something about being on a train at golden hour that soothes the brain
I might be getting a bit paranoid in my middle age but are the seagulls gone absolutely demented over the past few days or is it just me?
more crime in america
Great to attend the ‘Difficult Histories’ conference at the University of Liverpool yesterday, hosted by @livunihss.bsky.social and @ihr.bsky.social.
It was great to hear about the many ways to approach history, from oral testimonies and natural specimens, and the opportunities from the IHR! ✨
Look at that filing system, this image is my office inspiration photo!
An advert for northern soul clothing including baggies and jackets, found in the New Musical Express, August 31st, 1974
A northern soul suit made by Keith Mallinson, a Rotherham based tailor. The V&A states: Northern Soul was a music style that gave expression in its very own particular fashion. American Soul musicians found a warm welcome in England in the 1970s, especially in the northern cities of Wigan, Wolverhampton and Nottingham. This suit was worn by Soul enthusiast Peter Davies to Samantha’s Soul Club in Sheffield. Keith Mallinson of Rotherham made the suit especially for him. The suit’s high-collared shirt, with four buttons, was worn under the customised jacket. The outfits were modified to accommodate the energetic, sometimes frantic dancing which accompanied the music.
Been diving deep into Northern Soul lately - a northern subculture with serious style. Seen loads of ads for “baggies”: ultra-wide trousers (think 36-inch hems!) made for spinning on the dancefloor. Yesterday I wore my first pair. Felt like I time-traveled straight back to the ’70s! 🕺✨ #northernsoul
This week I completed my first solo research trip to London (as someone terrified of public transport this was a personal victory) - I split my time between Bethnal Green, a little trip around Parliament and a fascinating look at The Face exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery
