Dress, Consumption, and Fashionable Change: Evidence from Probate Inventories in Southern Sweden, 1760-1880

Lecture by Christina Dackling.

Abstract

The transition from the Early Modern to the Modern era in Europe was marked by significant changes in how people consumed clothing, as well as the types and quantities of clothes they acquired. The availability of new textile materials altered the conditions for both the consumption and possession of clothing. In Sweden, the liberalization of trade regulations played a key role in driving these changes. In my ongoing PhD project, I study this transformation by comparing the Swedish military town of Karlskrona with its rural surroundings, using probate records from both men and women, across different social classes—rich and poor alike. This allows for an intersectional approach to the question: who wore what at a given time?

In this lecture, I will present preliminary findings on changes in clothing, demonstrating how old and new fashion trends and consumption patterns coexisted in some cases, while in others, they evolved along distinct paths. I will also explore probate inventories from source-critical and methodological standpoints, shedding light on the potential for in-depth studies of local consumption, everyday life, and an evolving sense of fashion.