Author: Cara  P.  Doiron

Major: Finance

Graduation Year: 2018

Thesis Advisor: Andrea Mauery & Samantha Jones

Description of Publication: Fashion is an artistic decision that every person makes every day. Even those who say they don’t care about clothing are still portraying something about themselves to the outside world with the stylistic choices they make. This creative Honors Thesis explores the impact of fashion on self-representation, accomplished through the design and construction of a capsule wardrobe line of clothing. Due to the project’s personal and introspective nature, the intended wearer is the artist, and therefore the pieces are specifically tailored to her, rather than the straight sized garments that are typically produced in the fashion industry. This line consists of multiple pieces, each addressing a particular event or situation, in which ostensible expectations for dress conflict with what the wearer feels most authentically represented in. Examples include a high fashion take on a winter coat, a pink version of a ladies business suit, and more. The project’s goal, through the artist’s experience and sharing of this work, is to encourage viewers to reconsider fashion and the ways it impacts each of us inside and out, including their own personal style, the ways they feel they must conform, and how they can use fashion to feel more authentic and confident in themselves.

Location of Publication:

URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/328