Analysis of historic and contemporary dress: An African example

Abstract

A method for analyzing dress was modeled after methods for analyzing languages. The primary data were 607 photographs of members of an extended family of Yoruba people in Nigeria. The photographs, taken between 1900 and 1974, were divided into three groups corresponding to political periods within the time span. Steps in analyzing the data were (1) list all items worn ; (2) calculate frequency of appearance of each item ; (3) identify associations made with items worn most frequently, i.e., male/female, Western /indigenous; (4) within the three time periods, determine models related to associations found in step 3 ; (5) identify items which appear as alternates or additions to model items ; (6) develop rules of dress relating social roles and statuses of individuals to use of particular forms of dress. Although the method was applied to studying dress of a non-Western population, the techniques have potential for comparative studies of the dress of any culture.