Sept 23

Wednesday, September 23, 7:00pm

Patrick McDevitt, “Do Clothes Make the Man?”

Buffalo History Museum

Reception at 7pm, Talk at 7:30pm – free and open to the public!

Kick off the Buffalo Humanities Festival with a free reception, lecture, and exhibit on the gendered nature of men’s fashion.

The man’s suit has been a staple of Western fashion for centuries and continues to convey notions of wealth, masculine prestige, and power to this day.  Regional dress for men from around the world has largely been colonized by the dark, sober, Western suit.  And, despite their uniformity, suits can have very specific meanings.  Without his Savile Row suit, James Bond would be just another government assassin. Even famously fashion-averse Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg puts on a suit to meet the President. How should we understand the role that the suit plays in shaping gender norms and denoting power in the contemporary world?

Patrick McDevitt is Associate Professor of History at the University at Buffalo.  As a specialist in Irish, British, and imperial history, McDevitt explores the cultural meanings of sport, masculinity, religion, and fashion. His life’s ambition is to be on a first-name basis with an Italian cordwainer who makes his shoes.

Free parking at the History Museum is available on a first-come, first-served basis.