Example fashion dissertation topic 10:

From Brideshead Revisited to Jack Wills: Changing student fashions. A comparative study of the Universities of Oxford and Oxford Brookes.

F�ted for its traditional image of striped blazers, boaters, spats, and young men punting in summer months, the reality of Oxbridge is now far removed from the stereotypical image conjured up by re-runs of Brideshead Revisited or media preoccupation with the dress codes of certain dining societies. In seeking to separate fashion facts from fashion fiction, this dissertation evaluates the extent to which there has been an homogenisation of student sartorial fashions in the ‘city of spires’. It thus not only undertakes primary interviews but also reviews, for instance, the reasoning behind the decision of some JCRs of the traditional Oxford colleges to have forbidden the wearing of tweed within their hallowed precincts.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Auty, S. and Elliott, R. (1998). ‘Social identity and the meaning of fashion brands’. European Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 3, pp. 1-10.
• Sambroook, A. (2013). ‘Injecting a little fashion happiness into your life’. The Oxford Student Online. Available at: http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/02/07/injecting-a-little-fashion-happiness-into-your-life/ .
• Xu, Y. and Paulins, V.A. (2005). ‘College students’ attitudes toward shopping online for apparel products: Exploring a rural versus urban campus’. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 9(4), pp. 420-433.