Over the past few years, there’s been plenty of media and public interest in the discoveries we’ve made about Australian men’s engagement with fashion and dress across and beyond the twentieth century. Check out the 9 pieces for The Conversation, 51 radio interviews, 26 presentations at public forums or conferences, and other media interviews and blog posts below. You’ll see that many of them feature Lorinda Cramer, who is taking her research for this project in new directions on the contributions that the Australian wool industry and Australian museums can make to a sustainable and circular fashion future.
I hope you enjoy reading some of the short pieces we’ve written and maybe even listening to some of the conversations we’ve – and especially Lorinda – had since 2019:
The Conversation:
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Buy it nice or buy it twice’: what the ‘frugal chic’ trend tells us about our clothing habits, The Conversation, 26 February 2026, https://theconversation.com/buy-it-nice-or-buy-it-twice-what-the-frugal-chic-trend-tells-us-about-our-clothing-habits-276261.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Slutty little glasses’: men’s eyewear fashion is the history of seeing – and being seen, The Conversation, 7 August 2025, https://theconversation.com/slutty-little-glasses-mens-eyewear-fashion-is-the-history-of-seeing-and-being-seen-262518.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘‘Shoddy dropping’: how the 1920s cost‑of‑living crisis fuelled a black market in menswear’, 20 January 2025, https://theconversation.com/shoddy-dropping-how-the-1920s-cost-of-living-crisis-fuelled-a-black-market-in-menswear-244918.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Foy & Gibson’s 8,100,000 mils of yarn: how Australians were sold “fashionable” (and “healthy”) wool 100 years ago’, The Conversation, 12 April 2024, https://theconversation.com/foy-and-gibsons-8-100-000-miles-of-yarn-how-australians-were-sold-fashionable-and-healthy-wool-100-years-ago-212602.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Wool swimsuits used to be standard beachwear – is it time to bring them back?’, The Conversation, 19 December 2022, https://theconversation.com/wool-swimsuits-used-to-be-standard-beachwear-is-it-time-to-bring-them-back-195103.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘“This is not a barbeque”: a short history of neckties in the Australian parliament and at work’, The Conversation, 5 August 2022, https://theconversation.com/this-is-not-a-barbeque-a-short-history-of-neckties-in-the-australian-parliament-and-at-work-188213.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘The politics of the necktie – “colonial” noose, masculine marker or silk status symbol?’, The Conversation, 16 February 2021, https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-the-necktie-colonial-noose-masculine-marker-or-silk-status-symbol-155203.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Dressed for success – as workers return to the office, men might finally shed their suits and ties’, The Conversation, 27 January 2021, https://theconversation.com/dressed-for-success-as-workers-return-to-the-office-men-might-finally-shed-their-suits-and-ties-153455.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Friday essay: The singlet – a short history of an Australian icon’, The Conversation, 4 December 2020, https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-singlet-a-short-history-of-an-australian-icon-145545.
News media interviews:
- Kate Midena, ‘Should wearing a tie be compulsory in ACT Legislative Assembly? Newly-elected Thomas Emerson doesn’t seem to think so’, ABC News, 7 December 2024, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-07/act-should-politicians-wearing-a-tie-be-compulsory/104683686?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web.
- Medeleine Wedesweiler, ‘Compulsory swimming skirts for men almost became law, long before g-string bans’, The Feed SBS, 22 February 2024, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/g-string-bans-arent-new-modesty-laws-once-led-to-men-swimming-in-skirts-at-bondi-beach/c9mflcn12.
- Angela Tufvesson, ‘Dressing down’, Law Society Journal, 18 January 2022.
- Chris Sheedy, ‘The new look of workplace dress codes’, In The Black, 1 July 2021.
Blogs:
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘From the Collection September 2019: Grainger Museum costume collection’, Grainger Museum, University of Melbourne, 24 September 2019: https://grainger.unimelb.edu.au/news/from-the-collection-september-2019.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Why men’s suits matter: A Second World War case study’, Social History Society, 7 February 2022: https://socialhistory.org.uk/shs_exchange/why-mens-suits-matter-a-second-world-war-case-study/.
Radio:
- Lorinda Cramer The Daily Show, 2ser, 4 September 2025, https://www.2ser.com/mens-glasses-nerdy-to-attractive.
- Lorinda Cramer with Mark Gibson, Breakfast, ABC Perth and WA, 21 August 2025.
- Lorinda Cramer with Cameron Furlong, The Daily Show, 2ser, 10 July 2025, https://www.2ser.com/the-fashion-of-mens-office-wear.
- Lorinda Cramer with David Astle, Evenings, ABC Melbourne, 16 January 2025.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jonathan Greene, Blueprint for Living, ABC Radio National, 11 January 2025 (summer repeat), https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/blueprintforliving/the-cultural-meaning-of-black/104502926.
- Lorinda Cramer with Mark Gibson, Breakfast, ABC Perth and WA, 19 August 2024.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jonathan Greene, Blueprint for Living, ABC Radio National, 28 June 2024, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/blueprintforliving/a-fashion-for-mourning/104020054.
- Lorinda Cramer with Phillip Clark, ABC Nightlife History, 21 May 2024, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/nightlife-history-pants-and-parliament/103874828.
- Lorinda Cramer with Joanna Trilling, Drive, ABC Radio Perth, 20 May 2024.
- Lorinda Cramer with Michael Pavlich, ABC Radio Overnights, 22 April 2024
- Lorinda Cramer with Ivo De Silva, Afternoons, ABC Radio Perth, 22 December 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jacinta Parsons, Afternoons, ABC Radio National, 19 December 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with James Findlay, Afternoons, ABC Radio South Australia, 29 November 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Indira Naidoo, Evenings, ABC Radio Sydney, 21 November 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Libbi Gore, Disrupt, 3 August 2023.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘A Short History of the Suit’, Life Matters, ABC Radio National, 14 June 2023, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/a-short-history-of-the-suit/102475902
- Lorinda Cramer with Andrew Collins, Drive, ABC Radio Regional WA, 6 June 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Kia Handley, Drive, ABC Radio Newcastle, 11 May 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jacinta Parsons, Afternoons, ABC Radio Melbourne, 28 April 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with James Findlay, Afternoons, ABC Radio Darwin, 12 April 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Christine Layton, Afternoons, ABC Radio Perth, 10 January 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jacinta Parsons, ABC Radio National, 10 January 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Suki Sadik, Weekend Evenings, ABC Radio National, 30 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jacqui Baker, The Grapevine, 3RRR, 26 December 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer with Josh Becker, Breakfast, ABC Radio South East NSW, 22 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Dominique Bayens, Afternoons, ABC Radio Perth, 21 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Greg Bayliss, Breakfast, ABC Radio Canberra, 20 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Antoinette Lattouf, Mornings, ABC Radio Sydney, 19 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Alice Walker, ABC Goulburn Murray & Victoria, 12 December 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Georgia Stynes on Afternoons, ABC Radio Canberra, 22 November 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Kia Handley, Drive, ABC Radio Sydney, 7 January 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer with Hilary Harper, Life Matters, ABC Radio National, 27 December 2021 (summer repeat).
- Lorinda Cramer with Libbi Gore, This Weekend Life, ABC Radio Melbourne, 14 November 2021, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/best-of-melbourne/denim-history-australia/13630978.
- Lorinda Cramer with Christine Leyton, Western Australia Afternoons, ABC Radio Perth, 14 May 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Hilary Harper, Life Matters, ABC Radio National, 8 April 2021, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/the-point-of-wearing-a-necktie/13292184.
- Lorinda Cramer with Jacinta Parsons, Afternoons, ABC Radio Melbourne, 9 March 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Sirine Demachkie, Weekend Evenings, ABC Radio Sydney, 19 February 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Sarah Macdonald, Evenings, ABC Radio Sydney, 11 February 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with John Stanley with Paul B Kidd, Nights, 2GB Radio, 29 January 2021, https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/the-point-of-wearing-a-necktie/13292184.
- Lorinda Cramer with Cathie Schnitzerling, Mornings, ABC Radio Brisbane, 29 January 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Russell Woolf, Breakfast, ABC Radio Perth, 29 January 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Joelene Laverty, Breakfast, ABC Radio Darwin, 28 January 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with Robbie Buck and Wendy Harmer, Breakfast, ABC Radio Sydney, 28 January 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer with David Barr, Drive Tuesday, Eastside Radio Sydney, 8 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Gillian O’Shaughnessy, Afternoons, ABC Radio Perth, 7 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Dominique Bayens, Mornings, ABC Radio South West WA, 7 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Andrea Gibbs, Weekends, ABC Radio Perth, 6 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Brooke Daniels, ABC Central West and Western Plains NSW, 5 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Narelle Graham, Drive, ABC Radio Adeliade, 4 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Dee Dee Dunleavy, Afternoons, 3AW Radio, 4 December 2020.
- Lorinda Cramer with Cassie McCullagh, Focus, ABC Radio Sydney, 4 December 2020.
Presentations:
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Foy & Gisbon: Fashion, Fibre and Fit’, Collingwood Library, 17 February 2026.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘Dress and the Making of Queer Worlds: Australia in the 1980s and ’90s’, Seoul National University, 6 October 2025.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Foy & Gisbon: Fashion, Fibre and Fit’, Wheeler’s Hill Library, 11 August 2025.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘The Man about Town in Australian History’, for the Masculinity, Art, and Fashion: From Renaissance Europe to Contemporary Australia symposium, organised by the Australian Institute of Art History, University of Melbourne, 1 August 2025.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Styling the Australian Body: Masculinity, Materiality and Mid-Twentieth-Century Suits’, for the Masculinity, Art, and Fashion: From Renaissance Europe to Contemporary Australia symposium, organised by the Australian Institute of Art History, University of Melbourne, 1 August 2025.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Fletcher Jones: A History of Wearing Australian Wool’, for Talking History at the Eureka Centre, 1 May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfTbvoS8Uc8&feature=youtu.be.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Setsutaro Hasegawa and Ichizo Sato: Wearing and Working with Wool’, for the Geelong to Japan panel for Geelong Design Week, 29 November 2024.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘Men’s Fashion in Melbourne’s Swinging Sixties: The View from the Discotheque Dancefloor’, for the Old Treasury Building presented as part of Melbourne Fashion Week, 23 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJlSPvBL8gM.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘The White Duck Suit and Hegemonic Masculinity in the Colonial Tropics, c. 1870–1939’, for the Textiles and Masculinities Conference, Design History Society, 15 June 2024.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Wool, masculinity and Fletcher Jones’s trousers in post-war Australia’, for the Textiles and Masculinities Conference, Design History Society, 15 June 2024.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘“No man is hard to fit”: Fletcher Jones’ Plus 8 trousers in post-war Australia’, Material Histories Seminar Series, 10 November 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik79_pqt_UE.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘Con-Men and Consumption in Interwar Australia: The Case of Louis Stirling’, Australian Historical Association Conference, 3 July 2024.
- Melissa Bellanta (with Charles Egerton), ‘Dressing Up Gay In the 1980s and ‘90s’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 6 July 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer, “‘Magnificent Anti-Gear”: Satirical Dress at the Melbourne Cup in 1970s–80s Australia’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 6 July 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Foy & Gibson’s Australian Made Clothing’, for Talking History at the Eureka Centre, 7 May 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKUgi2cN7_s.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘Dress and the Making of Queer Worlds’, Visiting Research Fellow Presentation, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 7 November 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Wearing Wool: Fashion, Fibre and Feel (1770–1970)’, Visiting Research Fellow Presentation, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 7 November 2023.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Ichizo Sato: A Japanese Ladies’ Tailor in White Australia’, for The Global Diffusion of Tailored Clothes for Women 1750–1930 Conference, 17 September 2022.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘Gender and Consumption in the Australian Inland: Indian and Lebanese Hawkers and their Masculine Customers, 1890–1910’, Melbourne Feminist Histories Group, 13 September 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Foy & Gibson: The Search for Australian Style’, for the Fleece to Fashion Conference, 9 September 2022.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘The Shoddy Dropper: Working-Class Men and Fashion in 1920s Australia’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 30 June 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘“No Man is Hard to Fit”: Fletcher Jones and the Body-Conscious Male Consumer in Post-War Australia’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 30 June 2022.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Men’s Sewing on the Victorian Goldfields’, for Talking History at the Eureka Centre, 13 August 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2RRc2CuWYg.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Bachelors and Breadwinners: Masculinity and Businesswear in the Synthetic Age, 1950-1970’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 1 July 2021.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Dressing in the Shadow of the Global Colour Line: A Japanese laundryman in white Australia’, for the International Australian Studies Association (InASA) Conference, 9 February 2021.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘The Little Barbershop of History: Men’s Hair and Australian Social History’, for the Royal Australian Historical Society Lecture, 4 December 2019.
- Melissa Bellanta, ‘A History of Australian Men’s Dress: Methodological Reflections and Future Research Directions’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 11 July 2019.
- Lorinda Cramer, ‘Objects as Sources in Writing the Social History of Men’s Dress in Twentieth-Century Australia’, for the Australian Historical Association Conference, 11 July 2019.
