Pride at Teddy Hall: Eleanor Medhurst on Fashion and Community

On Wednesday 20 May, St Edmund Hall was delighted to welcome historian and writer Eleanor Medhurst for a talk exploring the history of lesbian fashion and queer material culture.

Drawing on paintings, photographs, letters, diaries, and archival material, Eleanor’s talk, A Brief History of Lesbian Fashion, traced the ways clothing and self-expression have shaped and reflected lesbian identities and communities across the past two centuries. From Anne Lister, who lived from 1791 to 1840, to the Lavender Menace in the 1970s, the lecture explored how fashion can shed light on histories that have often been overlooked or rendered invisible, while also considering the role of clothing as a form of recognition, resistance, and community-building.

Eleanor is a historian of queer visual and material culture and the creator of Dressing Dykes, a platform dedicated to lesbian fashion history. Her first book, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion, was published in 2024, and she is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Brighton. A copy of Unsuitable is also available to borrow from the College Library.

The event attracted an engaged audience of students, staff, Fellows, and visitors, and was followed by a lively discussion and audience Q&A.

The talk formed part of the College’s ongoing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programme, as well as an early celebration of Pride Month at the Hall.