Learning two languages for the sake of Fashion (and History)!

 Josephine Baker with her 9 children

Sounds silly right? Well now I can devulge the method to my madness. The next semester of uni is rearing its ugly head and I, along with a very supportive professor, have taken on a wonderful research opportunity. I am pleased to research Josephine Baker and her influence on French design houses in the 1920s! If you are not a nerd you might find it hard to believe that I will revel in the fact that I will have to sift through oodles of books, essays, disertations, movies, and etc to reach my goal. My thesis is still in the air and I will definitely keep you updated. This means that my new year's resolution from 2010 is officially completed: to figure out how to study both history and fashion as a cohesive subject. This proves that anything you put your mind to can be achieved! 

The infamous Banana Dance

So what does all this have to do with learning languages? I am putting myself to the test and will begin my journey to conquer French and Italian. Most of the papers and first hand accounts will not be in English. It is very difficult to find first hand accounts before the 1950s that are translated so I have my work cut out for me. For me it is important to not cut corners with this paper as it involves a few fashion houses I love and could possibly lead to a lengthier work like a book or article for a journal. What is to be expected? A lot of frustration on my part as I tend to torture myself with research and paper structure before diving into a huge 12+ page paper. After completing a 26 page work last semester I think this is something I can handle. So, wish me luck and expect many updates!

Life is beautiful, let's share a little. 

Joy D.