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- Lövgren, Karin, 1958-
(author)
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Comfortable and leisurel : Old women on style and dress
- 2016
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In: Journal of Women & Aging. - : Taylor and Francis. - 0895-2841 .- 1540-7322. ; 28:5, s. 372-385
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article uses wardrobe interviews with women in the ages of 62-94 to explore transitions and continuities during the life course. During interviews the women have defined their style preferences. One categorization favored by several of them was comfortable. Different meanings were attached to this concept. Practical and convenient outfits were described as increasingly important when aging. Garments that did not expose the bodyand its changes with agingwere preferred. The informants talked about the importance of feeling at ease, appropriately dressed for the occasion and situation. They were concerned with feeling nice in their outfits but also stressed becoming more laid-back and prioritizing convenience in their later years. All of these examples had to do with comfort and being comfortable. Uncomfortable clothes were too tight, deemed wrong for the occasion, and unwanted sources of self-consciousness and visibility. Transitions in their style of dress had been gradual, slowly adapting to changes in everyday life as well as in their bodies.
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- Lövgren, Karin, 1958-
(author)
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Dress your age
- 2012
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)
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- Lövgren, Karin, 1958-
(author)
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Fear of ageing - negotiating age
- 2011
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In: Interdisciplinary approaches to Twilight. - Lund : Nordic Academic Press. - 9789185509638 ; , s. 81-95
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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- Lövgren, Karin, 1958-
(author)
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Old? Older? Elderly? Co-constructing ageing in research
- 2015
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In: 33. Nordic Ethnology and Folklore Conference. ; , s. 51-51
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In an ongoing study I use wardrobe interviews to explore experiences of ageing and cultural meaning making of age. The informants, aged between 62 and 94, talked of style preferences in dress and of norms in relation to age appropriateness and to bodily changes.In my paper I will discuss age categorisations from a methodological point of view. Different divisions have been discussed for when people are to be considered “old”. In my research I have used 60 as a lower age limit, with no upper one. The study’s purpose is to explore, problematize and nuance experiences of ageing from an emic perspective, with attention to ethnographic detail: letting the women’s voices be heard. I do not see the age category of “older” or “elderly” as monolithic but as diverse. For instance, health and mobility have an impact on feeling old, so that an informant in her sixties, with health problems express feeling old and tired, whereas a chronologically older and healthy informant does not. When submitting articles information of the informants’ chronological age is often requested by reviewers. Specifying this in a sense contributes to making age an explanation and description.In my presentation I will focus on different categorisations in terms of age, used by the informants and in theoretical literature. I intend to explore dilemmas and ambiguities around this, in relation to work in an ethnographic tradition, not striving for finite answers but opening for fruitful questioning and discussions.
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- Lövgren, Karin, 1958-
(author)
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Squirrels and nostalgia : About wardrobe collections of older women
- 2015
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In: Ageing, culture and identity. - Umeå : Umeå University. - 9789176013038 ; , s. 95-120
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The focus in this article has been on how older women, between 62 and 94 years old, talk of their wardrobe collections. The key questions guiding the analyses of the women’s narratives have been: how did they describe their wardrobe collections; how did they talk of sorting through their garments and organising them; and how did they explain clothes kept but no longer used. The aim has been to let the women’s voices be heard and to give their perspective. Sorting through the wardrobe was an ongoing task, where some felt burdened by owning too many items of clothing, whereas others talked of the importance of remembering through items kept. Garments are like materialised photo albums, loaded with memories. Several informants showed a pragmatic side, emphasising that it was important that garments were put to use and not wasted. References to utility and thrift intersected with emotional ones. The informants used self-distancing descriptions, jokingly referring to themselves as ‘squirrels’ or nostalgic, reluctant to sort through their often substantial clothes collections and throw things away. Clothes also represented the pleasure inherent in the aesthetic work of combining outfits and making an effort to wear something appropriate for each different occasion
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