Dress Diary of Handling Practices
Reflections from the Action Season project
What does it really mean to wear a garment, to live with it, and to reflect on the interaction and handling practices with said garments? The Dress Diary of Handling Practices invited UCRF members to slow down and observe moments with their clothing through daily life. From the quiet act of buttoning a shirt to the habitual adjustment of a sleeve, these gestures opened a window into how garments carry memory, identity and emotion.
The project took place in November - December 2025 as part of UCRF’s fourth Action Season and unfolded over four weeks. Coordinated by Lucy Gundry and Luis Quijano, it encouraged participants to observe how characteristics designed into garments transform through touch, movement and repeated use. Each diary entry via a Google form (shown below) documented personal encounters with clothing, creating a collective portrait of how people across the world interact with what they wear.
Our final gathering on 10 December 2025 brought together a small, yet engaged group. We reflected on the project’s inspiration and the values driving it, including an interest in sensory awareness, personal storytelling, interpersonal communication with others and the environment to deeper understand the idea of clothing as a companion across time. In addition, participants expressed interest in experimenting with different formats such as Word templates or handwritten journals and drawing.
The discussion also highlighted opportunities for future development. While the original structure asked for four handling activities each week, we discussed how perhaps we can edit this approach to participants. Their storytelling also naturally connected present-day actions with memories, origins and imagined futures. This suggested that future diaries could allow more temporal flexibility and invite reflections on buying, gifting, rediscovery and long-term relationships with clothing. In addition, participants expressed interest in experimenting with different formats such as Word templates or handwritten journals.
The photos of the garments and accessories shared captured not only individual garments but also their wardrobes and the spaces where clothes rest, accumulate or wait (garment examples from the diary entries shown below). These images added depth to the project and revealed how clothing sits within broader everyday systems.
We are grateful to all UCRF members who contributed to this inaugural experiment! A collective journal gathering of all entries will be shared with the community in the March newsletter.
Guided by our Manifesto, UCRF is committed to amplifying diverse voices and perspectives. Our goal is to foster an activist knowledge ecology and lead critical debates on fashion's systemic challenges. While we do not endorse a single viewpoint, we seek to offer a platform for varied ideas that inspire further dialogue and inquiry.