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Samantha :)

@samanthabarker.bsky.social

History PhD researcher interested in the tailored suit and avid Northern Souler ✨(She/her)

37 Posts50 Follower53 Folgt
Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · 3w ago

✨Hello! I’m still open to interviewees if you are able to help! I’m really hoping to understand what queer communities were like in the UK during the 1970s/80s and also the role of fashion within them! ✨ Please feel free to share :)

Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Hello! I’m seeking volunteers to be interviewed for my PhD thesis on the cultural significance of the tailored suit within queer communities during the 1970s and 1980s. If you’re interested and would like more information, please contact me. Thank you, and feel free to share this with your networks!

A poster with a title that says "Call For Participants." The poster states: Are you part of the LGBTQIA+ community and have vivid memories from the 1970s and 1980s? We invite you to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the community. We are looking for volunteers, aged 18 and older, to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the LGBTQIA+ community during the 1970s and 1980s. This study is open to: • Individuals who self-identify as queer or belong to the LGBTQIA+ community and were 18+ in the 1970s and 1980s. • Relatives or close associates of queer individuals from this era, are encouraged to join. You would be invited to participate in an interview session, either online or in-person. If you choose to come to one in person, they will be held in The Townsend Room, located in the Bishopsgate Institute (230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QH) or in public spaces such as coffee shops, public libraries, or LJMU classrooms. If you choose to take part virtually, you will be sent a secure link to a Microsoft Teams meeting which you can join from. Each session would take about two hours of your time. You would be asked to share your personal stories related to the tailored suit, and ideally, bring a photograph or meaningful clothing item, although this is not required. If you are interested and would like more information, please reach out to the investigator. There is no obligation to take part. You will receive a gift card as a thank you for your valuable contributions. Thank you!
LJMU Special Collections & Archives@ljmu-sca.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Call for Participants - PhD student @samanthabarker.bsky.social is recording oral histories of 1970s-1980s LGBTQ+ community memory related to fashion and clothing. For more details: ljmuarchives.blog/2026/02/11/c... #lgbt #lgbtq #history #archives #liverpoolhistory #fashion #oralhistory #archive

Call for Participants – Fashion and living as LGBTQ+ in 1970s-1980s Britain

LJMU PhD student Samantha Barker is seeking participants to contribute to her origianl research on being part of an LGBTQIA+ community with memories from the 1970s and 1980s and the cultural signif…

ljmuarchives.blog

Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I can’t think of a better work set than this! This morning’s reading is also very interesting, looking into how the suit makes the male body ‘impenetrable’, and the suit as a social suit of armour ✨

A laptop, a coffee and a diary on a wooden table
Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Last night was my last northern soul night of the year and I ended up on the decks! Northern Soul has become a real passion of mine this year and something that will definitely carry on into the new rear!

Photo of a dimly lit bar that shows a red chesterfield sofa and some dj decks behind it Photo of a dj deck with a spinning record on it
Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Hello! I’m seeking volunteers to be interviewed for my PhD thesis on the cultural significance of the tailored suit within queer communities during the 1970s and 1980s. If you’re interested and would like more information, please contact me. Thank you, and feel free to share this with your networks!

A poster with a title that says "Call For Participants." The poster states: Are you part of the LGBTQIA+ community and have vivid memories from the 1970s and 1980s? We invite you to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the community. We are looking for volunteers, aged 18 and older, to participate in an exciting project exploring the cultural significance of the tailored suit within the LGBTQIA+ community during the 1970s and 1980s. This study is open to: • Individuals who self-identify as queer or belong to the LGBTQIA+ community and were 18+ in the 1970s and 1980s. • Relatives or close associates of queer individuals from this era, are encouraged to join. You would be invited to participate in an interview session, either online or in-person. If you choose to come to one in person, they will be held in The Townsend Room, located in the Bishopsgate Institute (230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QH) or in public spaces such as coffee shops, public libraries, or LJMU classrooms. If you choose to take part virtually, you will be sent a secure link to a Microsoft Teams meeting which you can join from. Each session would take about two hours of your time. You would be asked to share your personal stories related to the tailored suit, and ideally, bring a photograph or meaningful clothing item, although this is not required. If you are interested and would like more information, please reach out to the investigator. There is no obligation to take part. You will receive a gift card as a thank you for your valuable contributions. Thank you!
LJMU Special Collections & Archives@ljmu-sca.bsky.social · 12mo ago

New blog post for the Unity Theatre Archive Project! Over the next year LJMU SCA will be working with the Unity Theatre to catalogue and digitise its archives. If you are interested in volunteering you can apply via the link in this blog. Closes Sunday 19th October. ljmuarchives.blog/2025/10/14/i...

Introducing the Unity Theatre Archive Project

Hi everyone, my name is Megan and I’ve recently joined LJMU’s Special Collections and Archives as the Unity Theatre Project Archivist. Over the next year I’ll be cataloguing the papers of the Unity…

ljmuarchives.blog

Soul Source - Northern Soul & Beyond@soulsource.bsky.social · last yr.

BBC Almost Grown Music & Culture Northern Soul 1990 - www.soul-source.co.uk/videosdirect... Broadcast around 1990, includes clips from previous BBC programmes - Something Else - Skelmersdale and Omnibus (1978) #northernsoul #video #soulsource

BBC Almost Grown Music & Culture Northern Soul 1990

Broadcast around 1990, this programme covers Ska, Reggae, Northern Soul, Punk, New Romantics, Hip Hop & Rave and more.This section features Reggae, Northern Soul, Old Skool Hip Hop, Breakdancing and.....

soul-source.co.uk

Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · last yr.

Been diving deep into Northern Soul lately - a northern subculture with serious style. Seen loads of ads for “baggies”: ultra-wide trousers (think 36-inch hems!) made for spinning on the dancefloor. Yesterday I wore my first pair. Felt like I time-traveled straight back to the ’70s! 🕺✨ #northernsoul

An advert for northern soul clothing including baggies and jackets, found in the New Musical Express, August 31st, 1974A northern soul suit made by Keith Mallinson, a Rotherham based tailor. The V&A states: Northern Soul was a music style that gave expression in its very own particular fashion. American Soul musicians found a warm welcome in England in the 1970s, especially in the northern cities of Wigan, Wolverhampton and Nottingham. This suit was worn by Soul enthusiast Peter Davies to Samantha’s Soul Club in Sheffield. Keith Mallinson of Rotherham made the suit especially for him. The suit’s high-collared shirt, with four buttons, was worn under the customised jacket. The outfits were modified to accommodate the energetic, sometimes frantic dancing which accompanied the music.
Samantha :)@samanthabarker.bsky.social · last yr.

This week I completed my first solo research trip to London (as someone terrified of public transport this was a personal victory) - I split my time between Bethnal Green, a little trip around Parliament and a fascinating look at The Face exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

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