Daily Inspiration: Meet Stephanie Ray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Ray.

Hi Stephanie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It might be passé to claim your unique passion took root in your childhood. However, there is no other way for me to describe my interest in historical fashion. It all started with a doll — Felicity from the American Girl Doll Company. She, in my humble 5-year-old opinion, had the best dresses, and that’s why I coveted her. Learning that her clothing was indicative of a certain time period, I wanted to learn more, turning to children’s historical television and later books, searching for more people and gowns and stories. From fiction, I wanted to learn what was real and what happened before and then after. My interest did not stop at the robe anglaises and robe francaises that filled the 17th century and soon I was finding characters and clothing in other forms of media. I found stories and insights through my research and hope to find a way to share them.

As I grew older, I used clothing as a way to ground myself in studying a time period, watching how clothes transmuted among a chronological timeline of hem- and necklines. It wasn’t until after gaining my degree in history from the University of Georgia that I looked academically at pursuing fashion history, ultimately gaining my masters in Costume Studies from New York University. Following graduation, I took an opportunity to leave Brooklyn for my home state of Georgia, where I now work as the education and programs manager at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. Now my interest in telling sartorial stories guide me every day.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While it wasn’t necessarily a bumpy road, I faced the dilemma that many people who consider themselves storytellers do — finding the stories you want to tell and figuring out how to tell them. This has shown up in my life via my academic history, where I was an English major long before I embraced the joy of retelling the past. In my personal life, it manifested in a series of writing-based hobbies over the years, including writing fictional short stories, movie reviews, personal essays, and researching niche historical figures for the perfect muses. I think I’ve hit my stride, deep diving into niche topics related to the exhibitions at my work, exploring them in programs opened to our members, students, and the public. I still value fictional tales and hope to contribute my own to a greater storytelling world, but for now, I’m content with where I’m at in my journey.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a fashion historian who uses clothing and style as a tool to understand the social context of the what, when, how, and whom of fashion. While my motto has always been “the older, the better,” I ended up writing my master’s thesis on fatphobia in Y2K culture. Though it was hardly what I planned on focusing on, I was drawn to exploring an aspect of modern history that affected a whole generation of women.

Let my story be a lesson to anyone who loves the niche and nerdy: You can pursue what you love, and you can find employment doing it! I’m a cautious person by nature, so I was nervous about it, but I ultimately gave in to my passion. I’m glad I did. There is a lot to be said about playing it safe, but find out what’s worth it to you to deviate from the beaten path.

It would have never occurred to me as a child that fashion historians even existed, but somehow fate always knew this was the perfect profession for me. If Little Stephanie knew she’d grown up to spend her days writing about dresses and the stories they tell, she’d be absolutely over the moon.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I’m incredibly lucky to have family and friends who didn’t bat an eye when I told them that I wanted to become a fashion historian. They all knew me well enough to know that was exactly who I am meant to be. Beyond the people who supported me before I began my journey in fashion history, I met an incredible cohort during my time at NYU. Without them, I couldn’t have gained my degree.

Image Credits
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Courtesy of SCAD