Hilary has studied medieval (c. 1000-1600) dress and textiles for over twenty years, including reconstructing clothing, and examining many surviving pieces in museum collections.

Her groundbreaking collaborative article on Latvian archaeological dress was the first published in English on the subject.

Hilary was a committee member of the Medieval Dress and Textile Society (MEDATS) 2005-2012

PUBLICATIONS

2012       ‘Medieval Romance and Trade’ in Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2012), 43-113

      ‘Chemise’, ‘Smock’, ‘Chainse’, ‘Bliaut’, ‘Shirt’ in ed. G. R. Owen-Crocker, E. Coatsworth and M. Hayward, Encyclopedia of Dress and Textiles in the British Isles c. 450-1450 (Leiden and Boston: Brill)

‘Medieval bras uncover the fascinating history of women's daily support needs’, Guardian Online, 20 July http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/20/medieval-bras-history-women-support

2010       Hilary Davidson and Ieva Pīgozne, ‘Archaeological Textiles and Dress in Latvia from the 7th to 13th Centuries: Research, Results, Reconstructions’ in Gale. R. Owen-Crocker and Robin Netherton (eds), Medieval Clothing and Textiles, Vol. VI, 1-32

2007       Conference report ‘‘Everyday Objects: Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture and its Meanings’, The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, Stratford-Upon-Avon, 27–30 June 2007’ in Textile History, Vol. 38, No. 2, 212-214

TALKS

2016       ‘Bliaut, Blial, Brial: the broader chronology and geography of a twelfth-century prestige garment’, Cultures of Modernities in the Global Middle Ages, University of Sydney, June 16-18

2012       ‘The Clothing of Dona Teresa Gil’, London Society of Medieval Studies, Institute for Historic Research, London, 23 January

2011    ‘Moorish dress in medieval Spain: Image and Influence’, A Day in Al Andalus study day, King’s College London, 12 May

2010       ‘A quilted fourteenth-century Spanish brial (gown)’, Stiffening, Stuffing & quilting: the extra dimension, The Medieval Dress & Textile Society, Spring Meeting 15 May

2008       ‘Pre-1600 Dress & Textile Collections at the Museum of London’, Medieval Dress & Textile Society Autumn Meeting, Somerset House, London, 4 October

2007       ‘Latvian Archaeological Textiles’, Medieval Dress & Textile Society Autumn Meeting, Somerset House, London, 27 October