ABSTRACT
Accidental stains offer unique, material evidence of love, life, decay, and death. Traditionally, we have admired cloth and clothing for its pristine qualities and have celebrated those features in our personal dress, alongside collections, displays, catwalks, and advertising. Underneath this realm, in two twentieth-century American
presidential settings, stained cloth powerfully symbolises dishonour and tragedy. Yet while an accidental mark may deface an otherwise unblemished garment, it can also make the original fabric sacred. Fashion utilises deliberately applied stains for aesthetic purpose but it cannot incorporate the accidental stain because it has disturbing qualities.
