The Culture of Fashion

Author: Christopher Breward
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719041259
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Book Description
This illustrated survey of 600 years of fashion investigates its cultural and social meaning from medieval Europe to twentieth-century America. Breward's work provides the reader with a clear guide to the changes in style and taste and shows that clothes have always played a pivotal role in defining a sense of identity and society, especially when concerned with sexual and body politics.

Fashion, Culture, and Identity

Author: Fred Davis
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022616795X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Book Description
What do our clothes say about who we are or who we think we are? How does the way we dress communicate messages about our identity? Is the desire to be "in fashion" universal, or is it unique to Western culture? How do fashions change? These are just a few of the intriguing questions Fred Davis sets out to answer in this provocative look at what we do with our clothes—and what they can do to us. Much of what we assume to be individual preference, Davis shows, really reflects deeper social and cultural forces. Ours is an ambivalent social world, characterized by tensions over gender roles, social status, and the expression of sexuality. Predicting what people will wear becomes a risky gamble when the link between private self and public persona can be so unstable.

The Culture of Clothing

Author: Daniel Roche
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521574549
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 564

Book Description
Newly avilable in paperback, this major contribution to cultural history is a study of dress in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Daniel Roche discusses general approaches to the history of dress, locates the subject within current French historiography and uses a large sample of inventories to explore the differences between the various social classes in the amount they spent and the kind of clothes they wore. His essential argument is that there was a 'vestimentary revolution' in the later eighteenth century as all sections of the population became caught up in the world of fashion and fast-moving consumption.

Paris Fashion

Author: Valerie Steele
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474245498
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
Paris has been the international capital of fashion for more than 300 years. Even before the rise of the haute couture, Parisians were notorious for their obsession with fashion, and foreigners eagerly followed their lead. From Charles Frederick Worth to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent, fashion history is dominated by the names of Parisian couturiers. But Valerie Steele's Paris Fashion is much more than just a history of great designers. This fascinating book demonstrates that the success of Paris ultimately rests on the strength of its fashion culture – created by a host of fashion performers and spectators, including actresses, dandies, milliners, artists, and writers. First published in 1988 to great international acclaim, this pioneering book has now been completely revised and brought up to date, encompassing the rise of fashion's multiple world cities in the 21st century. Lavishly illustrated, deeply learned, and elegantly written, Valerie Steele's masterwork explores with brilliance and flair why Paris remains the capital of fashion.

Fashion and Orientalism

Author: Adam Geczy
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0857854267
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Orientalism is a central factor within the fashion system, both subtle and overt. In this groundbreaking book, the author shows the extent of the influence that the Orient had, and continues to have, on fashion. Our concept of Western fashion is unthinkable without it, whether in terms of the growth of the cotton industry or of garments we take for granted, such as the dressing gown. From pre-modern to contemporary times, this book demonstrates that, in the realms of fashion, the Orient is not simply a construction or a fascination of the imperial West with its eastern other. Rather, it reveals the extent of cross-pollination, exchange and multiple translation that has taken place between East and West for the last 500 years. Exploring topics including Chinoiserie, masquerade, bohemianism, Japonisme, the "de-Orientalization" of the Orient, perfume and the birth of couture, Fashion and Orientalism is an essential read for students and scholars of fashion, cultural studies and history.

Fashion-ology

Author: Yuniya Kawamura
Publisher: Berg
ISBN: 1847886078
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
This book provides a concise and much-needed introduction to the sociology of fashion. Most studies of fashion do not make a clear distinction between clothing and fashion. Kawamura argues that clothing is a tangible material product whereas fashion is a symbolic cultural product. She debunks the myth of the genius designer and explains, provocatively, that fashion is not about clothes but is a belief. There is an institutional structure, ignored by many fashion theorists, that has shaped and produced the fashion phenomenon. Kawamura further shows how the structural nature of the fashion system works to legitimize designers creativity and can make them successful. Newer fashion cities, such as Milan and New York, are the product of the fashion system that originated in Paris. Without that systemic structure, fashion culture would not exist. Fashion-ology provides a big picture approach that focuses on the social process behind fashion and its perpetuation.

The Power of Style

Author: Christian Allaire
Publisher: Annick Press
ISBN: 1773214926
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
Style is not just the clothes on our backs—it is self-expression, representation, and transformation. As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he sought out for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that—because clothes are never just clothes. Men’s heels are a statement of pride in the face of LGTBQ+ discrimination, while ribbon shirts honor Indigenous ancestors and keep culture alive. Allaire takes the reader through boldly designed chapters to discuss additional topics like cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice. *A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

World Clothing and Fashion

Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131745166X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1785

Book Description
Taking a global, multicultural, social, and economic perspective, this work explores the diverse and colourful history of human attire. From prehistoric times to the age of globalization, articles cover the evolution of clothing utility, style, production, and commerce, including accessories (shoes, hats, gloves, handbags, and jewellery) for men, women, and children. Dress for different climates, occupations, recreational activities, religious observances, rites of passages, and other human needs and purposes - from hunting and warfare to sports and space exploration - are examined in depth and detail. Fashion and design trends in diverse historical periods, regions and countries, and social and ethnic groups constitute a major area of coverage, as does the evolution of materials (from animal fur to textiles to synthetic fabrics) and production methods (from sewing and weaving to industrial manufacturing and computer-aided design). Dress as a reflection of social status, intellectual and artistic trends, economic conditions, cultural exchange, and modern media marketing are recurring themes. Influential figures and institutions in fashion design, industry and manufacturing, retail sales, production technologies, and related fields are also covered.

Fashion, Costume, and Culture

Author: Sara Pendergast
Publisher: U·X·L
ISBN:
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
This volume provides a history of human decoration and adornment.

Culture to Catwalk

Author: Kristin Knox
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9781408130711
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A contemporary look at both traditional clothing and street styles from 38 countries around the world and the influence these two very different kinds of dress are having on fashion and designers today. Traditional dress from around the globe inspired the early designs of people like Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. Culture to Catwalk looks back at the roots of the industry, the backlash against brash consumerism, globalisation and 'fast-fashion' and that what people are wearing locally on the streets is once again influencing what stalks the catwalk (just as at the turn of the century). It features interviews and quotes from designers and brands including Hussein Chalayan, Rei Kawakubo, Sophia Kokosalaki and many more.