Fashion and Its Social Agendas

Author: Diana Crane
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226924831
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
It has long been said that clothes make the man (or woman), but is it still true today? If so, how has the information clothes convey changed over the years? Using a wide range of historical and contemporary materials, Diana Crane demonstrates how the social significance of clothing has been transformed. Crane compares nineteenth-century societies—France and the United States—where social class was the most salient aspect of social identity signified in clothing with late twentieth-century America, where lifestyle, gender, sexual orientation, age, and ethnicity are more meaningful to individuals in constructing their wardrobes. Today, clothes worn at work signify social class, but leisure clothes convey meanings ranging from trite to political. In today's multicode societies, clothes inhibit as well as facilitate communication between highly fragmented social groups. Crane extends her comparison by showing how nineteenth-century French designers created fashions that suited lifestyles of Paris elites but that were also widely adopted outside France. By contrast, today's designers operate in a global marketplace, shaped by television, film, and popular music. No longer confined to elites, trendsetters are drawn from many social groups, and most trends have short trajectories. To assess the impact of fashion on women, Crane uses voices of college-aged and middle-aged women who took part in focus groups. These discussions yield fascinating information about women's perceptions of female identity and sexuality in the fashion industry. An absorbing work, Fashion and Its Social Agendas stands out as a critical study of gender, fashion, and consumer culture. "Why do people dress the way they do? How does clothing contribute to a person's identity as a man or woman, as a white-collar professional or blue-collar worker, as a preppie, yuppie, or nerd? How is it that dress no longer denotes social class so much as lifestyle? . . . Intelligent and informative, [this] book proposes thoughtful answers to some of these questions."-Library Journal

Classifying Fashion, Fashioning Class

Author: Katherine Appleford
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351856464
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
Drawing together theoretical ideas from across the social sciences, Classifying Fashion, Fashioning Class examines how the fashion-class association has developed and, using the experiences of middle-and-working class British women, demonstrates how this relationship operates today. Though increasingly academics argue that contemporary class distinctions are made through cultural practices and tastes, few have fully explored just how individual’s fashion choices mobilise class and are used in class evaluations. Yet, an individual’s everyday dress is perhaps the most immediate marker of taste, and thus an important means of class distinction. This is particularly true for women, as their performances of respectability, femininity and motherhood are embodied by fashion and shaped by class. In unpacking this fashion-class relationship, the book explores how fashion is used by British women to talk about class. It offers important insights into the ways fashion mobilises class differences in understandings of dressing up, performance and public space. It considers how class identity shapes women’s attitudes concerning fashion trends and classic styles, and it draws attention to the pivotal role mothers play in cultivating these class distinctions. The book will be of interest to students in sociology, fashion studies, cultural studies, human geography and consumer behaviour.

Fashion and Class

Author: Rachel Worth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857854941
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
In what ways do changing notions of social class correspond with key developments in the history of fashion? Focusing on examples ranging from 18th-century Britain to aspects of the global fashion industry in the early 21st century, Fashion and Class examines the meaning and evolution of the term 'class', from its Marxist origins to modern day interpretations. Did industrialisation, technological change and developments in fashion retailing bring about a degree of 'class levelling' or in fact intensify class antagonism? And to what extent does modern mass consumption and cheap labour revive some of the ethical issues faced in 19th-century British textile factories? Exploring a variety of case studies that examine the changing relationships between fashion and class in different historical contexts, from the French revolutionaries of the 1780-90s through to the changing relationships between couture, designer and high-street fashion in the mid-20th century and onwards, Fashion and Class is essential reading for those wishing to understand the ways in which the fashion system is closely connected with ideas of class.

Keeping Up Appearances

Author: Catherine Horwood
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752495577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
The British have always been concerned about accent, appearance and class, but at no time during the twentieth century was ' keeping up appearances' more important than during the 1920s and 1930s. From the impecunious youth anxious to create a favourable impression at the local tennis club dance to female office workers advised by the Daily Mail that women in business kept 'their position partly, if not chiefly, by appearance', we peer into the intimate lives and anxieties of the middle classes as they dressed to impress. Choices were influenced as much by the advent of mass production, economic stringency, snobbery and the influence of America, as by personal aesthetics. Seemingly insignificant items such as ties, braces, gloves and hats, could convey a lack of breeding if worn incorrectly. This engagingly written and illustrated book explores the social mores behind one of society's most popular activities, and reveals not only how we dressed but why.

Fashion and Class

Author: Rachel Worth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 184788816X
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Different Class

Author: Dermot Kavanagh
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783523786
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Book Description
Shortlisted for Biography of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards When Laurie Cunningham played for England in an under-21s match against Scotland in 1977, he became the first black footballer to represent England professionally. Two years later, he would become the first Englishman to play for Real Madrid. In a time when racist chants flew from the stands, Cunningham's success challenged how black players were perceived, paving the way for future generations. But Cunningham was more than an exceptional footballer who could play like a dream. He was a dandy with a love of funk music and bespoke suits, as easily graceful on the dance floor as he was on the pitch. Different Class is a portrait of an important but unsung figure who brought glamour to the game at a particularly dark point in its history. Many know Laurie Cunningham’s name but not his story; now they will know both.

After a Fashion (A Class of Their Own Book #1)

Author: Jen Turano
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441265139
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Book Description
Miss Harriet Peabody dreams of the day she can open up a shop selling refashioned gowns to independent working women like herself. Unfortunately, when an errand for her millinery shop job goes sadly awry due to a difficult customer, she finds herself out of an income. Mr. Oliver Addleshaw is on the verge of his biggest business deal yet when he learns his potential partner prefers to deal with men who are settled down and wed. When Oliver witnesses his ex not-quite-fiance cause the hapless Harriet to lose her job, he tries to make it up to her by enlisting her help in making a good impression on his business partner. Harriet quickly finds her love of fashion can't make her fashionable. She'll never truly fit into Oliver's world, but just as she's ready to call off the fake relationship, fancy dinners, and elegant balls, a threat from her past forces both Oliver and Harriet to discover that love can come in the most surprising packages.

Sewing for Fashion Designers

Author: Anette Fischer
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
ISBN: 1780677049
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
This comprehensive guide explores the fundamental sewing methods fashion designers need and teaches professional garment construction. Chapter One introduces sewing tools and machinery (including industrial machines). It discusses how to work with patterns and explains cutting-out methods. Chapter Two is devoted to different fabrics and how they work, focusing on the construction of a garment, including fastenings and trimmings, and the use of materials to support structured pieces, such as corsets. Hand-sewing techniques and basic seams are explored in Chapter Three. Techniques are demonstrated with step-by-step photographic guides combined with technical drawings. A guide to making garment details and decorations, such as pockets, waistlines, and necklines, is found in Chapter Four. Chapter Five addresses fabric-specific techniques, for everything from lace to neoprene. The best technical approaches to use for patternmaking and construction are discussed for each fabric. Catwalk images demonstrate how these kinds of techniques are employed by designers.

Fashion, Women and Power

Author: Denise N. Rall
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781789384611
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
A critique of the politics of dress for women in power. What is the relationship between fashion, women, and power? As never before, women in positions of political power find themselves facing the maelstroms of mass media regarding both their fashion and their right to govern. In this book, contributors offer a wide set of perspectives on women and their fashions when taking up powerful positions in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States as well as emerging women leaders in Asia. This book questions the relationship between women and dress and interrogates how this conversation informs and articulates how women are viewed when taking up public office. The book critiques the interplays between politics, power, class, race, and social expectations concerning the politics of getting dressed.

The Handbook of Fashion Studies

Author: Sandy Black
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472577442
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 654

Book Description
The Handbook of Fashion Studies identifies an innovative spectrum of thematic approaches, key strands and interdisciplinary concepts that continue to push forward the boundaries of fashion studies. The book is divided into seven sections: Fashion, Identity and Difference; Spaces of Fashion; Fashion and Materiality; Fashion, Agency and Policy; Science, Technology and New fashion; Fashion and Time and, Sustainable Fashion in a Globalised world. Each section consists of approximately four essays authored by established researchers in the field from the UK, USA, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada and Australia. The essays are written by international subject specialists who each engage with their section's theme in the light of their own discipline and provide clear case-studies to further knowledge on fashion. This consistency provides clarity and permits comparative analysis. The handbook will be essential reading for students of fashion as well as professionals in the industry.