Dressays
An Anthology of Writing about Clothing
Will be published approx. on 25. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-350-47324-9 (ISBN)
Description
Dressays is an anthology of thought-provoking essays exploring how clothing can reveal the complex, deeply felt bonds we have with ourselves, our communities and the worlds through which we move. These deeply personal narratives demonstrate how, whether saturated with emotion or charged with political significance, dress both bears and shapes meaning. Collectively, they show how dress is as inextricable from shared cultures and histories as we are from the garments we wear.
The contributions in this anthology articulate what is often felt but not seen when it comes to dress: how it ties us to other people, how it hides us even as it makes us visible, and how it helps us navigate and participate in our communities. They offer insight into a wide spectrum of human experiences, including how clothes relate to experiences of disability, chronic illness, religious faith, self-alienation and grief; of caring for a loved one, of being racialised, of coming to terms with one's sexuality, and of custodianship of the natural world. By revealing how garments and accessories form the threshold of our experience of the world, these essays show just how entangled with both they are.
The contributions in this anthology articulate what is often felt but not seen when it comes to dress: how it ties us to other people, how it hides us even as it makes us visible, and how it helps us navigate and participate in our communities. They offer insight into a wide spectrum of human experiences, including how clothes relate to experiences of disability, chronic illness, religious faith, self-alienation and grief; of caring for a loved one, of being racialised, of coming to terms with one's sexuality, and of custodianship of the natural world. By revealing how garments and accessories form the threshold of our experience of the world, these essays show just how entangled with both they are.
Reviews / Votes
The anthology is a hymn to experiential dress. The essays beautifully, often lyrically, narrate how garments and accessories shape our emotional lives, how their materiality solidifies our bonds with others and ourselves. They tell stories about how we inhabit the world in and through our and everybody else's clothes. An intriguing read. * Lucia Ruggerone, The Robert Gordon University, UK * Roving, nuanced, and fiercely observed. An inquiry into garments that anatomizes the broader and oftentimes personal implications of what we wear. * Durga Chew-Bose, Author of 'Too Much and Not the Mood' (2017) and writer and director of 'Bonjour Tristesse' (2024) * With the same kind of beauty found in a well-constructed garment, or the reassurance felt from wearing a well-loved outfit, Rosie Findlay's Dressays is an anthology made to be read with care and gratitude. Findlay's expertly chosen selection of essays on clothing, style, and feeling is a much-needed addition to the existing canon of literature on fashion and its many uses. The range of ideas and experiences shared here by various writers coheres into an elegant, moving collection that will undoubtedly inspire all who read it. * Haley Mlotek, author of 'No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce' * This diverse and beautiful collection of essays connects dress to the circuits of memory, feeling and power that shape us and the world we share. * Ilya Parkins, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Canada *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 166 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
406 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-47324-9 (9781350473249)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Rosie Findlay is a feminist media studies scholar who has published widely on two key areas: fashion media and communication in the 21st century; and the intersection of dress, feeling and culture. She is co-editor of Insights on Fashion Journalism (2022), author of Personal Style Blogs: Appearances that Fascinate (2017) and co-editor of forthcoming edited collection, Remaking Fashion Media: Sustainable Narratives and Visions of Change. Rosie is Senior Lecturer in Media at City St George's, University of London, UK.
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Dressays, Rosie Findlay
1. The Look, Anne Anlin Cheng
2. Darning Mark's Jumper: Wearing Love and Sorrow, Karena de Perthuis
3. The Same Yellow Dress, Amy Key
4. We Have Lost Too Many Wigs, Desiree Cooper
5. High Functioning, Esme Weijun Wang
6. The Work of Human Hands, Fiona Wright
7. Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket, Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. Things to Think About When You Are Buying Clothes, Meena Kandasamy
9. Under the Weather, Jane Tynan
10. A Stitch Between Reality and Imagination, Thao Thai
11. Paradise Engraved, Krys Osei
12. The Men Who Dressed Me, Honor Wilson
13. Sartorial Misdirection, Rosie Findlay
14. 'The Cool', Yomi Sode
15. On Losing Something Precious: Of Talismans and the End of Love, Stephanie Danler
16. A Leg to Stand On: Prosthetics, Metaphor, and Materiality, Vivian Sobchack
17. Rummaging: Losing and finding myself in clothes, Ellen Sampson
18. Material Ambiguities: Time, clothing and grief during terminal illness, Isabel Mundigo-Moore
19. A Life in Clothes, Ruth Gershon
References
Notes on Contributors
Credits
List of Illustrations
Index
Introduction: Dressays, Rosie Findlay
1. The Look, Anne Anlin Cheng
2. Darning Mark's Jumper: Wearing Love and Sorrow, Karena de Perthuis
3. The Same Yellow Dress, Amy Key
4. We Have Lost Too Many Wigs, Desiree Cooper
5. High Functioning, Esme Weijun Wang
6. The Work of Human Hands, Fiona Wright
7. Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket, Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. Things to Think About When You Are Buying Clothes, Meena Kandasamy
9. Under the Weather, Jane Tynan
10. A Stitch Between Reality and Imagination, Thao Thai
11. Paradise Engraved, Krys Osei
12. The Men Who Dressed Me, Honor Wilson
13. Sartorial Misdirection, Rosie Findlay
14. 'The Cool', Yomi Sode
15. On Losing Something Precious: Of Talismans and the End of Love, Stephanie Danler
16. A Leg to Stand On: Prosthetics, Metaphor, and Materiality, Vivian Sobchack
17. Rummaging: Losing and finding myself in clothes, Ellen Sampson
18. Material Ambiguities: Time, clothing and grief during terminal illness, Isabel Mundigo-Moore
19. A Life in Clothes, Ruth Gershon
References
Notes on Contributors
Credits
List of Illustrations
Index