Understanding Fashion History
Description
The generous reception given to Understanding Fashion History when it was first published in 2004 recognised it as a timely reappraisal of the role of fashion and its place in society. The book introduces the reader to the ways fashionable dress has been defined and studied since the late 17th century, considering the theories that surround the subject, the assembling and use of collections of fashion and textiles, the significance of dress and art, the tension between uniformity of appearance and disguise, and the purpose of theatrical costume.
This book has been read and recommended by academics, collectors, curators, students and general readers who want context for the contemporary obsession with fashion. Constantly in demand, it has become a classic text in its field.
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Content
- Cover
- Title
- Contents
- Acknowledgements and picture credits
- Introduction
- 1 Defining dress and some early authors
- What is dress?
- Why is dress studied?
- How is dress studied?
- 2 Theories and the new dress history
- Laver's Legacy
- An 'internalized' approach?
- The 'cultural construction of the embodied identity'
- 3 Collecting dress
- Public and private: early collecting
- Forming public collections of dress 1850-1970
- Collectors and their museums: three English examples
- 4 The use of collections 1970 to the present
- Permanent and temporary: galleries and exhibitions
- Lost opportunities or new directions?
- Closures and partnerships
- 5 Dress in art and dress as art
- Dress in art
- Prints and photographs
- Dress and fashion as art
- 6 Uniformity and disguise
- Uniformity
- Uniforms and occupational dress
- Ceremonial dress
- Vintage: playing with the past
- Re-enactment: living the past?
- 7 Theatrical dress: costume or fashion?
- Definitions and attitudes
- Performers, audiences and clothes
- Theatrical collections
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Appendix: concepts, disciplines and people
- Glossary
- Select bibliography
- Index
- Copyright
