Language of Clothes : Featuring a New Introduction about Fashion Today

by Alison Lurie

• ISBN13: 9780805062441
• ISBN10: 0805062440
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-03-15
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks

Summary

The classic book about the clothes we wear and what they say about us. Even before we speak to someone in a meeting, at a party, or on the street, our clothes often express important information (or misinformation) about our occupation, origin, personality, opinions, and tastes. And we pay close attention to how others dress as well; though we may not be able to put what we observe into words, we unconsciously register the information, so that when we meet and converse we have already spoken to one another in a universal tongue. Alison Lurie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, is our savvy guide and interpreter on this tour through the history of fashion. She provides fascinating insights into how changing sex roles, political upheavals, and class structure have influenced costume. Whether she is describing the enormous amount of clothing worn by early Victorian women or illuminating the significance of the long robes worn by aging men throughout history to connote eminence, her analysis is playful, clever, and always on target.

Author Biography

Alison Lurie is the Pulitzer-prize winning author of many highly praised novels, including, most recently, The Last Resort. She currently divides her time between Ithaca, Key West, and London.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	ix
Clothing as a Sign System	3	(34)
Youth and Age	37	(23)
Fashion and Time	60	(24)
Fashion and Place	84	(31)
Fashion and Status	115	(39)
Fashion and Opinion	154	(28)
Color and Pattern	182	(30)
Male and Female	212	(18)
Fashion and Sex	230	(32)
Source Notes	262	(3)
Selected Bibliography	265	(2)
Illustration Credits	267