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A review by erboe501
Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford
4.0
I love learning about this history of fashion. And laws around fashion (ie, dress codes) have always fascinated me. I agree with Ford's premise that studying dress codes through the ages can teach us something about the social anxieties and attitudes around fashion. At times this book got a little dense (Ford is a professor, after all), but I followed along pretty well.
A few things that I want to remember from the book:
--For centuries, fashion was about telling people who had power and what social class you belonged to. When clothes became more tailored (instead of draped like togas), that physical fit encouraged thinking about clothing as individual expression. In today's world, we think of clothing as expressions of our personality, not merely a signifier of our class and wealth.
--Clothing is a "demonstration" of a social position or point of view or privilege position, not an "argument."
--There's no way to opt out of fashion and what our clothes say about us. To claim you don't care is a position in itself.
--When men started to adapt to modern suits and away from ostentatious courtly wear, they used the outrageous outfits of their wives to demonstrate their wealth. Women's clothes became their displays of power and prestige, while the men could conveniently say they were focused on other, more refined interests.
A few things that I want to remember from the book:
--For centuries, fashion was about telling people who had power and what social class you belonged to. When clothes became more tailored (instead of draped like togas), that physical fit encouraged thinking about clothing as individual expression. In today's world, we think of clothing as expressions of our personality, not merely a signifier of our class and wealth.
--Clothing is a "demonstration" of a social position or point of view or privilege position, not an "argument."
--There's no way to opt out of fashion and what our clothes say about us. To claim you don't care is a position in itself.
--When men started to adapt to modern suits and away from ostentatious courtly wear, they used the outrageous outfits of their wives to demonstrate their wealth. Women's clothes became their displays of power and prestige, while the men could conveniently say they were focused on other, more refined interests.