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The Dressed Society
Clothing, the Body and Some Meanings of the World
- Peter Corrigan - University of New England, Armidale, Australia
February 2008 | 208 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
It was traditionally said that 'clothes make the man.' But what codes and meanings are associated with dress in a society that consists of divisions between class, race, gender, family status, and religion? Is social and cultural life still fundamentally themed by the clothes that we wear? If so, how should we read these codes and themes in order to decipher their relation to power and meaning?
This exhaustive book demonstrates how dress shapes and is shaped by social processes and phenomena such as beauty, time, the body, the gift exchange, class, gender, and religion. It does this through an analysis of topics like the Islamic clothing controversy in state schools, the multitude of identities associated with dress, the Dress Reform movement, the construction of the body in fashion magazines, and the role of the internet in fashion. What emerges is a trenchant, sharply observed account of the place of dress in contemporary society.
The book is designed for students and researchers in sociology, cultural studies, women's studies, gender studies, anthropology, and fashion studies.
This exhaustive book demonstrates how dress shapes and is shaped by social processes and phenomena such as beauty, time, the body, the gift exchange, class, gender, and religion. It does this through an analysis of topics like the Islamic clothing controversy in state schools, the multitude of identities associated with dress, the Dress Reform movement, the construction of the body in fashion magazines, and the role of the internet in fashion. What emerges is a trenchant, sharply observed account of the place of dress in contemporary society.
The book is designed for students and researchers in sociology, cultural studies, women's studies, gender studies, anthropology, and fashion studies.
Introduction
The Dangers of Dress
More than the Times of our Lives
The Fabricated Body
Gift, Circulation and Exchange I
Gift, Circulation and Exchange II
Conclusion
An excellent text which will work perfectly with level two and three students _ will introduce elements from some of the chapters at level one -
Journalism , Southampton Solent University
July 12, 2011
This is an excellent book, both historically and theoretically informed. The topic of fashion/dress is extremely popular with our students and this book is an essential read for those choosing to work in this area.
School of Social Science & Law, Sheffield Hallam University
November 13, 2009
