Fashion and Costume

Shows hairstyles, jewelry, clothing, and body art used in each region of Africa and discusses the religious and cultural significance of African ornament.

Dress and fashion practices in Africa and the diaspora are dynamic and diverse, whether on the street or on the fashion runway. Focusing on the dressed body as a performance site, African Dress explores how ideas and practices of dress contest or legitimize existing power structures through expressions of individual identity and the cultural and political order. Drawing on innovative, interdisciplinary research by established and up and coming scholars, the book examines real life projects and social transformations that are deeply political, revolving around individual and public goals of dignity, respect, status, and morality.

Dress and fashion practices in Africa and the diaspora are dynamic and diverse, whether on the street or on the fashion runway. Focusing on the dressed body as a performance site, 'African Dress' explores how ideas and practices of dress contest or legitimise existing power structures through expressions of individual identity and the cultural and political order.

The Nigerian and West African practice of aso ebi fashion invokes notions of wealth and group dynamics in social gatherings.  Okechukwu Nwafor's volume Aso ebi investigates the practice in the cosmopolitan urban setting of Lagos, and argues that the visual and consumerist hype typical of the late capitalist system feeds this unique fashion practice. The book suggests that dress, fashion, aso ebi, and photography engender a new visual culture that largely reflects the economics of mundane living. Nwafor examines the practice's societal dilemma, whereby the solidarity of aso ebi is dismissed by many as an ephemeral transaction.

This volume examines the dynamic relationship between the body, clothing, and identity in sub-Saharan Africa and raises questions that have previously been directed almost exclusively to a Western and urban context. Unusual in its treatment of the body surface as a critical frontier in the production and authentification of identity, Clothing and Difference shows how the body and its adornment have been used to construct and contest social and individual identities in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, and other African societies during both colonial and post-colonial times.

In Conflict and Costume, acclaimed photographer Jim Naughten captures the colorful Herero attire in a series of spectacular portraits. Set against the Namibian landscape, these dramatic images show the striking costumes and their proud owners to full effect: men in elaborate, home-made paramilitary uniforms, and women in spectacular floor-length frocks with matching horns. Dr Lutz Marten contributes an insightful text that places the dress in its historical context.

Experience the rich and vibrant history of this simple yet sophisticated garment and the skill, tradition, symbolism, and art it represents through over 600 images. Displayed on over 100 full-page color images are supreme examples of the kimono, representing the best from the world's private and museum collections.

A practical guide to selecting, wearing and choosing accessories for a kimono, with tips on care and preservation, and a brief history of Japan's traditional garment. This practical and attractive book makes available for the first time the basic knowledge and vocabulary needed to select and put on a kimono and obi. Whether for women or men, all kimono are cut and sewn essentially form a single pattern, but a number of variations must be considered, depending on the occasion.

Featuring over 450 archival photographs and line drawings, Chinese Dress traces the evolution of Chinese clothing from court and formal costumes to the fashions of modern China. A comprehensive and sumptuously illustrated book, Chinese Dress is the essential reference for costume historians, fashion designers and collectors, as well as lovers of beautiful clothes everywhere.

A head-to-toe exploration of Chinese dress through sumptuous, detailed photography of some of the most fascinating historic and contemporary pieces in the V&A's outstanding collection.

Couture Korea highlights traditional ways of dressing and shows how contemporary haute couture is rooted in Korean tradition. Through garments including baeja (woman's vest), po (man's outerwear), and baegilbok (child's costume for the 100th-day celebration), this Korean fashion book explores how each gender dresses during different seasons, on special occasions, and according to social status. Interviews with contemporary fashion designers Jin Teok and Karl Lagerfeld and historians Minjee Kim and Cho Hyo Sook examine how historical and modern clothing design reinvigorates Korean cultural identity.

Textiles play a decisive role in history: attire not only indicates status, gender, ethnicity, and religion but illustrates how such boundaries are continuously being negotiated, shifted, and recreated. Fashionable Traditions captures the complex reality of Asian handmade textile production and consumption. From traditionalist discourse and cultural authenticity to fashion and market trends, the contributors to this collection demonstrate the multilayered influence of often contradictory forces. In-depth, ethnographic case studies reveal the entangled relationships between local artisans, external interventions, and consumers, while acknowledging the broader frameworks in which such relationships are situated.

Hanbok embodies many of the social and aesthetic values of the Korean people. In accordance with the emphasis on social harmony found in Confucian philosophy, the choice of hanbok varied depending on one's position in society. Its beautifully flowing lines and harmonious color schemes are important aesthetic values found in Korean art. This book will examine the origins, history, and the unique characteristics of hanbok and its contemporary standing.

India in Fashion explores the beautiful and sophisticated history and aesthetics of traditional Indian fashion, dress, and textiles and their profound impact on European and American fashion from the eighteenth century to today.

This dazzling array of Indian textiles from one of the world's most important and eclectic private collections contains many images never before published. A treasure trove of Indian textiles, this book ranges from 14th century trade cloths found as far away as Central Asia, Japan, Bhutan, and Afghanistan to Indian folk textiles and costumes.

The Offbeat Sari will explore how the sari has become a site for design innovation, an expression of identity, a form of resistance, and a crafted object carrying layers of cultural meanings.

This book traces the history of the costume of Peranakan women; specifically, the sarong, kebaya, and baju panjang.

Textiles of the Middle East and Central Asia explores the significance and beauty of textiles from across the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia. This vast region has been the focus of population movements, exploration, and trade for thousands of years and is home to a wealth of textile traditions. From the intricate embroidery on a Palestinian wedding dress to the complex iconography on an Afghan war rug, textiles reflect the beliefs, practices, and experiences of people from these lands.

Examines fashion and clothing controversies of the nineteenth century, drawing on performance theory to reveal how the apparently superficial or frivolous deeply affects the creation of identity. By interrogating a set of seemingly disparate examples from the same period but widely distant settings--Victorian Britain and Meiji-era Japan--Carriger disentangles how small, local, ordinary practices became enmeshed in a global fabric of cultural and material surfaces following the opening of trade between these nations in 1850.

Interpreting surviving objects, visual representations in a wide range of media, and a diverse array of primary textual sources, McCall argues that Renaissance masculine dress was a political phenomenon that fashioned power and patriarchal authority.

A fascinating glimpse into design behind the Iron Curtain, revealed through the products and graphics of everyday Soviet life. This survey of Soviet design from 1950 to 1989 features more than 350 items from the Moscow Design Museum's unique collection.

Covers the colorful story of dressing up, from the accession of Queen Victoria to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. During this time, fancy dress became a regular part of people's social lives, and the craze for it spread across Britain and the Empire, reaching every level of society. Spectacular and witty costumes appeared at suburban street carnivals, victory celebrations, fire festivals, missionary bazaars, and the extravagant balls of the wealthy.

A guide to 555 books and other sources of illustrations and information.

Beginning at 1550 - the start of an era during which the word 'fashion' came to mean stylistic change rather than the act of making - each chapter explores the definition of everyday fashion and how this has changed over time, demonstrating innovative methodologies for researching the everyday. The variety and significance of everyday fashion cultures are further highlighted by a series of illustrated object biographies written by Britain's leading fashion curators, showcasing the rich diversity of everyday fashion in British museum collections.

Luxurious textiles, exacting tailoring, and lush trimmings abound in this glorious volume that celebrates the evolution of European dress through two centuries. Fashion is in the details. The textiles, tailoring, and trimmings all work together in the creation of the finest pieces. Drawing on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's internationally known fashion collection, this gorgeous book tells the story--in words and beautiful pictures--of fashion's aesthetic and technical development from the Age of Enlightenment to World War I, a period when fashionable dress underwent sweeping changes.

Examines the characteristics of representative costumes from the various countries and regions of Eastern Europe and how they are influenced by climate, geography, and historical events.

Describes the regional costumes of Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and Mediterranean ports and islands, and the influence on them of climate, geography, and historical events.

Describes the national and regional costumes of ten Western European countries.

This absorbing and interdisciplinary book examines dress in a broad range of folk cultures - from Turkey, Greece, and Slovakia to Norway, Latvia, and Lithuania, to name but a few. Authors reveal the connection between folk dress and ancient myths, cults and rituals, as well as the communicative aspects of folk dress.

The essays in this volume discuss the visible elements, such as clothing, jewellery, the opulence of the elite, fashion and styles, but they also inform the reader about the manner in which these were connected to political and social developments. The articles in this volume highlight important themes regarding the history of textiles, the shifting of trading and manufacturing centres, the professionalization of the various fields in the history of fashion, and the connection with the introduction and proliferation of steam-powered machines and later of electrical equipment.

The best new research on medieval clothing and textiles, drawing from a range of disciplines. Three of the essays in this collection focus on Italy, with contributions on footwear in Lucca based on documentary evidence of the fourteenth century; aristocratic furnishings as described in a royal letter of the fifteenth century, along with its first translation into English; and Boccaccio's treatment of disguise involving Christian/Islamic identity shifts in his Decameron. The Bayeux Tapestry is discussed as a narrative artwork that adopts various costumes for semiotic purposes.

The function and ritual of European funerals -- The social status of widows -- The origins of fashionable mourning dress up to 1600 -- Mourning dress, 1600-1700 -- Mourning dress, 1700-1800 -- Mourning dress, 1800-1910 -- Children and mourning -- The mourning dress and textile industries -- Mourning jewellry -- The colours of mourning -- The breakdown of mourning traditions : mourning dress from 1910.

Catalog from the exhibition "Möte Med Mode" which highlighted the "peasant" or folk dress and formal wear as opposed to clothing choices of the "gentry" in Northern Europe.

Beginning with a presentation of the silk finds in the Oseberg burial, the richest Viking burial find ever discovered, the other silk finds from high status graves in Scandinavia are discussed along with an introduction to the techniques used to produce raw silk and fabrics. Later chapters concentrate on trade and exchange, considering the role of silk items both as trade objects and precious gifts, and in the light of coin finds.

Examines fashion and clothing controversies of the nineteenth century, drawing on performance theory to reveal how the apparently superficial or frivolous deeply affects the creation of identity. By interrogating a set of seemingly disparate examples from the same period but widely distant settings--Victorian Britain and Meiji-era Japan--Carriger disentangles how small, local, ordinary practices became enmeshed in a global fabric of cultural and material surfaces following the opening of trade between these nations in 1850.

This book describes and illustrates the history of face veils, from its pre-Islamic origins to the present day. It tells about the many regional variations, from Morocco in the far west to Central Asia in the northeast. It emphasizes the role of face veils as a form of dress and identity, rather than a garment that conceals an individual's persona. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood (Ph.D. Manchester, 1989) is director of the Textile Research Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands. She is a textile and dress historian specializing in the Middle Eastern dress, notably archaeological items from ancient and medieval Egypt. She has been working in the field of veils and veiling since the early 1980s.

Dressed with Distinction offers a window onto the history of textile production in the Middle East during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, until political and social changes led to the dominance of Western-style commercially manufactured attire. In addition to articulating the social and seasonal contexts in which the garments were worn, this book examines the styles of dress of women, men, and children in Ottoman Syria, including cloaks (abaya), head coverings (hatta), women?s body coverings (carsaf), and jackets (qumbas).

Explores the role of the dressed and undressed body in the making of the modern Middle East, from perspectives such as nation, gender, post-colonialism and historiography.

This book surveys the wide array of textiles made, worn, used, and displayed throughout the Islamic world, from the glorious fabrics of the past to those produced today. Hundreds of illustrations feature examples from around the globe, including embroidered Persian prayer cloths, Anatolian ikat coats, Ottoman beaded purses, Caucasian striped silk bags, Berber women's shawls, Arab tent decorations, Yemeni indigo robes, Indonesian batik sarongs, and West African strip-woven cloths. Region by region, the book provides details of local history, particular textile traditions, materials, dyes, special forms of decoration, and information on current practice.

Textiles of the Middle East and Central Asia explores the significance and beauty of textiles from across the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia. This vast region has been the focus of population movements, exploration, and trade for thousands of years and is home to a wealth of textile traditions. From the intricate embroidery on a Palestinian wedding dress to the complex iconography on an Afghan war rug, textiles reflect the beliefs, practices, and experiences of people from these lands.

Based on over twenty-five years of extensive field research and the culling of museum resources and publications from around the world, this book presents the most exhaustive and up-to-date study of the origins of Palestinian embroidery and costume--from antiquity through medieval Arab textile arts to the present. It documents region by region the evolution of costume and the textile arts in Palestine in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

"Beauty, Honor, and Tradition: The Legacy of Plains Indian Shirts represents a powerful collaboration between two great museums - the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution, and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts - and two curators, father and son members of the A'aninin Indian Tribe of Montana. George P. Horse Capture, and his son, Joseph D. Horse Capture, bring different insights to this project as they explore new relationships among the shirts, the shirtmakers, the historians and scholars, and the audience of Indians and non-Indians alike."

A beautifully produced and illustrated (b & w) reference that offers complete descriptions and cultural contexts of the dress and ornamentation of the North American Indian tribes. The volume is divided into ten cultural regions, with each chapter giving an overview of the regional clothing. Individual tribes of the area follow in alphabetical order. Tribal information includes men's basic dress, women's basic dress, footwear, outer wear, hair styles, headgear, accessories, jewelry, armor, special costumes, garment decoration, face and body embellishment, transitional dress after European contact, and bibliographic references. Appendices include a description of clothing arts and a glossary.

The clothes we wear tell stories about us--and are often imbued with cultural meanings specific to our ethnic heritage. This concise A-to-Z encyclopedia explores 150 different and distinct items of ethnic dress, their history, and their cultural significance within the United States. The clothing artifacts documented here have been or are now regularly worn by Americans as everyday clothing, fashion, ethnic or religious identifiers, or style statements. They embody the cultural history of the United States and its peoples, from Native Americans, white Anglo colonists, and forcibly relocated black slaves to the influx of immigrants from around the world. Entries consider how dress items may serve as symbolic linkages to home country and family or worn as visible forms of opposition to dominant cultural norms. Taken together, they offer insight into the ethnic-based core ideologies, myths, and cultural codes that have played a role in the formation and continued story of the United States.

Groundbreaking in its focus on the everyday clothing of ordinary American women--a subject neglected in most fashion histories--Real Clothes, Real Lives highlights over 300 garments and accessories from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. This unique survey honors countless lives, tracing through the lens of dress how women's roles have changed over the decades.

Land, people and costume in prehispanic Mexico -- The emergence of folk costume in Mexico -- Twentieth-century Mexican folk costume.

In this volume, anthropologists, art historians, fiber artists, and technologists come together to explore the meanings, uses, and fabrication of textiles in Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Precolumbian times to the present. Originally published in 1991 by Garland Publishing, the book grew out of a 1987 symposium held in conjunction with the exhibit "Costume as Communication: Ethnographic Costumes and Textiles from Middle America and the Central Andes of South America" at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University.

Traje, the brightly colored traditional dress of the highland Maya, is the principal visual expression of indigenous identity in Guatemala today. Whether worn in beauty pageants, made for religious celebrations, or sold in tourist markets, traje is more than "mere cloth"--it plays an active role in the construction and expression of ethnicity, gender, education, politics, wealth, and nationality for Maya and non-Maya alike. Carol Hendrickson presents an ethnography of clothing focused on the traje--particularly women's traje--of Tecpan, Guatemala, a bi-ethnic community in the central highlands. She covers the period from 1980, when the recent round of violence began, to the early 1990s, when Maya revitalization efforts emerged.

Before the fashion statements of hippies, punks, or hip-hop, there was the zoot suit, a striking urban look of the World War II era that captivated the imagination. Created by poor African American men and obscure tailors, the "drape shape" was embraced by Mexican American pachucos, working-class youth, entertainers, and swing dancers, yet condemned by the U.S. government as wasteful and unpatriotic in a time of war. The fashion became notorious when it appeared to trigger violence and disorder in Los Angeles in 1943--events forever known as the "zoot suit riot." In its wake, social scientists, psychiatrists, journalists, and politicians all tried to explain the riddle of the zoot suit, transforming it into a multifaceted symbol: to some, a sign of social deviance and psychological disturbance, to others, a gesture of resistance against racial prejudice and discrimination. As controversy swirled at home, young men in other places--French zazous, South African tsotsi, Trinidadian saga boys, and Russian stiliagi--made the American zoot suit their own.

Masks and figural sculptures are the most familiar examples of the visual culture of Oceania, yet they provide only a glimpse of the fascinating art of this expansive and diverse region. The artisans of the Pacific Islands have produced objects ranging from stained and beaten fabric, rock engravings, and woven containers to tattooed and painted bodies, drawings on sand and paper, and contemporary installation art. This sweeping survey looks at the full range of objects created over several millennia, spanning the settlement of Oceania in the prehistoric period to the present day.

During the colonial period, Pacific Islanders acceptance of clothing was seen by Europeans as a civilizing sign. In reality, Islanders use of foreign cloth and clothing generally involved translating indigenous preoccupations into new forms of dress. Today, both imported and indigenous cloth feature prominently in Pacific Island exchange, religious practice, clothing, domestic space, public political activity, festivals, and the art and tourist markets. This book sets out to examine the multiple histories of cloth and clothing in the Pacific and to investigate its role in social innovation and resistance from the period of contact to the present day.

Barkcloth or tapa, a cloth made from the inner bark of trees, was widely used in place of woven cloth in the Pacific islands until the 19th century. A ubiquitous material, it was integral to the lives of islanders and used for clothing, furnishings and ritual artefacts. Material Approaches to Polynesian Barkcloth takes a new approach to the study of the history of this region through its barkcloth heritage, focusing on the plants themselves and surviving objects in historic collections. This object-focused approach has filled gaps in our understanding of the production and use of this material through an investigation of this unique fabric's physical properties, transformation during manufacture and the regional history of its development in the 18th and 19th centuries.