Art takes many forms. In this selection of Asian court attire, dating from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the phrase "you are what you wear" resonates. Vollmer journeys back to the thirteenth-century Chinese Empire, where ancestors of the ruling Manchu conquerors dressed fittingly. These exquisite costumes remind us that royalty once set fashion standards the way that celebrities do today, but that these garments also promoted distinct national and political messages that helped keep a ruling minority in power for nearly three centuries. Dressed to Rule is a guide to the exhibit, of the same name, that appeared at the University of Alberta in 2007.

Sneakers, trainers, tennis shoes, baskets wherever you live, whatever you call them, however you wear them, it is impossible to escape this humble shoe's rise to global popularity. Sneakers have moved beyond sports attire to become a fashion staple that simultaneously transcends class and race yet defines who you are in today's urban tribes. The world of the sneaker collector encompasses a huge international audience passionate for the rarest shoes, the latest designs, or reissued classics in a myriad of colors and materials. This encyclopedic guide, with more than 500 specially taken color photographs, displays over 180 sneaker designs that have made a mark on sneaker culture worldwide. There are examples to delight both the novice collector and the hard-core sneaker freak, from acknowledged classics like the Converse All Star to the latest Nike Air technology to forgotten styles no longer in production but worthy of modern recognition, such as the Ewing Reflective. The book features comprehensive reference sections for collectors, including histories of the fourteen leading brands from Adidas to Vans; practical tips on building and caring for a collection; a fully illustrated glossary and chronology; and a directory of shops, resources, and Web sites."

"Waiting for Macedonia "gives insight into one of the most moving moments in post-war European history: the hope for a new Europe in the years following the collapse of communism. In this ethnography, Thiessen explores the different ways in which identity has been negotiated in Macedonia since the disintegration of Yugoslavia. In contrast to more familiar approaches to the Balkans--which emphasize tradition, rural life, and women in the contexts of kinship and marriage--Thiessen here investigates the everyday habits of a group of young professional women in Skopje. Using research data spanning eight years (1988-96), she traces key aspects of their life, including family relationships, television and shopping habits, cafe life, and attitudes to work. At the same time, she also raises larger questions about Macedonian, Balkan, and Eastern European notions of identity, suggesting that western discourses about former socialist countries may in turn be influencing the way young urban Macedonians see themselves.

Foundations of Flat Patterning and Draping: For the Female Form provides the foundational tools necessary for success in the techniques of flat patterning and draping clothes and costumes. This book begins with the basics of taking measurements, preparing the fabric for draping, and preparing the dress form. The following chapters explore flat patterning and draping practices for bodices, skirts, pants, dresses, sleeves, collars, cuffs, and facings through detailed step-by-step instructions, checklists, and numerous diagrams. The bodice drafting instructions in this book, specifically, are a new method that accommodates all bust and cup sizes. There are instructions for small and large cup sizes allowing for a fit that does not gap at the armscye as typically happens with previous patterning methods, and additional sections for bodices and sleeves and how to manipulate them to create alternate looks. The techniques in this book generalize across sizes and shapes making it universally applicable for the student technician, as well as the person the garment is being developed for. Each method of drafting and draping has been class-tested and proven to produce well-fitting garments. Presented in an accessible format with clear instructions and detailed illustrations, this book is well suited for use as a textbook for the undergraduate college instructor teaching costuming or fashion, as well as for the student or individual learning on their own in theatre, film, or fashion industries.

The story of the world's first fashion-obsessed society in 18th-century London Caricatured for extravagance, vanity, glamorous celebrity and, all too often, embroiled in scandal and gossip, 18th-century London's fashionable society had a well-deserved reputation for frivolity. But to be fashionable in 1700s London meant more than simply being well dressed. Fashion denoted membership of a new type of society-the beau monde, a world where status was no longer determined by coronets and countryseats alone but by the more nebulous qualification of metropolitan 'fashion'. Conspicuous consumption and display were crucial; the right address, the right dinner guests, the right possessions, the right jewels, the right seat at the opera. The Beau Monde leads us on a tour of this exciting new world, from court and parliament to London's parks, pleasure grounds, and private homes. From brash displays of diamond jewellery to the subtle complexities of political intrigue, we see how membership of the new elite was won, maintained-and sometimes lost. On the way, we meet a rich and colourful cast of characters, from the newly ennobled peer learning the ropes and the imposter trying to gain entry by means of clever fakery, to the exile banned for sexual indiscretion. Above all, as the story unfolds, we learn that being a Fashionable was about far more than simply being 'modish'. By the end of the century, it had become nothing less than the key to power and exclusivity in a changed world.

Over the past 40 years, Japanese designers have led the way in aligning fashion with art and ideology, as well as addressing identity and social politics through dress. They have demonstrated that both creative and commercial enterprise is possible in today's international fashion industry, and have refused to compromise their ideals, remaining autonomous and independent in their design, business affairs and distribution methods. The inspirational Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo have gained worldwide respect and admiration and have influenced a generation of designers and artists alike. Based on twelve years of research, this book provides a richly detailed and uniquely comprehensive view of the work of these three key designers. It outlines their major contributions and the subsequent impact that their work has had upon the next generation of fashion and textile designers around the world. Designers discussed include: Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Naoki Takizawa, Dai Fujiwara, Junya Watanabe, Tao Kurihara, Jun Takahashi, Yoshiki Hishinuma, Junichi Arai, Reiko Sudo & the Nuno Corporation, Makiko Minagawa, Hiroshi Matsushita, Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan and Helmut Lang.

How transnational modernity is taking shape in and in relation to Asia Fashion and Beauty in the Time of Asia considers the role of bodily aesthetics in the shaping of Asian modernities and the formation of the so-called "Asian Century." S. Heijin Lee, Christina H. Moon, and Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu train our eyes on sites as far-flung, varied, and intimate as Guangzhou and Los Angeles, Saigon and Seoul, New York and Toronto. They map the transregional connections, ever-evolving aspirations and sensibilities, and new worlds and life paths forged through engagements with fashion and beauty. Contributors consider American influence on plastic surgery in Korea, Vietnamese debates about "the fashionable," and the costs and commitments demanded of those who make and wear fast fashion, from Chinese garment workers to Nepalese nail technicians in New York who are mandated to dress "fashionably." In doing so, this interdisciplinary anthology moves beyond common characterizations of Asians and the Asian diaspora as simply abject laborers or frenzied consumers, analyzing who the modern Asian subject is now: what they wear and how they work, move, eat, and shop.

For South Asia, fashion and consumption have come to play an increasingly important role in the lives of young people and in the formation of youth cultures. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have all, in related and distinctive ways, been producing confident young fashion consumers, who are proving to be an important market for fashion.This book explores South Asian youth cultures and fashion across the countries of this region and their diasporas from a transnational perspective. Through visual and textual analysis of film, photography and digital cultures, as well as ethnographic fieldwork, the expert contributors look at how gender, sexuality, class, the media and faith intersect with and style youth cultures. By establishing the heterogeneous nature of South Asia and its youth cultures, they also dismantle grand western narratives that tend to understand the region's diverse cultural modernity through the lens of homogeneity.

From artist to curator, couturier to fashion blogger, 'creative' professional identities can be viewed as social practices, enacted, performed and negotiated through the media, the public, and industry. Fashioning Professionals addresses what it means to be a creative professional, historically and in the digital age, as new ways of working and doing business have given rise to new professional identities. Bringing together critical reflections from international researchers, the book spans fashion, design, art, architecture, and advertising. It examines both traditional and emergent roles in creative industries, from advertising executives and surrealist artists to mannequin designers, pop stylists, bloggers, makers and design curators. The book reveals how professional identities are continually in a state of fashioning, through style, taste, gender and cultural representation, highlighting moments of friction and flux in the creative labour of the global economy. Interweaving critical perspectives from fashion and design history with sociology and cultural theory, Fashioning Professionals addresses a burgeoning area of research as we enter new terrain in fashion and the creative industries.

Turkey has witnessed remarkable sociocultural change under the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), particularly regarding its religious communities. As individuals with pious identities have increasingly gained access to state power and accumulated economic influence, so religious appearances and practices have become more visible in Turkey's `secular' public spaces. More than this, consumption practices have changed and new Islamic and Islamist identities have emerged. This book investigates three of the most widespread faith-inspired communities in Turkey: the Gulen, Suleymanli and the Menzil. Nazli Alimen compares these communities, looking at their diverse interpretations of Islamic rules related to the body and dress, and how these different groups compete for power and control in Turkey. In tracing what motivates consumption practices, the book adds to the growing interest in the commercial aspects of modest and Islamic fashion. It also highlights the importance of clothing and bodily rituals (such as veiling, grooming and food choices) for the formation of community identities. Based on ethnographic research, Alimen analyses the relationship between the marketplace and religion, and shows how different communities interact with each other and state institutions. Of particular note are the varied expressions of Islamic masculinities and femininities at play. Appealing to a cross-disciplinary readership, the book will be relevant for scholars within Turkish Studies, Gender Studies, Islamic Studies, Fashion, Consumption Studies, Sociology of Religion and Middle Eastern Studies.

In the context of this rapidly changing world, Rachel Worth explores the ways in which the clothing of the rural working classes was represented visually in paintings and photographs and by the literary sources of documentary, autobiography and fiction, as well as by the particular pattern of survival and collection by museums of garments of rural provenance. Rachel Worth explores ways in which clothing and how it is represented throws light on wider social and cultural aspects of society, as well as how 'traditional' styles of dress, like men's smock-frocks or women's sun-bonnets, came to be replaced by 'fashion'. Her compelling study, with black & white and colour illustrations, both adds a broader dimension to the history of dress by considering it within the social and cultural context of its time and discusses how clothing enriches our understanding of the social history of the Victorian period.

Anthropologists have examined how diverse human populations modify and dress their bodies since the earliest days of the discipline. The Anthropology of Dress and Fashion: A Reader is the first authoritative anthology of the seminal writings of anthropologists studying clothing and fashion. From classic ethnographies of dress to cutting-edge contemporary research tracing the global circulation of clothing today, this comprehensive volume maps out this vibrant field of study's shifting preoccupations, theoretical innovations, and traditional and experimental methodologies. Comprised of over 40 curated extracts from the work of leading international scholars from Jonathan Friedman to Katherine Frank, the reader is divided into themed sections, each with an introduction and guide to further reading. With each extract introduced and contextualised, the reader will be an essential resource for students and scholars of fashion studies, social and cultural anthropology, material culture, sociology and related fields.

Teaching Fashion Studies is the definitive resource for instructors of fashion studies at the undergraduate level and beyond. The first of its kind, it offers extensive, practical support for both seasoned instructors and those at the start of an academic career, in addition to interdisciplinary educators looking to integrate fashion into their classes. Informed by the latest research in the field and written by an international team of experts, Teaching Fashion Studies equips educators with a diverse collection of exercises, assignments, and pedagogical reflections on teaching fashion across disciplines. Each chapter offers an assignment, with guidance on how to effectively implement it in the classroom, as well as reflections on pedagogical strategies and student learning outcomes. Facilitating the integration of practice and theory in the classroom, topics include: the business of fashion; the media and popular culture; ethics and sustainability; globalization; history; identity; trend forecasting; and fashion design.

The fashion media is in the midst of deep social and technological change. Including a broad range of case studies, from fashion plates to fashion films, and from fashion magazines to fashion blogs, this ground-breaking book provides an up-to-date examination of the role and significance of this field. Winner of the PCA/ACA Ray and Pat Browne Award for Best Edited Collection, Fashion Media includes chapters written by international scholars covering topics from historic magazine cultures and contemporary digital innovations to art and film, exploring themes such as gender, ethnicity, design, taste and authorship. Highlighting the complexity of processes that bind design, design, technology, society and identity together, Fashion Media will be of be essential reading for students of fashion studies, cultural studies, visual culture studies, design history, communications and art and design practice and theory.

In recent years, menswear has moved decisively center stage. Menswear Revolution investigates the transformation of men's fashion through the lens of shifting masculinities, examining how its increasing diversity has created new ways for men to explore and express their identities. Harnessing sustained market growth and creative dynamism on the runway, ground-breaking designers from Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane to Craig Green have revolutionized the discipline with their bold re-imaginings of the male wardrobe. Analysing the role of the media in shaping attitudes to men's fashion, Menswear Revolution studies how competing narratives of masculinity are reflected in popular discourse. Taking us from the mod and peacock revolutions of the 1960s to the new wave aesthetics of the 1980s, the book explores historical precedents for today's menswear scene - and looks at the evolution of the 'ideal' male body, from the muscular to the lean and boyish. Combining interviews with fashion professionals with close analyses of garments and advertising, Menswear Revolution provides an authoritative account of menswear design today. Highlighting its relationship to changing concepts of gender, the book provides a much-needed update to scholarship on masculinity, fashion and the body.

Riot grrrls, punk feminists best known for their girl power activism and message, used punk ideologies and the literacy practice of zine-ing to create radical feminist sites of resistance. In what ways did zines document feminism and activism of the 1990s? How did riot grrrls use punk ideologies to participate in DIY sites? In Writing a Riot: Riot Grrl Zines and Feminist Rhetorics, Buchanan argues that zines are a form of literacy participation used to document personal, social, and political values within punk. She examines zine studies as an academic field, how riot grrrls used zines to promote punk feminism, and the ways riot grrrl zines dealt with social justice issues of rape and race. Writing a Riot is the first full-length book that examines riot grrrl zines and their role in documenting feminist history.

This book is the first in-depth exploration of the revolutionary designers who defined American fashion in its emerging years and helped build an industry with global impact, yet have been largely forgotten. Focusing on female designers, the authors reclaim a place in history for the women who created not only for celebrities and socialites, but for millions of fashion-conscious customers across the United States. From one of America's first couturiers, Jessie Franklin Turner, to Zelda Wynn Valdes, the book captures the lost histories of the luminaries who paved the way in the world of American fashion design. This fully illustrated collection takes us from Hollywood to Broadway, from sportswear to sustainable fashion, and explores important crossovers between film, theater, and fashion. Uncovering fascinating histories of the design pioneers we should know about, the book enlarges the prevailing narrative of fashion history and will be an important reference for fashion students, historians, costume curators, and fashion enthusiasts alike.

Fashion is all around us, and so too is fashion journalism. Discussions of fashion proliferate in an ever-increasing range of media, from newspapers and magazines to tweets and TV programs. Fashion Journalism: History, Theory and Practice is an accessible, comprehensive guide to writing about fashion in any form, whether in style blogging, magazine interviews, news reportage or art reviews. Exploring what sets fashion journalism apart from other forms of journalistic writing, the book features a wide range of global fashion case studies, from Carmel Snow's reporting on Dior's 'New Look' to 1970s responses to Yves Saint Laurent, and Diana Vreeland's role as a fashion editor. Through a series of engaging exercises, you will learn how to find inspiration, carry out successful research, structure your work logically, use a style appropriate to your readership, and to make the leap from descriptive writing to informed analysis and criticism. Engaging and clearly written, Fashion Journalism examines how recent technological developments are shaping and driving fashion journalism, and delves into the theory and practice of writing about fashion.

Originally published in 1989, this ground-breaking ethnographic exploration of tattooing-and the art world surrounding it-covers the history, anthropology and sociology of body modification practices; the occupational experience of the tattooist; the process and social consequences of becoming a tattooed person; and the prospects of \u0022serious\u0022 tattooing becoming an accepted art form. Curiously, despite the greater prevalence of tattoos and body modification in today\u2019s society, there is still a stigma of deviance associated with people who get or ink tattoos. Retaining the core of the original book, this revised and expanded edition offers a new preface by the author and a new chapter focusing on the changes that have occurred in the tattoo world. A section on the new scholarly literature that has emerged, as well as the new modes of body modification that have come into vogue are included along with a new gallery of photographs that shows some splendid examples of contemporary tattoo art. A directory of artists' websites invites readers to discover the range of work being done around the world-from \u201csuits\u201d (full body tattoos) to skulls.

Learning how to think through fashion is both exciting and challenging, being dependent on one s ability to critically engage with an array of theories and concepts. This is the first book designed to accompany readers through the process of thinking through fashion. It aims to help them grasp both the relevance of social and cultural theory to fashion, dress, and material culture and, conversely, the relevance of those fields to social and cultural theory. It does so by offering a guide through the work of selected major thinkers, introducing their concepts and ideas. Each chapter is written by an expert contributor and is devoted to a key thinker, capturing the significance of their thought to the understanding of the field of fashion, while also assessing the importance of this field for a critical engagement with these thinkers ideas. This is a guide and reference for students and scholars in the fields of fashion, dress and material culture, the creative industries, sociology, cultural history, design and cultural studies."

In this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book Liza Dalby traces the history of the kimono - its designs, uses, aesthetics and social significance - and in doing so explores the world of the geisha, last wearers of the kimono. The colourful and stylised kimono, the national garment of Japan, expresses not only Japanese fashion and design taste but also reveals something of the soul of Japan. Amazingly beautiful, many today consider it impractical, too uncomfortable to wear in modern life - it was generally discarded by men for suits and ties a century ago, and now only worn occasionally by women. However, the kimono still retains a powerful hold on the Japanese heart and mind, and provides a link to Japan's past.

Exploring style in a global culture In A Rhetoric of Style, Barry Brummett illustrates how style is increasingly a global system of communication as people around the world understand what it means to dress a certain way, to dance a certain way, to decorate a certain way, to speak a certain way. He locates style at the heart of popular culture and asserts that it is the basis for social life and politics in the twenty-first century. Brummett sees style as a system of signification grounded largely in image, aesthetics, and extrarational modes of thinking. He discusses three important aspects of this system-its social and commercial structuring, its political consequences, and its role as the chief rhetorical system of the modern world. He argues that aesthetics and style are merging into a major engine of the global economy and that style is becoming a way to construct individual identity, as well as social and political structures of alliance and opposition. It is through style that we stereotype or make assumptions about others' political identities, their sexuality, their culture, and their economic standing. To facilitate theoretical and critical analysis, Brummett develops a systematic rhetoric of style and then demonstrates its use through an in-depth exploration of gun culture in the United States. Armed with an understanding of how this rhetoric of style works methodologically, students and scholars alike will have the tools to do their own analyses. Written in clear and engaging prose, A Rhetoric of Style presents a novel discussion of the workings of style and sheds new light on a venerable and sometimes misunderstood rhetorical concept by illustrating how style is the key to constructing a rhetoric for the twenty-first century.

The Great Han is an ethnographic study of the Han Clothing movement (Hanfu yundong), a neo-traditionalist and majority racial nationalist movement that has emerged in China since 2001. Participants come together both online and in person in cities across China to revitalize their utopian vision of the authentic "Great Han" and corresponding "real China" through pseudo-traditional ethnic dress, reinvented Confucian ritual, and anti-foreign sentiment. Employing close analysis of movement ideas and practices, this book finds that the movement's "real China," envisioning a pure, perfectly ordered, ethnically homogeneous, and secure society, is in fact an imaginary vision constructed in response to the challenging realities of the present. Yet this national imaginary is reproduced precisely through its own perpetual elusiveness. The Great Han is a pioneering analysis of Han identity, nationalism, and social movements in a rapidly changing China.