Fashion In Focus: Concepts, Practices and Politics

189 Pages·2011·1.338 MB·English

by  Tim Edwards

Fashion in Focus
The study of fashion has exploded in recent decades, yet quite what this all
means,quitewhereitmighttakeus,isnotclear.Thisnewbookhelpstobring
fashionintofocus,withacomprehensiveguidetothekeytheories,perspectives
and developments in the field.
Tim Edwards includes coverage of all the major theories of fashion,
including recent scholarship, alongside subcultural analysis and an in-depth
look at production. Individual topics include:
(cid:1) men’s fashion, masculinity and the suit;
(cid:1) women’s fashion and the role of sexuality;
(cid:1) children, the body and fashion;
(cid:1) the role of celebrity and designer label culture;
(cid:1) globalisation and the production of fashion.
Fashion in Focus is the ideal companion for students in the arts and social
sciences, especially those studying issues such as fashion, gender, sexuality and
consumer culture.
Tim Edwards is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leicester.
He has published and researched widely in the areas of masculinities,
sexuality, fashion and consumer culture. He is the author of Cultures of
Masculinity (2006).

Fashion in Focus
Concepts, practices and politics
Tim Edwards
Firstpublished2011
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAve,NewYork,NY10016
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
©2011TimEdwards
TherightofTimEdwardstobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproduced
orutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,
nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,
orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissionin
writingfromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Edwards,Tim,1963–
Fashioninfocus:concepts,practices&politics/TimEdwards.
p.cm.
1.Fashion--Socialaspects.2.Clothinganddress--Socialaspects.I.Title.
GT525.E342010
391--dc22
2010022456
ISBN 0-203-83688-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN13:978-0-415-44793-5(hbk)
ISBN13:978-0-415-44794-2(pbk)
ISBN13:978-0-203-83688-0(ebk)
Dedicated to the Three Wise Women:
Veronica Moore
Janet Perry
Carla Willig

Contents
List of plates viii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Fashion foundations 1
2 The classical tradition: early perspectives on fashion 11
3 The clothes maketh the man: masculinity, the suit
and men’s fashion 41
4 The woman question: fashion, feminism and fetishism 67
5 Who are you kidding? Children, fashion and consumption 87
6 Express yourself: the politics of dressing up 103
7 From rags to riches: fashion production 120
8 Desiring subjects: the designer label and the cult of celebrity 137
Conclusion: the fashion invasion 159
Bibliography 162
Index 175
Plates
The below images have been reproduced with kind permission. Whilst every
efforthasbeenmadetotracecopyright holdersandobtainpermission,thishas
not been possible in all cases. Any omissions brought to our attention will be
remedied in future editions.
1 Three piece suit. Courtesy of the author 40
2 Stiletto shoe. © iStock Photo / Nadejda Reid 66
3 Childrenincontemporaryclothing.©iStockPhoto/Ekaterina
Monakhova 86
4 Indian wedding dress. © iStock Photo / Evelyn Peyton 102
5 Street style. © iStock Photo / Joselito Briones 102
6 Designer handbag. © iStock Photo / Ilie Victor Oancea 136
Acknowledgements
Writingabook is abit like building a house –ultimately you areon your own
with it but you need structural support. I am particularly grateful then to
Natalie Foster, Charlie Wood and Emily Laughton as well as others at Taylor
& Francis for providing the foundations and tolerating a sometimes decidedly
unreliable workman. Much brick carrying has been provided by friends past
and present including Sam Ashenden who also provided some interesting
insights, Espe Bielsa who occasionally repositioned the windows, and Stalø
Phylactou who simply provided shelter once when the walls were falling
down.Othersofcoursejuststandbythe operationratherthandorunners and
they include Peter Handford, Simon Hardy, Philip Hoggar and Hüseyin
Tapˇınç.There areothers,though, whoquite literally getyou throughand they
includeVeronica Moore,JanetPerryandCarlaWillig–Iwillremain indebted
to these three very wise women forever for shining lights when the fuses had
completely blown. For reasons he will never know, I also remain eternally
grateful to Chris Stephenson for simply throwing me a line and giving me an
escape route out of the house when needed. Lastly, but not least, Chris Marsh
abandoned the house but did not abandon me while Casper sat, purred, and
told me to remember my priorities – eat, sleep, and smile …