Book Synopsis

'Fashioning the Self: Identity and Style in British Culture' offers an eclectic approach to contemporary fashion studies.

Taking a broad definition of British culture, this collection of essays explores the significance of style to issues such as colonialism, race, gender and class, embracing topics as diverse as eighteenth-century portraiture, literary dress culture and Edwardian working-class glamour. Examining the emblematic power of garments themselves and the context in which they are styled, this work interrogates the ways that personal style can itself decontextualize garments to radically reframe their meanings. Using an intentionally eclectic range of subjects from an interdisciplinary perspective, this collection builds on the work of theorists such as Aileen Ribeiro, Vika Martina Plock, Cheryl Buckley and Hilary Fawcett, to examine the social significance of personal style, while also highlighting the diversity of British culture itself.

Review Quotes

Across cultures and chronologies, the subjects examined in "Fashioning the Self" grapple with dress as a means of self-creation, self-validation, and cultural expression. These scholars sensitively present fraught historical contexts and demonstrate the ways in which conformity and resistance have informed British style and identity.

Annette Becker

Director of the Texas Fashion Collection

College of Visual Arts & Design

University of North Texas