Overview
Two Centuries of Costume in America examines clothing as evidence of social history, tracing fashion, materials, silhouettes, occupations, and changing cultural influences from the seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century. Costume can look superficial until you realize how much…
This title is catalogued in Classics & Literature. Its reading profile is Medium and Moderate, with themes including learning, history, business, social questions, literature.
One-Page Summary
Two Centuries of Costume in America examines clothing as evidence of social history, tracing fashion, materials, silhouettes, occupations, and changing cultural influences from the seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century. Costume can look superficial until you realize how much information is carried by what people wear. Clothing indicates climate, wealth, profession, gender expectations, social status, access to imported goods, and changing ideas about propriety. The period from 1620 to 1820 contains enormous political and economic change, and clothing changes with it.
Colonial society develops its own patterns, while trade and European fashion continue to influence what people consider fashionable or respectable. The book is therefore not simply a picture catalogue. It is a study of how ordinary objects can reveal large historical transformations. A dress, hat, coat, shoe, or piece of jewelry can show who had money, who performed physical labor, who participated in trade, and what a society believed the body should look like in public. Read it as social history through material culture. Its most interesting lesson is that history is not only preserved in speeches and battles; it is stitched into fabric, cut into patterns, and worn every day.
Key Themes
Learning: This title is tagged with learning as one of its main themes.
History: This title is tagged with history as one of its main themes.
Business: This title is tagged with business as one of its main themes.
Social questions: This title is tagged with social questions as one of its main themes.
Literature: This title is tagged with literature as one of its main themes.