description: "Dressed to Kill" puts fashion and style in their rightful place-at the center of the historical stage. Fashion has been a symbol of falling dynasties, rising queens, infamous celebrities, criminals, and movie stars. While critics and moralists through the ages have deemed fashion as essentially frivolous, the deeply subliminal and theatrical power of fashion cannot be denied. "Dressed to Kill" displays fashion's supreme importance in our cultural memory, almost Proustian in its power to mark notable times and places in history. An anthropologist's dream source for studying ongoing political, sexual, and social trends, these fashion talismans offer future generations an extended, if quirky, index to past centuries. Who can imagine the 1950s without James Dean's signature black leather jacket? Though never worn in a movie, it became the symbol of rebels everywhere. The topless bathing suit was as headline-making a symbol of new sexual mores as the blue jeans were in the 1960s, both sexy and radical in their androgyny. This dynamic, engaging compilation addresses the way we look, proving that, at least in history's eyes, we are what we wear.Nan Richardson is an editor, writer, and curator. Co-author of "The White T" (1996), "Louise Dahl-Wolfe" (2000), "Lillian Bassman" (1997), and other books on fashion, she has also curated exhibitions of fashion photography at FIT New York, The Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, and other museums. Richardson lives in New York with her husband Andrew Karsch and two children.Jennifer Dillon is a playwright, screenwriter, and columnist. She lives in New York City.
language: English
title: Dressed to Kill: What to Wear When Fashion Makes History
titlecomplete: Dressed to Kill: What to Wear When Fashion Makes History
publisher: Umbrage Editions