Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing
Why do people dress the way they do? How does clothing contribute to a person's identity as a man or woman, as a white-collar professional or blue-collar worker, as a preppie, yuppie, or nerd? How is it that dress no longer denotes social class so much as lifestyle, whatever that is? Is haute couture defunct? Why may women wear pants and everything else men do, yet men may not wear skirts and everything else women do? Crane (sociology, Univ. of Pennsylvania; The Transformation of the Avant-Garde) has written widely on the history and sociology of the arts, the news and entertainment media, fashion in clothing, and other material goods. Intelligent and informative, the book proposes thoughtful answers to some of these questions and helps us find our own answers to similar questions. While highly readable and thus accessible to the casual reader, this is a scholarly work intended mainly for an academic audience. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with substantial collections in art and culture.DJames F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.