Everyday Fashion

Ordinary clothes have extraordinary stories. In contrast to academic and curatorial focus on the spectacular and the luxurious, Everyday Fashion makes the case that your grandmother's wardrobe is an archive as interesting and important as any museum store. From the moment we wake and get dressed in the morning until we get undressed again in the evening, fashion is a central medium through which we experience the world and negotiate our place within it. Because of this, the ways that supposedly 'ordinary' and 'everyday' fashion objects have been designed, manufactured, worn, cared for, and remembered matters deeply to our historical understanding. Beginning at 1550 – the start of an era during which the word 'fashion' came to mean stylistic change rather than the act of making – each chapter explores the definition of everyday fashion and how this has changed over time, demonstrating innovative methodologies for researching the everyday. The variety and significance of everyday fashion cultures are further highlighted by a series of illustrated object biographies written by Britain's leading fashion curators, showcasing the rich diversity of everyday fashion in British museum collections. Collectively, this volume scratches below the glossy surface of fashion to expose the mechanics of fashion business, the hidden world of the workroom and the diversity and role of makers; and the experiences of consuming, wearing, and caring for ordinary clothes in the United Kingdom from the 16th century to the present day. In doing so it challenges readers to rethink how fashion systems evolve and to reassess the boundaries between fashion and dress scholarship.

In the last half of the 19th century, the women of America were beginning to develop their own sense of style. Although influenced by European fashions and the social and economic changes of the time, they made clothing choices based upon their personal aspirations and their practical everyday needs. Providing an overview of fashion influences for each decade from the 1860s to the end of the century, Everyday Fashion in Found Photographs presents iconic garments, using sources from the period, to provide commentary and detailed description of the styles of the time. Previously unpublished vintage photographs show women across the social spectrum wearing items such as the Garibaldi shirt, the cuirass bodice, the Mother Hubbard, bicycle bloomers, and much more. Names, dates and functions of garments are examined in detail, and ties are established between social and historical contexts and the evolution of clothing styles. This illustrated book is for readers who want to identify and understand specific clothing items as well as gain insight into the mind-set of fashionable women from Victorian-era America. Dress history scholars, costume designers, curators of costume collections, social and cultural historians and those who appreciate vintage photographs can learn about elements of late 19th century women's dress and thereby develop an understanding of what was fashionable, and why.

This volume captures the essence of the fashion sections seen in the Sears, Roebuck, and other mail-order catalogs of the Roaring Twenties. Over 150 representative pages — representing more than 750 illustrations with original captions — trace the evolution of dress modes from the vogue of stodgy postwar fashions to the impact on costume of the crash of '29.

Photographed over the course of a year in New York, Tennessee, India, and Sweden and organised by season, Jansdotter shares her sources of inspiration and how she and her friends mix and match her key pieces while working, playing, resting, and travelling.

Taking cultural theorist Michel de Certeau's notion of 'the everyday' as a critical starting point, this book considers how fashion shapes and is shaped by everyday life. Looking historically for the imprint of fashion within everyday routines such as going to work or shopping, or in leisure activities like dancing, the book identifies the 'fashion system of the ordinary', in which clothing has a distinct role in the making of self and identity. Exploring the period from 1890 to 2010, the study is located in London and New York, cities that emerged as as socially, ethnically and culturally diverse, as well as increasingly fashionable. The book re-focuses fashion discourse away from well-trodden, power-laden dynamics, towards a re-evaluation of time, memory, and above all history, and their relationship to fashion and everyday life. The importance of place and space - and issues of gender, race and social class - provides the broader framework, revealing fashion as both routine and exceptional, and as an increasingly significant part of urban life. By focusing on key themes such as clothing the city, what is worn on the streets, the imagining and performing of multiple identities by dressing up and down, going out, and showing off, Fashion and Everyday Life makes a unique contribution to the literature of fashion studies, fashion history, cultural studies, and beyond.

Any woman can look and feel lovely, regardless of her age, bank balance, or pant size, and Looking Good . . . Every Day defines a simple yet sophisticated standard for women to determine exactly which clothes and accessories will showcase their unique beauty. The “points of connection” method explains that the more characteristics that exist in common between a woman and her outfit, the more lovely she will look. It shifts emphasis from hiding her perceived figure challenges and focuses on spotlighting her personal assets. By choosing wardrobe additions in this way, everything in her closet will work together. She has more outfits from fewer garments, allowing her to buy higher-quality garments without increasing her budget. Photography of real women—ranging from 22 to 80 years old and from size 4 to 24—illustrates the universal impact “points of connection” make in their appearance.

Presents a selection of fashion illustrations originally published in Sears catalogs between 1909 and 1920, focusing on ready-to-wear apparel for women and children.

Some of the deepest questions of women's hearts are about beauty: an innate desire to decorate ourselves and our surroundings, and the struggle to feel beautiful. But these desires are often in direct conflict with values and beliefs that tell us fashion (or any form of creativity) is frivolous and vain, and may actually be a sin. Jeanette Johnson, founder of popular style blog J's Everyday Fashion, shares her personal journey and the stories of other women, examining how we can best explore our quest for beauty while still honoring our faith and personal values and being responsible consumers. Jeanette delves into topics that many women grapple with: Is fashion selfish? Is it necessary? Does it dishonor our faith? With an in-depth look at issues like healthy self-esteem, modesty, and how fashion fits into the big picture, Jeanette offers practical, thoughtful insight, guiding every woman to conquer her fashion guilt and achieve "personal style with purpose."