Adorned In Dreams

Download or read book Adorned in Dreams written by Elizabeth Wilson and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Adorned in Dreams was first published in 1985, Angela Carter described the book as "the best I have read on the subject, bar none." From haute couture to haberdashery, "deviant" dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. She also discusses fashion's vociferous opponents, from the "dress reform" movement to certain strands of feminism. Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity or subvert it. This brand new edition of her book follows recent developments to bring the story of fashionable dress up to date, exploring the grunge look inspired by bands like Nirvana, the "boho chic" of the mid 90's, retro-dressing, and the meanings of dress from the veil to soccer player David Beckham's pink-varnished toenails.

Download or read book Cultural Passions written by Elizabeth Wilson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elizabeth Wilson is one of our most radical cultural critics. In "Cultural Passions" she transcends the division between 'high' and 'low' culture, exploring the emotional commitment people bring to the books, performances, objects and rituals in which they find meaning and challenging an enduring suspicion of the pleasure of the aesthetic. Ranging from Marcel Proust to tarot readings, from urban planning to interiors, Elizabeth Wilson investigates an underlying Puritanism in critical commentary on matters as wide ranging as Roger Federer and C S Lewis, Surrealism and fashion and the relationship of religion to fan culture. She questions why pleasure appears suspect, even as consumer society incites it and turns life into entertainment. She questions why there is such fear of elitism when at the same time the fans of mass culture are held in contempt. Subverting conventional views, her oblique point of view provides startling insights on both familiar and marginal cultural experiences.

Download or read book Claim Your Crown written by Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien and published by Revell. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young women are deeply dissatisfied with society's standards (and double standards). They want more for themselves--but sometimes they don't quite know what that more should be. That's where Miss Black New Jersey 2018 and Teen Vogue "It Girl" turned fashion writer Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien comes in. Through her insightful comments on media, pop culture, and pervading cultural myths about beauty, fashion, and womanhood, Tarah-Lynn dismantles the messages that feed into the insecurities, fears, doubts, and guilt that young women experience today. She introduces them to an understanding of God as a loving Father and the King of all kings, who bestows upon his daughters a crown of love, worth, and power. And she shows them how to not only claim the promises of God but also walk purposefully in them as independent women (no prince necessary!) who respond to adversity with righteousness and authority.

Download or read book The Beautiful Fall written by Alicia Drake and published by Back Bay Books. This book was released on 2009-02-28 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive biography of the late designer, Karl Lagerfeld, and his infamous rivalry with Yves Saint Laurent. In the 1970s, Paris fashion exploded like a champagne bottle left out in the sun. Amid sequins and longing, celebrities and aspirants flocked to the heart of chic, and Paris became a hothouse of revelry, intrigue, and searing ambition. At the center of it all were fashion's most beloved luminaries - Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive enfant terrible, and Karl Lagerfeld, the flamboyant freelancer with a talent for reinvention - and they divided Paris into two fabulous halves. Their enduring rivalry is chronicled in this dazzling exposè of an era: of social ambitions, shared obsessions, and the mesmerizing quest for beauty. "Deliciously dramatic... The Beautiful Fall crackles with excitement."-New York Times Book Review "Fascinating." -New York Times "Addictive." -Philadelphia Inquirer "It's like US Weekly, 1970s style." -Gotham "A story constructed as exquisitely as a couture dress. . . . It moves stylishly forward, with frequent over-the-shoulder glances at some very dishy background." -Boston Globe

Download or read book Seeing Through Clothes written by Anne Hollander and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1993-03-22 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this generously illustrated book, Anne Hollander examines the representation of the body and clothing in Western art, from Greek sculpture and vase painting through medieval and renaissance portraits, to contemporary films and fashion photography. First published ahead of its time, this book has become a classic.

Download or read book Dressed in Dreams written by Tanisha C. Ford and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW OPTIONED BY Sony Pictures TV FOR A LIVE-ACTION SERIES ADAPTATION: produced by Freida Pinto and Gabrielle Union "A perfect time to look at the ethos of black hair in America — and the perfect person to do it is Tanisha Ford" —Changing America "Everyone from the shopaholic to the clearance rack queen will see themselves in [Ford's] pages." —Essence "Takes you not only into the closet, but the inner sanctum of an ordinary extraordinary Black girl who discovered herself through clothes." —Michaela Angela Davis, Image Activist and Writer "[A] delightful style story." —The Philadelphia Inquirer From sneakers to leather jackets, a bold, witty, and deeply personal dive into Black America's closet In this highly engaging book, fashionista and pop culture expert Tanisha C. Ford investigates Afros and dashikis, go-go boots and hotpants of the sixties, hip hop's baggy jeans and bamboo earrings, and the #BlackLivesMatter-inspired hoodies of today. The history of these garments is deeply intertwined with Ford’s story as a black girl coming of age in a Midwestern rust belt city. She experimented with the Jheri curl; discovered how wearing the wrong color tennis shoes at the roller rink during the drug and gang wars of the 1980s could get you beaten; and rocked oversized, brightly colored jeans and Timberlands at an elite boarding school where the white upper crust wore conservative wool shift dresses. Dressed in Dreams is a story of desire, access, conformity, and black innovation that explains things like the importance of knockoff culture; the role of “ghetto fabulous” full-length furs and colorful leather in the 1990s; how black girls make magic out of a dollar store t-shirt, rhinestones, and airbrushed paint; and black parents' emphasis on dressing nice. Ford talks about the pain of seeing black style appropriated by the mainstream fashion industry and fashion’s power, especially in middle America. In this richly evocative narrative, she shares her lifelong fashion revolution—from figuring out her own personal style to discovering what makes Midwestern fashion a real thing too.

Download or read book The Sphinx in the City written by Elizabeth Wilson and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1992-03-10 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adopting the guise of a flaneur, Wilson reconsiders the classical imagery of the city from the viewpoints of diverse groups of women: bourgeois wives, prostitutes, transvestite writers, and others. Its originality resides in its deft, consistently provocative interweaving of underground feminist discourses with the familiar, male-infected rhetorics of urban experience."—Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz