The Visible Self: Fashion and Dress Across Cultures

The Visible Self, 50th Anniversary Edition, explores the human condition through the lens of dress, covering climate, conformity, gender expression, race, and ethnicity. It offers a holistic understanding of the global world, addressing political economies, fashion, identity, and character. The book includes current examples and relevant readings, activities, and Studio Features to help students apply chapter concepts to design, product development, merchandising, and everyday life.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

All over the world, people dress for various reasons, yet we appear so diverse from one another. The answers to this question can be found in the constellation of factors that shape the human condition, ranging from climate to conformity, gender expression to race and ethnicity. In this 50th anniversary edition of "The Visible Self," we explore the daily act of dress in cultures around the world, using the term "dress" to encompass the wide range of behaviors associated with adorning our bodies through clothing, modifications, and supplements. By examining political economies holistically, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the global world, including contemporary topics such as racism and how dress can be used to sustain or rebel against dominant structures. With current examples and relevant readings in every chapter, the authors demonstrate how dress can achieve standards of appearance and social ideals, relate to individuality and conformity in fashion, and communicate identity and character in the arts. "The Visible Self" offers a powerful understanding of the way we look and how we look at others. New to this edition: - Focus on the body as the organizing principle in the study of dress, including additional insight on fashion and using this concept to define the target customer. - Investigation of current issues such as race and the post-pandemic world. - Updated readings, at the end of each chapter, with discussion questions that directly connect the chapter's content.

Weight: 1060g
Dimension: 217 x 282 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501380938
Edition number: 5 ed