Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and ArtThis work focuses on the efforts toward reforming women's dress that took place in Europe and America in the latter half of the 18th century and the first decade of the 20th century, and the types of garments adopted by women to overcome the challenges posed by fashionable dress. It considers the many advocates for reform and examines their motives, their arguments for change, and how they promoted improvements in women's fashion. Though there was no single overarching dress reform movement, it reveals similarities among the arguments posed by diverse groups of reformers, including especially the equation of reform with an ideal image of improved health. Drawing on a variety of primary and secondary sources in the USA and Europe - including the popular press, advice books for women, allopathic and alternative medical literature, and books on aesthetics, art, health, and physical education - the text makes a significant contribution to costume studies, social history, and women's studies. |
Contents
The Rational Alternative to Skirts | 31 |
Hygienic Underwear Dress Systems | 75 |
Visions of Beauty and Health | 103 |
Copyright | |
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adopted advocates aesthetic dress American Annie Jenness Annie Jenness-Miller appeared Arthur Lasenby Liberty artistic dress artistic gowns artistic reform dress Ballin beauty became believed Bloomer costume bodice body calisthenics classical Club correct dress corset divided skirt dress reform Dress Society efforts England exercise exhibition fabrics fash fashionable dress female feminists Fortuny Frances Germany grace Greek Gustav Klimt Haweis health reformers house gowns hygienic Ibid ideas included Jenness Miller Journal Klimt Ladies lectures Liberty & Co London Mary ment modern Mohrbutter Monthly Magazine Moser movement natural nineteenth century noted observed offered Ohio Paris patterns Paul Poiret petticoats physical culture Pre-Raphaelite princess style promoted Rational Dress Rational Dress Association reform garments reform style reforming women's silk Steele and Adams style of dress suggested taste tea gowns undergarments underwear union suit Velde Vienna waist Walter Crane water-cure wearing trousers Wiener Werkstätte woman women's clothing women's dress worn York