The anniversary of when women were finally able to legally wear pants in the US may not seem like a big deal for some, but, having worn skirts outside during an Illinois Winter, pants have my utmost respect. I love pants, comfy ones, soft ones, and ones with pockets, real pockets like they give to men, where your whole hand, a wallet, a small animal, and snacks will fit inside.
The US Attorney General declared it legal for women to wear trousers anywhere on May 28th, 1923; just 100 years ago. That's not to say it was a free-for-all on pants-wearing after that. It wasn't until 1972, when the Title IX non-discrimination provisions, of the 1972 Education Amendments declared that dresses could not be required of girls in public schools. (Trousers as women's clothing) However, in France, the freedom to wear trousers wasn't given to women until 2013; not that the matter had been strictly enforced, but the ban on trousers existed all the same, and in 2019, female flight attendants on Virgin Atlantic were finally allowed to wear trousers. ( A brief history of women wearing trousers).
On Dec. 24, 1969, Washington Post reported a story that "hailed Rep. Charlotte T. Reid (R-Ill.) for showing up on the last day before recess 'in a black wool, bell-bottomed pantsuit. . . a first in the annals of the U.S. Congress.'...Many male colleagues ran to the floor to gawk, she told The Post, but all were kind. 'Gerald Ford [then the minority leader] told me he thought it was great, and I should do it more often.'" https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/update-first-woman-to-wear-pants-on-house-floor-rep-charlotte-reid/2011/12/21/gIQAVLD99O_blog.html
Also in 2019, Norwin High School in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania was taken to task when then senior Hannah Kozak, objected to the school's graduation dress code. The school sent out letters, stating that any female student choosing to wear pants at graduation would receive their diploma a week after graduation and not at the ceremony. After speaking out at school board meeting, Hannah Koziak, convinced the principal and the board of the need to modify the dresscode. The changed the terms to "professional attire". https://www.insider.com/norwin-high-school-senior-challenged-graduation-dress-code-to-wear-pants-2019-5
And in June of 2022, a federal appeals court ruled that a Charter School in. North Carolina was in violation of federal Title IX anti-discrimination law. (Federal court: NC school can’t require girls to wear skirts).
Clothing or fashion, has a long history. There are different tastes, styles, dress codes, and judgments made when it comes to what we wear. Fashion can be celebrated and it can be weaponized.
Every generation can recall and identify with the fashion icons and idols of their era. The crinoline-caged Victorian female, the Gibson girl, and the grunge-layered youth of the 1990s all reflect the influences and extremes of their life and times. The start of the 19th century marks the dawn of the designer, a sartorial influence that became a star-studded industry. Fashion: A Visual History charts those points in time when distinctive styles that began as extravagances of the very rich permeated through well-dressed society until a cut of cloth or choice of accessory defined fashion. This elegantly- dressed volume assesses the contribution of such innovative players as Worth, Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, Klein, Westwood, and Gaultier, as well as the effects of stage, screen, music, dance, and sports celebrities on our ever-changing sense of fashion. Each spread focuses on a definitive item--be it a bowler hat or little black dress, stiletto, or caftan--or identifies key shifts in fashion that reflect excess, liberation, austerity, nostalgia, and technology, displaying it in contemporary images ranging from paintings and illustrated fashion plates to cartoons and photographs. Evocative primary quotes complete a history that visually traces the revealing evolution of fashion in Western society. --front cover
"From simple to sophisticated, elegant to excessive, what we wear says who we are. "Fashion" is the ultimate visual guide to everything ever worn. From the extravagance of Ancient Egypt, through the legendary fashion houses of Chanel and Dior, to the latest cutting-edge labels, this gorgeous collection of costume and dress shows how fashion reflects people and places, and captures the times in which they lived."--p.[4] of cover.
"Style is not just the clothes on our backs--it is self-expression, representation, and transformation. As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he looked to for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that--because clothes are never just clothes. Men's heels are a statement of pride in the face of LGTBQ+ discrimination, while ribbon shirts honor Indigenous ancestors and keep culture alive. Allaire takes the reader through boldly designed chapters to discuss additional topics like cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice."--. Provided by publisher.
"Equal parts fab and frightening, Killer Style explores the ways in which make-up, clothing, and accessories have killed, maimed, or tormented those who wear and make them. From the story of hatters felled by mercury poisoning to tulle-burnt ballerinas to the victims of the modern craze for sandblasted denim, no one is safe from these crimes of fashion."-- Provided by publisher.
"Explores the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. Included are Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Sidebar subjects include: Elizabeth I, Marilyn Monroe, Rihanna, and Vivienne Westwood."--Provided by publisher.
"Covering everyone from Louis XIV to Prince, Bad Boys of Fashion looks at men across history who have broken the rules both in fashion and in life."-- Provided by publisher.
Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women's fashion across five centuries.
Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history - as well as how dresses have varied in type, cut, detailing and popularity according to the occasion and the class, age and social status of the wearer.
This lavishly illustrated book is the ideal tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know their cartridge pleats from their Récamier ruffles. Equipping the reader with all the information they need to 'read' a dress, this is the ultimate guide for students, researchers, and anyone interested in historical fashion. --Provided by Publisher
"A look at fast fashion and its impact on the environment and social justice, based on the adult nonfiction title Fashionopolis and adapted for young readers"--. Provided by publisher.
"Discover how the Lane Bryant clothing brand changed the way we buy clothes forever by celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes in this inclusive picture book biography of a Lithuanian immigrant with a brilliant eye for fashion and business"--. Provided by publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.