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Skirts
Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century | Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell
7 posts | 5 read | 5 to read
In a sparkling, beautifully illustrated social history, Skirts traces the shifting roles of women over the twentieth century through the eras most iconic and influential dresses. While the story of womens liberation has often been framed by the growing acceptance of pants over the twentieth century, the most important and influential female fashions of the era featured skirts. Suffragists and soldiers marched in skirts; the heroines of the Civil Rights Movement took a stand in skirts. Frida Kahlo and Georgia OKeeffe revolutionized modern art and Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes in skirts. When NASA put a man on the moon, the computer wore a skirt, in the words of one of those computers, mathematician Katherine G. Johnson. As women made strides towards equality in the vote, the workforce, and the world at large, their wardrobes evolved with them. They did not need to "wear the pants" to be powerful or progressive; the dress itself became modern as designers like Mariano Fortuny, Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, and Diane von Furstenberg redefined femininity for a new era. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell's Skirts looks at the history of twentieth-century womenswear through the lens of game-changing styles like the little black dress and the Bar Suit, as well as more obscure innovations like the Taxi dress or the Pop-Over dress, which came with a matching potholder. These influential garments illuminate the times in which they were first wornand the women who wore themwhile continuing to shape contemporary fashion and even opening the door for a genderfluid future of skirts. At once an authoritative work of history and a delightfully entertaining romp through decades of fashion, Skirts charts the changing fortunes, freedoms, and aspirations of women themselves.
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Marquis784
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Pickpick

Fascinating look at the history of women‘s clothing especially the skirt over the years.
The evolution and style that changed and transformed generations. It was an actual crime to wear pants in some places.“It‘s too early to say definitively whether this creative and individualistic blending of masculine and feminine garments, accessories, and cosmetics is a passing fad or a new “standard,” either in fashion or in gender expression.”

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Reecaspieces
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Pickpick
MonicaLoves2Read I learned a lot. I was surprised about the poodle skirt. 2y
Reecaspieces @Monica5 I was surprised about the mini akirt 2y
54 likes2 comments
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MonicaLoves2Read
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Pickpick

Quite interesting. Learned stuff I never knew.
There was stuff that was a little boring to me, but the stuff I found out outweighed the boring stuff.

I had the Kindle ARC and it didn't have pictures. Would have liked to see some of the skirt designs.

Published September 6, 2022.

#netgalley
#stmartinspress

Reecaspieces I am listening to this now…I agree with your assessment. Who knew a book about the history of skirts would be interesting 2y
MonicaLoves2Read @Reecaspieces I had no idea it'd be so interesting 2y
19 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Maria514626
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This #arc is a cross between really interesting ☝️☝️☝️and way too much information. It‘s a fashion and history lesson.

I wish there were photos alongside the text. I‘ve been looking up a lot of designers and wow! Some of their pieces are amazing (to me).

The author shows how clothes were used to keep women “in line.” Her approach, however, is light. She lets the reader come to her own conclusions (rather than writing, “Isn‘t this awful?”)

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MonicaLoves2Read
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Received this ARC from Netgalley. Going to try to read two books at once. This one on my Kindle and Diana: Her True Story in hardback from my local library. Never read two at a time, but I see y'all read multiple books at a time, so I am going to give it a try ☺️

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REPollock
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Pickpick

This is an interesting look at femininity through garment structure, specifically skirted garments which have been so rigidly gendered in Western fashion convention dating back centuries. A smart, contemporary, & subversively innovative look at a fascinating and timely topic. Highly recommended for anyone interested in deep dives into fashion, gender, and interrogative history.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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REPollock
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So excited to read this ARC from NetGalley! I‘ll probably review it on my costume industry blog.

12 likes1 stack add