‘Fashion, Culture and Identity’Author: Fred Davis.Info: University...

‘Fashion, Culture and Identity’

Author: Fred Davis.

Info: University of Chicago Press, 1992. $24.95 hardcover. 226 pages includes extensive bibliographical references and a comprehensive index.

Despite the hip young woman dressed as a ragamuffin on the cover, this book is not frivolous, shallow or trendy. Well, maybe trendy in the sense that it is all about fashion trends, in a sociological perspective, as well as fashion culture and the business of fashion.

Not always the easiest reading but always interesting and often fascinating, this study tracks fashion for 700 years and suggests that the role of clothing is far more complex than merely symbolic. Clothing does communicate, but it says more than, “This is who I am.” Much of what we think is our individual style is in fact reflections of deeper social and cultural forces, which are shaped by our social status, age, race, gender and sexuality, etc.

Davis draws on interviews with fashion editors and designers to explore the industry and charts the range of clothing styles, from the little black dress to blue jeans, and looks at how the cultural marketplace determines how any particular trend or style is received--and how it fares. He also studies the relatively modern phenomenon of what he calls “anti-fashion” and how the two are interdependent, as well as looking at the effect a global marketplace has on this trend and other factors that shape what we wear.

If you thought selecting a fashion book was as easy as getting dressed, you probably have a closetful of coordinated cashmere, and everything fits.

This book is available at Barnes & Noble, Costa Mesa, and other area bookstores.