Dress [ Clothing & Fashion / Taste & Manners ]
… is that they are easily emulated. In her study of women’s clothing in the eighteenth century, Jennie Batchelor warns that fashion presented a threat to the social hierarchy, as ‘both a means of self-expression and a potential … similarly ranked ladies. So while dressing oneself could be a creative endeavour, it came with a necessity for social awareness. The skill of revealing and concealing what one seemed fit to do in particular social company meant that certain … the quality of a person’s character from their dress, particularly if it was second-hand, was not entirely straightforward. The Gentleman’s Magazine , however, offered some advice on the subject: ‘ As Dress has a strong Influence on the …
Clothes | Consumption | Dress | Fashion | Rank | Women
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