Fashioning the Bourgeoisie: A History of Clothing in the Nineteenth Century [Hardcover]

Philippe Perrot (Author), Richard Bienvenu (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691033838 | ISBN-13: 978-0691033839 | Publication Date: May 27, 1994

When department stores like Le Bon Marche first opened their doors in mid-nineteenth-century Paris, shoppers were offered more than racks of ready-made frock coats and crinolines. They were given the chance to acquire a lifestyle as well - that of the bourgeoisie. Wearing proper clothing encouraged proper behaviour, went the prevailing belief. Available in English translation, this extensive study explains a culture's sociology through the seemingly simple issue of the choice of clothing. Philippe Perrot shows, through a tour of the rise of the ready-made fashion industry in France, how clothing not only reflects but also inculcates beliefs, values and aspirations. By the middle of the 19th century, men were prompted to disdain the decadent and gaudy colours of the pre-Revolutionary period and wear unrelievedly black frock coats suitable to the manly and serious world of commerce. Their wives and daughters, on the other hand, adorned themselves in bright colours and often uncomfortable and impractical laces and petticoats, to signal the status of their family. The consumer pastime of shopping was born, as women spent their spare hours keeping up their middle-class appearance, or creating one by judicious purchases. As Paris became the fashion capital and bourgeois modes of dress and their inherent attitudes became the ruling lifestyle of Western Europe and America, clothing and its "civilizing" tendencies were imported to non-Western colonies as well. In the face of what Perrot calls this "levelling process", the upper classes tried to maintain their stature and right to elegance by supporting what became the high fashion industry. Detailed and provocative, this study reveals the sources of many of our contemporary rules of fashion and etiquette.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Originally published in French in 1981, this book delves deeply into the cultural significance of 19th-century "consumption and behavior in dress." Extensive research provides rich details and an entertaining tour into the structure and habits of a stratified society where "clothing was a science which mirrored one's social and economic status and propriety was an obsesssion." Dress and Gender (Berg Pub., 1993), edited by Ruth Barnes and Joanne B. Eichner, addresses the topic within a multicultural context; Patricia Cunningham and Susan Lob's Dress and Popular Culture (Bowling Green Univ. Pr., 1991) provides studies into clothing icons of 19th- and 20th-century America. Perrot's book traces the rise of the French ready-made fashion industry, revealing not only the development of consumer shopping but the sources of many inherited rules of contemporary fashion and etiquette. Recommended for academic collections in fashion, design,women's cultural history.
Vicki Gadberry, Mars Hill Coll. Lib., N.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Perrot puts a serious and persuasive case for the importance of clothing to understanding the `aesthetic and moral' values of the nineteenth century middleclass. Immensely learned, yet written with great delicacy and lightness of touch, it remains the best account available of the meaning, and eventual triumph, of the bourgeois trouserthat most resilient and universal survival of nineteenth century Europe's dominance of the globe. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr (May 27, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691033838
• ISBN-13: 978-0691033839
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,028,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoroughly Enjoyable Book, October 26, 2000

By 

"kcg" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fashioning the Bourgeoisie: A History of Clothing in the Nineteenth Century (Paperback)

This book presents a unique look at history. It gives wonderful detail about how dress, an often overlooked or glossed over subject, played such an important role in society. The subjects are well chosen and the book flows smoothly.

This book is perfect for anyone wanting to add to their knowledge of 19th century society.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CLOTHES DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, July 8, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fashioning the Bourgeoisie: A History of Clothing in the Nineteenth Century (Paperback)

Shakespeare said that fashion wears out more apparel than the man. This may well be true and, according to author Perrot, clothing can also reflect a culture's sociology, thus revealing beliefs, values, and hopes.

This delightful and engrossing peek into the closets of the bourgeoisie, those who dressed in opposition to popular clothing worn by workers or peasants, is rich in historic information and charmingly illustrated.

Perrot charts the rise of the ready-made fashion industry in Paris, and traces how the worldwide passion for shopping was born.

The author notes that when department stores opened in the middle of the nineteenth century in Paris, shoppers were offered much more than clothing - they were given the opportunity to adopt a lifestyle. Have we changed so very much?

- Gail Cooke