The Hidden Consumer: Masculinities, Fashion and City Life 1860-1914 (Studies in Design) [Paperback]

Christopher Breward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0719047994 | ISBN-13: 978-0719047992

This innovative book uncovers the consuming habits of urban men from the second half of the nineteenth century to the outbreak of the First World War. It focuses on the fraught relationships that emerged at this time between ideal models of manly behavior and attitudes towards the expression of sexual and class identities through the medium of dress. The period has been identified by many historians as a crucial moment in the development of a commodity culture, and its characteristics have generally been discussed in terms of a "feminization" of practices linked with shopping and fashionable display. In a challenge to the accepted picture, Christopher Breward tracks previously hidden connections between the formation of popular sartorial models for male consumers, the organization of associated retail industries and the promotion of new leisure activities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a useful and intriguing project, and one which allows him to draw on a wealth of archival material...
-Victorian Studies

About the Author

Christopher Breward is Lecturer in the History of Design at the Royal College of Art, London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Manchester University Press (August 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0719047994
• ISBN-13: 978-0719047992
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,880,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars From a Costumers Point of View, November 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hidden Consumer: Masculinities, Fashion and City Life 1860-1914 (Studies in Design) (Paperback)

The title of this book doesn't misrepresent itself.
It really is about consumerism. Unfortunately I hoped the
"Masculinities, fashion and city life 1860-1914" part of the title would discuss in more detail what was actually worn.
There is very little of that at all. This would be a great book for someone who is studing commerce, but not much use to a costumer. In fact, there aren't even many illustrations.

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I needed., November 22, 2011

By 

James - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hidden Consumer: Masculinities, Fashion and City Life 1860-1914 (Studies in Design) (Paperback)

A force in the study of visual culture in regards to the construction of multiplicity of the male identity during the period.