A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's Golden Age, 1877-1922 (Costume Society of America Series) [Paperback]

Cynthia Amneus (Author), Marla R. Miller (Contributor), Anne Bissonnette (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0896725154 | ISBN-13: 978-0896725157

Dressmaking, considered a natural extension of women’s proper work in the home, was a common and lucrative employment for women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It afforded creative expression, prestige in the community, and even the possibility of financial independence. Yet as entrepreneurs, dressmakers faced unique business pressures, and with the advent of department stores and widespread mass production of women’s clothing, most were forced out of business. Coinciding with the exhibition Cynthia Amnéus organized for the Cincinnati Art Museum, this work examines the nineteenth-century ideology of women’s separate sphere, the early feminist movement, women in the workplace, and dressmakers as artisans and professionals. More than 140 stunning custom-made garments, historical photographs, and dressmakers’ labels document the superb artistic and technical skill of the women who produced fashionable dress in Cincinnati from 1877 to 1922. Bracketing Amnéus’s incisive study are essays by Anne Bissonnette on the eccentric tea gown, Marla Miller on the pitfalls of researching women’s cultural work, and Shirley Teresa Wajda on the dressmakers’ wealthy clientele. In all, A Separate Sphere offers a careful look into the lives of women struggling with ideological boundaries. Chronicling choices made by and imposed on both working-class women and their affluent counterparts, it reveals how these women managed to enhance their prescribed sphere for themselves and for the community at large.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press (September 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896725154
• ISBN-13: 978-0896725157
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless photo detail plus timely social history, May 22, 2006

By 

pshobson (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's Golden Age, 1877-1922 (Costume Society of America Series) (Paperback)

This book covers the years of 1877 to 1922. I purchased it originally for assistance in dating old photographs by dress clues. It's a great resource in that regard, and if I were a student of costume I would certainly want a copy of this book. There are color photos and detail shots on almost every other page that show the beauty and workmanship that went into the dressmakers' craft. All this is accompanied by a series of essays on Cincinnati, dressmakers, the social functions of dress and how it changed during this era. Beautiful and readable!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Excellence, September 2, 2007

By 

Mrs Cat "cyberfabe" (Cincinnati Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's Golden Age, 1877-1922 (Costume Society of America Series) (Paperback)

When you think of fashion splendor, you seldom think of Cincinnati Ohio. Perhaps that is just as well because it keeps this treasure hidden. The Cincinnati Art Museum is a jewel box of amazing fashions and has been working diligently for decades to collect work which is at once art and delightfully wearable (if only in your mind). This book exhibits the things you want to marvel in front of, but can't. Perfect photos and text capture the feel of the garments to a tee. It is the next best thing to standing in front of a rich display of fabulous creations.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must see", January 21, 2008

By 

L. Mahayni "Queen of Contradiction" (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Separate Sphere: Dressmakers in Cincinnati's Golden Age, 1877-1922 (Costume Society of America Series) (Paperback)

I got this for my mom for Christmas and she was thrilled. It has some exquisite clothes in it. I was a little disappointed that some of the dresses were in two or more pictures without necessarily revealing more about the dresses, BUT I don't regret buying it because what's there is eye-popping, anyway.