Description
Book SynopsisFrom rumps and stays to muffs and handkerchiefs, underwear and accessories were critical components of the 18th-century woman's wardrobe. They not only created her shape, but expressed her character, sociability, fashionability, and even political allegiances. These so-called ephemeral flights of fashion were not peripheral and supplementary, but highly charged artefacts, acting as cultural currency in contemporary society.
The Modern Venus highlights the significance of these elements of a woman's wardrobe in 1770s and 1780s Britain and the Atlantic World, and shows how they played their part in transforming fashionable dress when this was expanding to new heights and volumes. Dissecting the female silhouette into regions of the body and types of dress and shifting away from a broad-sweeping stylistic evolution, this book explores these potent players within the woman's armoury. Marrying material, archival and visual approaches to dress history, and drawing on a rich range of s
Trade ReviewMeticulously researched and methodologically innovative,
The Modern Venus reveals how underwear and accessories shaped not just women's bodies, but their engagement with the world. This sumptuous book is a must read for anyone interested in 18th-century material, literary and visual culture. * Jennie Batchelor, University of York, UK *
A seriously interesting fashion history book on late 18th-century underwear and accessories, based on first-rate research. Great images, highly readable and intelligently planned and written. * Lou Taylor, University of Brighton, UK *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Fashioning the Modern Venus 1. Head First: Brimmed Hats and Calashes on the Tides of Fashion 2. ‘Let Us Examine Their Tails’: The Material and Satirical Lifecycles of Cork Rumps and Bums 3. By Hand: Silk and Fur Muffs 4. Tight Lacing: The Motifs and Materiality of Stays Conclusion: ‘The Fickle Goddess’ Bibliography Index
