Dressing the Elite: Clothes in Early Modern England

Clothing occupies a complex and important position in relation to human experience. Not just utilitarian, dress gives form to a society's ideas about the sacred and secular, about exclusion and inclusion, about age, beauty, sexuality and status. In Dressing the Elite, the author explores the multiple meanings that garments held in early modern England.Clothing was used to promote health and physical well-being, and to manage and structure, life transitions. It helped individuals create social identities and also to disguise them. Indeed, so culturally powerful was the manipulation of appearances that authorities sought its control. Laws regulated access to the dress styles of the elite, and through less formal strategies, techniques of disguise were kept as the perquisites of the powerful.Focusing on the elite, the author argues that clothing was not just a form of cultural expression but in turn contributed to societal formation. Clothes shaped the configurations of the body, affected spaces and interactions between people and altered the perceptions of the wearers and viewers. People put on and manipulated their garments, but in turn dress also exercised a reverse influence. Clothes made not just the man and the woman, but also the categories of gender itself. Topics covered include cross-dressing, sumptuary laws, mourning apparel and individual styles.

Table of Contents:
Contents Abbreviations Introduction ‘When I am in Good Habitt' History and Dress The Meaning of Clothing and the Clothing of Meaning in Early Modern England . Chapter 1 Fashioning Appearances The Wardrobe - Men The Wardrobe - Women Reviewing the Wardrobe Chapter 2 Addressing the Body Outwardly for Defence - Inwardly for Cleanliness Bodily Transitions Clothing Grief Chapter 3 Clothes Make the Man His Garments Helpe Him to bee Counted Such a One Godly Apparel The Way of Wearing - Hat Honour To See and be Seen Increasing Visibility - Portraits and Livery Punishment and Shame A Very Good Fancy in Making Good Clothes Chapter 4 None Shall Wear Dress and the Law Economic Regulation Moral Regulation Social Regulation Deformity and Change - Discipline and Display Doomed to Failure? Chapter 5 Them and Us, He or She? .............................................. p. 200 The Rogue ............................................................ p. 202 Being and Seeming ............................................. p. 207 Actors and Courtiers ............................................ p. 213 Wo to Men ............................................................ p. 219 Cross-Dressing ...................................................... p. 228 Conclusion From Riches to Rags ....................................................... p. 250 Bibliography ............................................................................................. p. 259

About the Author :
Susan Vincent Independent Scholar

Review :
'This will be a very important publication. Susan Vincent uses techniques of historical and literary analysis to move beyond the conventional narratives of clothing history. It is a significant contribution and should be read by more than those with an existing interest in Early Modern England.'Evelyn Welch, University of Sussex