All Dressed Up: Gender and Class in Elite American Women's Clothing of the Eighteenth Century
Loading...
Authors
Forsyth, Abby
Issue Date
2007
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In an effort to most efficiently and interestingly demonstrate the evolutions in
fashion that embodied the gender and class roles and definitions of the years between
1750 and 1800, the following examination will look only to elite white women's clothes
as indicators of social expectations. The effort, resources, and time expended on
cultivating women's clothing from this period indicates the importance eighteenth century
society attributed to fashion, and how women themselves embraced fashion as an
avenue through which to assert influence. Wealthy white American women of the second
half of the eighteenth century set aside time for developing and understanding the
meanings of different styles, purchasing clothing and materials, dressing for events, and
completing the considerable amount of grooming required to exhibit popular fashions
with confidence and grace. These women also found fashionable fabrics and accessories
with which to experiment, a vast quantity of which were thought so fine that the pieces
were passed down, preserved, and are available to see today. Families were able to easily
display wealth and class through a woman's clothing due to the fact that while upper class
men worked to support their families, as did lower-class women, elite women did
not have that responsibility. Although she bore the burdens of keeping an organized and
managed home and raising children, one of the main focuses of a woman in this position
was to reach and maintain a level of fashionable distinction and social presence.
Clothing worn from 1750 to 1800 by elite white American women represented and
indicated how fashion reflected the ideals and attitudes of society, specifically the class
and gender roles and expectations of male-dominated American culture.
Description
iii, 62 p.
Citation
Publisher
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.