Shahidha Bari Bücher

A pocket-sized, fascinating exploration of fashion and art and how they intersect How we dress can be a deeply personal matter. But can dress also be the object of deeper artistic enquiry? And can it tell us something more about the societies in which we live? These are the questions at the heart of Fashion. From Piet Mondrian and Yves Saint Laurent to Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama, there is a long-standing relationship between art and the high fashion world: Artists can influence designers, and avant-garde fashion can also inspire avant-garde art. But what about the everyday dress that features in so many of the works in Britain's national collection of art? What can we learn by inspecting the turban on the head of a footman, the fabric gathered in the lap of a seamstress, or the pleats of a dress swirling around the neck of a girl walking on her hands on a beach? In Fashion, esteemed academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari guides us through the surprising insights that come of these questions and reveals that thinking about dress can take us into the heart of society, culture, and politics.

Perfect for readers of Women in Clothes, this beautifully designed philosophical guide to fashion explores art, literature, and film to uncover the hidden meaning of a well-chosen wardrobe. We all get dressed. But how often do we pause to think about what our clothes say? When we dress ourselves, we are presenting to the world an essence of who we are, who we want to be. Dressed ranges freely from suits to suitcases, from Marx's coat to Madame X's gown. Through art and literature, film and philosophy, philosopher Shahidha Bari unveils the surprising personal implications of what we choose to wear. The impeccable cut of Cary Grant's suit projects masculine confidence, just as Madonna's oversized denim jacket and her armful of orange bangles loudly announces big ambition. How others dress tells us something fundamental about them -- we can better understand how people live and what they think through their garments. Clothes tell our stories. Dressed is the thinking person's fashion book. In baring the hidden power of clothes in our culture and our daily lives, Bari reveals how our outfits not only cover our bodies but also reflect our minds.

For readers of Women in Clothes, a philosophical guide to fashion. We all get dressed. But how often do we pause to think about the place of our clothes in our world? What unconscious thoughts do we express when we dress every day? Can a philosophy of living be wrapped up in a winter coat? Can we see clothes not as objects, but as ideas? Dressed is the thinking person's book about clothes, exploring these questions by ranging freely from suits to suitcases, from Marx's coat to Madame X's gown. Through literature and art, film and philosophy, philosopher Shahidha Bari unveils the surprising and subconscious ways what we wear communicates with us, about us, and for us. Dressed is about the hidden power of clothes in our culture and our daily lives, addressing the deepest questions of who we are, how we frame ourselves, and how we choose to face the world.