Fashion and Women's Attitudes in the Nineteenth Century (Dover Fashion and Costumes)

This entertaining book by an early 20th-century authority on fashion not only describes what Englishwomen wore in the 19th century but also attempts to explain why they clothed themselves as they did. In a light, amusing and readable fashion, C. Willett Cunnington considers the importance of being "in fashion" and the longing to imitate — in appearance — those in the same social group. The desire to be sexually attractive is also examined, as is the counter-effort, to conceal sexual features. A carefully researched work on a fascinating subject.