Overview

Dress is everywhere imbued with symbols that reflect different meanings in different contexts. This compelling book convincingly demonstrates how clothing is analogous to a working language and is similarly underpinned by deeper meanings and philosophies.From tattoos and mini-skirts, to skin decoration, makeup and hair, Calefato unpicks the multiple functions of modern dress. Exploring intriguing commonalities - for example, between tattooed Egyptian mummies of 2000 BC and modern subcultural styles - Calefato considers the psychological, cultural, spiritual and symbolic significances at play in what she aptly labels 'body cartography'. What we wear is a vehicle for the (often contentious) expression of politics, gender and identity, placing clothing at the root of a complex set of messages, many of which are paradoxical. Clothing may, for example, liberate through the pleasures of masquerade and at the same time 'cage' or control the body. The Clothed Body shows how semiotics can provide a convincing template for understanding dress in a wide range of contexts and will be essential reading for anyone interested in the meaning of what we wear.

Full Product Details

Author:   Patrizia Calefato ,  Lisa Adams
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Berg Publishers
Volume:   v. 33
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.402kg
ISBN:  

9781859738009

ISBN 10:   1859738001
Pages:   176
Publication Date:   01 June 2004
Audience:   General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 DRESS, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION CHAPTER 2 DRESS AND SOCIAL IDENTITY CHAPTER 3 STYLE AND STYLES BETWEEN FASHION AND THE GROTESQUE CHAPTER 4 TASTE BETWEEN COMMON SENSE AND RECEIVED MEANING CHAPTER 5 WRITING THE BODY CHAPTER 6 MENS BODIES, WOMENS BODIES CHAPTER 7 EVERYDAY MODELS CHAPTER 8 THE FACE AND THE GAZE CHAPTER 9 DEGREE ZERO OF FASHION AND THE BODY: THE MODEL, THE NUDE, AND THE DOLL CHAPTER 10 FASHION AND THE WORLD CHAPTER 11 FASHION AND CINEMA CHAPTER 12 WEARING BLACK CHAPTER 13 FASHION AND MUSIC CHAPTER 14 TIME CHAPTER 15 FASHION INTERTEXTS CHAPTER 16 OBJECTS

Reviews

'If you like semitoics, you will love this...The author provides vivid examples to ponder from history, from popular culture, especially from film, and from her own personal experience and observation.' Textiles Magazine

Author Information

Patrizia Calefato is Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Pratiche Linguistiche e Analisi di Testi, Universit degli Studi di Bari. Translated from the Italian by Lisa Adams

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