Kimberly Chrisman-CampbellCritiques

Fashion historian Chrisman-Campbell looks at the history of women’s fashion in the twentieth century through ten iconic styles: the Delphos, the tennis skirt, the little black dress, the wrap dress, the strapless dress, the bar suit, the naked dress, the miniskirt, the midi skirt, and the bodycon dress. Each chapter includes one or two black and white illustrations, plus there are 22 color plates. It’s still not enough illustrations, and most readers will need to Google images of some of the looks that are discussed that don’t have accompanying illustrations. This really needed to be a coffee table book, although it would have increased the cost and decreased its reach. I was hoping for more of a high street fashion history, which would have been of more interest to me than this history of high fashion and designer labels.½

The author's fascination with dresses led her to study the history of 20th century women's clothing, but particularly that of dresses. Rather than a chronological approach, the author devoted chapters to particular styles of dresses and discussed how they evolved. Each chapter included a black and white photo, and there is a section of color plates near the back. I found myself disappointed in the book, mainly because the author really only looked at a certain level of fashion designers and movie stars, presidential wives, and other wealthier classes of people. While these were certainly the influencers of fashion design, it would have been interesting to see how these things filtered down to the working middle class so we could see and read about examples of what the everyday person wore. I also think the book needed more photos, including color photos, with each chapter--more like a coffee table type book would offer. It's a quick read, but I think it missed some opportunities to tell a richer story.

"Skirts" is a look back at women's dress and skirt fashions, not just as articles of clothing, but as icons of culture. Each chapter in the book examines a different kind of skirt or dress throughout the twentieth century. I am sure this book is more interesting when the photos and pictures are included (they were not in this ARC). This book would appeal to readers who are interested in the history of fashions and their impact on the lives of the wearers, as well as what they represent in society.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions represented here are my own.

Who says non-fiction stands for not-fun, NOT ME!

Skirts is more than just a history of an article of clothing, it is a glimpse back into pop culture throughout the past century plus.

I will definitely have to check out a final copy with all the pictures included. I'm very lucky to have read an advanced copy of this book, ahead of it's pub date but I can't wait to see all the glossy pictures the final copy will no doubt have!

This book was an interesting look at women’s clothing throughout the twentieth century, primarily skirts and dresses, and how those styles became trends and influenced the fashion of the everyday woman on the street as well as the rich and famous and demonstrated just how powerful the designers were and how they were followed almost without question. I know almost nothing about high fashion so most of the designers were not familiar to me. However, the history timeline and the impact these designers, both men and women, had on not only fashion but politics, social mores the reputations of women, and the giving or taking of their power based on what they wore was an eye-opener, as was just how competitive, cutthroat, petty and unprofessional most of them were.

Each chapter is devoted to a particular garment - Tennis Dress, Strapless Dress, Miniskirt, Little Black Dress, Wrap Dress, Naked Dress, etc. – and the designer associated with it. Even though each chapter addressed one dress or style, the author did jump around quite a bit in time so names and events repeated and were often confusing. The only real drawback to the advanced e-copy I received was that it did not include pictures. I tried looking up each particular dress or designer as I was reading but it was cumbersome and negatively affected the flow of the book.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance copy of Skirts via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All in all it was an enjoyable read and made some fascinating points about the evolution of women’s fashion and some of the meaning and impact behind it. I was a little put off by the author’s repeated declarations that she only wears skirts and the impression that the designers were not interested in dressing anything but the perfect body. All opinions are my own.

When I was a girl I loved my Barbie dolls. I should clarify, I loved my Barbie doll clothes. I loved those New Look inspired fashions with their bouffant skirts. I thought I would grow up and wear clothes like these.

As a girl, I wore dresses with crinolines and white gloves and a hat.

By the time I was entering my teen years, the Mod look and mini skirts were in. Mom bought me Go Go boots. I hated those white boots. I spent my teenage years in shifts and a-line dresses and pleated skirts with blouses, sweaters, and knit tops. The skirts kept getting shorter and I had to keep shortening my skirts. Mom gave me a girdle and garters and stockings when I started seventh grade. I was thrilled when Mom brought home pantyhose and tights to replace them!

As a young adult, I had maxi skirts and midi skirts and sun dresses and business suits with oxford cloth shirts. I don’t remember when I last wore a skirt. I think it was ten years ago at my father-in-law’s funeral.

My step-grandfather told me that when he was a boy, he would hang around at the trolley stop to watch the ladies board. Their hobble skirt showed their ankles, and they had to lift the skirt to go up the steps. I may have not loved mini skirts, but I sure am glad I didn’t have to wear a hobble skirt!

Skirts weaves a history of the Twentieth century’s changing dress styles with the rise of feminism and freeing women from constraints. Shorter skirts, from tennis champ’s Lenglen’s scandalous calf-length tennis skirt to the Mini skirt, allowed women to walk and run uninhibited. Short skirts required panty hose and tights, not girdles and garter belts. Dresses that skimmed the body didn’t need corsets.

Coco Chanel’s famous “little black dress’ was ground breaking not just because it exposed the legs and skimmed the body, but for returning black back to elegance, and by making fashion affordable through the use of less expense, commonly found fabrics. The ‘Taxi’ dress was so easy to put on, you could change in a taxi. The dress wrapped around the body, a precursor to Diane von Furstenberg’s 1970’s wrap dress. The ‘popover dress’ was made in studier fabrics and was inexpensive, at first worn to protect one’s clothing, then as an easy wear dress.

Fashion also responded to world events. WWII rationing resulted in shorter skirts using less fabric and masculine styles, and after the war was over, the New Look incorporated yards of fabric in full skirts, with tighter bodices hugging the waist, a return to femininity. The ‘Bar Suit’ was “designed for drinking cocktails,” its “inner construction that made the Dior shape prevail whatever the shape of the woman.”

Designers forged amazing manipulations of fabrics to create iconic styles. Fortuny’s pleated dresses, a mere tube of several pieces of silk fabric, was inspired by the ancient Greeks. The strapless dress, of which Barbie had many styles, was a ‘marvel of engineering,’ and became an eveningwear staple and deb favorite. Hollywood film stars wore many iconic strapless dresses on film.

Most of these fashions were copied and worn by ordinary woman. But not the ‘Naked Dress’ with “illusion” of nudity. They are more costumes than fashion, worn in the movies and to galas by movie and recording artists looking for publicity; these scandalous dresses garnered notice. They were made possible by the development of synthetic fabrics.

Mini skirts and midi skirts have their chapters, too.

And last, the author addresses the ‘Bodycon Dress,’ apparel that shows off the body, made of skintight, stretchy fabric. I see these dresses on the local news weather girl, but the idea goes back a long way. The ‘Sweater Girl’ of the 40s and 50s showed off her curves while covered up. Sheath dresses and straight skirts fall into this category, too. And, even the designer jeans of the 80s, and the tight fitness clothes that are still hip today. Every superhero has a body suit that shows off their figure.

Since few of us have perfect, prepubescent, or toned bodies, undergarment shapers have returned. But also, there is a push back for body acceptance.

Pantsuits and jeans and jeggings are common daily wear for most women. But now men have embraced the wearing of skirts. “The future of skirts?” the author asks, “It might just be male.”

Skirts is a fascinating, fun read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This is a very interesting book with a different approach to the history of costume. Each day of the year features something "worn on this day" from ancient to modern times. I only wish that there were more photographs, and that none of the photographs that were included had been placed in the center of a two page. Much of the detail is lost in the "gutter" in the finished book. It's disappointing in an otherwise well designed book.