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Description
When Adorned in Dreams was first published in 1985, Angela Carter described the book as 'the best I have read on the subject, bar none.'
From haute couture to haberdashery, and 'deviant' dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. From the 'dress reform' movement to certain strands of feminism, Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity - or subvert it.
Explore topics including fashion and city life, feminism and fashion, and oppositional dress in this authoritative scholarly text on fashion's pivotal role in modern society.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- Accessibility request contact
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
1: Introduction
2: The History of Fashion
3: Explaining it Away
4: The Fashion Industry
5: Fashion and Eroticism
6: Gender and Identity
7: Fashion and City Life
8: Fashion and Popular Culture
9: Oppositional Dress
10: Utopian Dress and Dress Reform
11: Feminism and Fashion
12: Changing Times/Altered States
Afterword
References
Further reading
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 14 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 2nd |
| Pages | 314 |
| ISBN | 9781350399761 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Visual Arts |
| Illustrations | 17 bw |
| Series | Foundations of Fashion Studies |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity is one of the best books ever published on the significance of fashion in society . . . as relevant today as when it was first published
Valerie Steele, editor of Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture
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When it was first published in 1985, Adorned in Dreams pioneered new territory in the study of fashion . . . no text since has come close to challenging or overtaking its original claims
Christopher Breward, National Museums Scotland
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Sharply focused, consistently intelligent, and broadly informative
Los Angeles Times

























