The Suit

Name: The Suit
Brand: NewSouth Books
SKU: 9781789144963
Price: 39.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Form, Function and Style

By Christopher Breward and Professor Christopher Breward

0.0 (0 reviews)

3.3

( 44 ratings, 9 reviews)

Summary

The Suit explores the history of the suit from its origins in seventeenth-century western Europe to its status today. Through figures like the Savile Row gentleman and the Wall Street businessman, it examines how the suit has symbolised tradition, masculinity, power and respectability. The book also highlights how the suit has been adopted and subverted by women, artists, musicians and revolutionaries, challenging gender norms and conformity. A richly illustrated journey, it offers fresh insights into this iconic garment and its cultural impact.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$39⁹⁹

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The Suit

$39⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in menswear history, cultural studies, and fashion's role in society. Perfect for those fascinated by how clothing reflects and challenges social conventions.

Offers new perspectives on this most mundane, and yet poetic and beautiful garment.

Description

The Suit unpicks the story of this most familiar garment, from its emergence in western Europe at the end of the seventeenth century to today. Suit-wearing figures such as the Savile Row gentleman and the Wall Street businessman have long embodied ideas of tradition, masculinity, power, and respectability. However, the suit has also been used to disrupt concepts of gender and conformity.

Adopted and subverted by women, artists, musicians, and social revolutionaries through the decades—from dandies and Sapeurs to the Zoot Suit and Le Smoking—the suit is also a device for challenging the status quo.

For all those interested in the history of menswear, this beautifully illustrated book offers new perspectives on this most mundane, yet poetic, product of modern culture.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised by World of Interiors as a rich, deep and satisfying study, the book provides an intelligent alternative to superficial fashion guides. The Financial Times notes its spare, modernist elegance and Breward's evident pleasure in exploring the suit's pervasive influence. The work expertly links the suit's adoption to major societal shifts, tracing its cultural significance from military uniforms to modern democratic iconography.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781789144963

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 99 illustrations, 53 in colour

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 240.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 240

Collections

Arts & Culture Christopher Breward Non-Fiction Professor Christopher Breward

About the Author

Christopher Breward is Director, National Museums Scotland. He is the author of The Hidden Consumer (1999), Fashion (2003) and Fashioning London (2004).

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