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Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity
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, "deviant" dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. She also discusses fashion's vociferous opponents, from the "dress reform" movement to certain strands of feminism. Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity or subvert it. This brand new edition of her book follows recent developments to bring the story of fashionable dress up to date, exploring the grunge look inspired by bands like Nirvana, the "boho chic" of the mid 90's, retro-dressing, and the meanings of dress from the veil to soccer player David Beckham's pink-varnished toenails.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
30 people are currently reading
1146 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Wilson
9 books7 followersElizabeth Wilson, born 1936, is Visiting Professor of Cultural Studies at the London College of Fashion. She has written for The Guardian and New Statesman and is a frequent broadcaster on BBC Radio 4.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 4, 2016
Fashion is about creativity, gender performance, personal identity and control, not letting Sumptuary Laws or Religious fundamentalism dictate what we wear. It is difficult to separate politics and fashion, as clothing can be subversive, dangerous and rebellious, seeking to overthrow the establishment. Wilson writes a very cerebral book indeed. Clothes define us, make us anonymous or visible, create a boundary between the natural self and the world. Clothing is armor and "fashion is an art form".
August 11, 2023
Find myself referencing it and sharing it with so many. It's a powerful way to further understand history and our relationships with the past, ourselves and our present. Very engaging and thought provoking read
July 14, 2014
A good read filled with cultural anecdotes but its not exhaustive when it comes to insights regarding various fashion trends and cultural movements
January 31, 2023
Fascinating. Great read if you are interested in meaning and symbolism behind fashion.
July 2, 2020
This is a challenging book for me to rate but one that I have many thoughts on. After just finishing the book, I feel like I could start it again and finally get some clarity that I was missing on the first read through. It's a brainteaser just to read, from the first page to the last. I do think I had the wrong mindset going in. What I thought I'd be getting was a history of fashion. Granted, that's inherently intertwined. What "Adorned" truly is is a book of fashion theory, and so reading it requires a mindset for philosophy, not history. I would also argue it is not an introductory tome, and a reader should have a prior knowledge of the fashion timeline before going in, because the actual garments are illusioned to but not explained. A field so dominated by image too, you'd think the book would have more images in it. All this compounds with the fact that, like any work of abstract/theory/philosophy I've encountered, it's impossibly dense and difficult to read. Now, I don't claim to be a scholar but I would humbly consider myself to be intellectual, and also I am college-educated. Yet I found myself reading the same passages and run-on sentences over and over, sometimes just giving up completely on fully grasping their meaning. The last third I endeavored to keep a pencil for marking pages and summarizing in the margins as if I had a report to write later, because otherwise I could not have told you what I had just read.
Where I criticise the prose, I do have to give credit to the content. From what I could parse, and in the context of the time of publication, Wilson makes valuable arguments first in the defense of fashion as a thing of worth. With the field established, she lays comprehensive groundwork for the analysis of fashion through time and society, certainly giving me revelations and putting ideas into words I had not considered or thought of before.
What has occured to me just now is that "Adorned in Dreams" would be best presented (and reformatted) as a textbook rather than a paperback. With the nearly 40 pages of references/bibliography, it's done the legwork to qualify itself as an academic work. Certainly the content is of enough cultural significance to warrant the format. The sections could be more clearly broken down and demarcated with subheaders. There'd be more allowance for supporting images and footnotes. Comprehension and discussion questions at the back of each chapter. This format would just give it the visage that puts the student in the proper mindset for reading it, and then best comprehending it.
A necessary read for anyone with a vested interest in fashion as a field.
Where I criticise the prose, I do have to give credit to the content. From what I could parse, and in the context of the time of publication, Wilson makes valuable arguments first in the defense of fashion as a thing of worth. With the field established, she lays comprehensive groundwork for the analysis of fashion through time and society, certainly giving me revelations and putting ideas into words I had not considered or thought of before.
What has occured to me just now is that "Adorned in Dreams" would be best presented (and reformatted) as a textbook rather than a paperback. With the nearly 40 pages of references/bibliography, it's done the legwork to qualify itself as an academic work. Certainly the content is of enough cultural significance to warrant the format. The sections could be more clearly broken down and demarcated with subheaders. There'd be more allowance for supporting images and footnotes. Comprehension and discussion questions at the back of each chapter. This format would just give it the visage that puts the student in the proper mindset for reading it, and then best comprehending it.
A necessary read for anyone with a vested interest in fashion as a field.
July 28, 2019
(The English review is placed beneath Russian one)
Я хочу сразу предупредить тех, кто, как и я, не является профессионалом в этой области, кто мало или вообще ничего не читал про моду, что данная книга, с высокой долей вероятности, им также ничего не прояснит.
Я читал много совершенно разных книг и часто сталкивался с книгами, в которых, что называется, слова знакомые, а когда выстраиваешь из них предложение, то, тем не менее, ничего не понятно. Такое редко, но можно встретить в книгах по бизнесу и возможно, в книгах по психологии (хотя, я тут не эксперт). Заумь - беда многих неудавшихся книг по данным направлениям. Однако подходя к книгам по моде, я даже и предположить не мог что встречу старого друга и здесь. Да, книга невероятно заумна и это зауми практически полностью опустошила как книгу, так и то, что я прочитал в ней. Я мало что могу вспомнить по прочтении. Однако попробую.
Во-первых, как правильно заметил один рецензент данной книги, первая часть (где-то до 60 страницы), невероятно скучна и непонятна. Автор полез в такие дебри философии, что пробраться за ним следом оказалось, для меня, просто невозможным. Так что, первые 60 страниц автор писал…о чём-то очень заумном.
Далее, когда мы дойдём где-то до середины книги, автор станет писать более простым и понятным языком, однако, разумеется, не весь текст. Где-то половина всего текста также будет содержать такие предложения и даже абзацы, в которых разобраться – что хотел сказать автор – будет крайне трудно, если вообще возможно. Так что – зебра.
Второй момент, это то, что, по моему мнению, это не книга, а сборник статей. Я не нашёл крепкой связки между главами. В принципе можно их читать как несвязанные друг с другом статьи из журнала.
Третий момент, автор мало что рассказала по истории моды. Всё кружилось вокруг – помимо философствований автора с цитатами из Бовуар, Сарта и пр. – нескольких тем, а именно: тяжёлый труд женщин работающих на фабриках, психоанализ Фрейда, феминизм или диалог с феминизмом/феминистками. Да, несколько тем были интересными, как то «Оппозиционные стили», мода в городе. Однако язык автора и количество идей не позволяют, по крайне мере мне, насладится раскрытием данных вопросов – уж слишком всё усложнено.
И как итог: тема интересная, но исполнение – никакое. Возможно, данная книга будет интересна профессионалам. Что касается обычных читателей, то думаю, нужно искать более простые, понятные и легкие книги.
В принципе, уже заранее можно было предположить, что данная книга, что называется, не для каждого. Рейтинг книги на Западе крайне низкий, т.е. количество читателей крайне низкое, а это главный сигнал того, что книга не ориентирована на широкого читателя и с большой долей вероятности содержит сложный, неудобоваримый язык.
I want to warn those who, like me, are not professionals in this field, who have read little or nothing about fashion, that this book will not clarify anything in this matter.
I've read a lot of different books and I've often come across books in which words are familiar, but when you build a sentence out of them, it's not clear. It's rare, but you can find it in books on business and perhaps in books on psychology (although I'm not an expert here). Zaum is the problem of many failed books in these areas. However, approaching books by fashion, I could not even imagine that I would meet an "old friend" here. Yes, the book is incredibly sophisticated and it is zaum almost completely devastated both the book and what I read in it. I can't remember much from reading. However, I will try.
First of all, as one reviewer of this book correctly pointed out, the first part (about 60 pages) is incredibly boring and incomprehensible. The author was useful in such a maze of philosophy that it was simply impossible for me to follow him. So, the author wrote the first 60 pages...about something very sophisticated.
Further, when we reach the middle of the book, the author will write in a simpler and more comprehensible language, but, of course, not the entire text. Somewhere in half of the text will contain such sentences and even paragraphs in which to understand - what the author wanted to say - will be extremely difficult, if not impossible. So it is "zebra".
The second point is that, in my opinion, this is not a book, but a collection of articles. I have not found a strong link between the chapters. In principle, you can read them as unrelated articles from a magazine.
The third point is that the author did not say much about fashion history. Everything was spinning around - apart from the author's philosophies with quotations from Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, etc. - several topics, namely: the hard work of women working in factories, Freud's psychoanalysis, feminism or dialogue with feminism/feminists. Yes, several topics were interesting, such as "Opposition Styles", fashion in the city. However, the author's language and the number of ideas do not allow enjoying the disclosure of these issues because everything is too complicated.
And as a result: the theme is interesting, but the performance is terrible. Perhaps, this book will be of interest to professionals. As for ordinary readers, I think we need to look for simpler, clearer and easier books.
Я хочу сразу предупредить тех, кто, как и я, не является профессионалом в этой области, кто мало или вообще ничего не читал про моду, что данная книга, с высокой долей вероятности, им также ничего не прояснит.
Я читал много совершенно разных книг и часто сталкивался с книгами, в которых, что называется, слова знакомые, а когда выстраиваешь из них предложение, то, тем не менее, ничего не понятно. Такое редко, но можно встретить в книгах по бизнесу и возможно, в книгах по психологии (хотя, я тут не эксперт). Заумь - беда многих неудавшихся книг по данным направлениям. Однако подходя к книгам по моде, я даже и предположить не мог что встречу старого друга и здесь. Да, книга невероятно заумна и это зауми практически полностью опустошила как книгу, так и то, что я прочитал в ней. Я мало что могу вспомнить по прочтении. Однако попробую.
Во-первых, как правильно заметил один рецензент данной книги, первая часть (где-то до 60 страницы), невероятно скучна и непонятна. Автор полез в такие дебри философии, что пробраться за ним следом оказалось, для меня, просто невозможным. Так что, первые 60 страниц автор писал…о чём-то очень заумном.
Далее, когда мы дойдём где-то до середины книги, автор станет писать более простым и понятным языком, однако, разумеется, не весь текст. Где-то половина всего текста также будет содержать такие предложения и даже абзацы, в которых разобраться – что хотел сказать автор – будет крайне трудно, если вообще возможно. Так что – зебра.
Второй момент, это то, что, по моему мнению, это не книга, а сборник статей. Я не нашёл крепкой связки между главами. В принципе можно их читать как несвязанные друг с другом статьи из журнала.
Третий момент, автор мало что рассказала по истории моды. Всё кружилось вокруг – помимо философствований автора с цитатами из Бовуар, Сарта и пр. – нескольких тем, а именно: тяжёлый труд женщин работающих на фабриках, психоанализ Фрейда, феминизм или диалог с феминизмом/феминистками. Да, несколько тем были интересными, как то «Оппозиционные стили», мода в городе. Однако язык автора и количество идей не позволяют, по крайне мере мне, насладится раскрытием данных вопросов – уж слишком всё усложнено.
И как итог: тема интересная, но исполнение – никакое. Возможно, данная книга будет интересна профессионалам. Что касается обычных читателей, то думаю, нужно искать более простые, понятные и легкие книги.
В принципе, уже заранее можно было предположить, что данная книга, что называется, не для каждого. Рейтинг книги на Западе крайне низкий, т.е. количество читателей крайне низкое, а это главный сигнал того, что книга не ориентирована на широкого читателя и с большой долей вероятности содержит сложный, неудобоваримый язык.
I want to warn those who, like me, are not professionals in this field, who have read little or nothing about fashion, that this book will not clarify anything in this matter.
I've read a lot of different books and I've often come across books in which words are familiar, but when you build a sentence out of them, it's not clear. It's rare, but you can find it in books on business and perhaps in books on psychology (although I'm not an expert here). Zaum is the problem of many failed books in these areas. However, approaching books by fashion, I could not even imagine that I would meet an "old friend" here. Yes, the book is incredibly sophisticated and it is zaum almost completely devastated both the book and what I read in it. I can't remember much from reading. However, I will try.
First of all, as one reviewer of this book correctly pointed out, the first part (about 60 pages) is incredibly boring and incomprehensible. The author was useful in such a maze of philosophy that it was simply impossible for me to follow him. So, the author wrote the first 60 pages...about something very sophisticated.
Further, when we reach the middle of the book, the author will write in a simpler and more comprehensible language, but, of course, not the entire text. Somewhere in half of the text will contain such sentences and even paragraphs in which to understand - what the author wanted to say - will be extremely difficult, if not impossible. So it is "zebra".
The second point is that, in my opinion, this is not a book, but a collection of articles. I have not found a strong link between the chapters. In principle, you can read them as unrelated articles from a magazine.
The third point is that the author did not say much about fashion history. Everything was spinning around - apart from the author's philosophies with quotations from Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, etc. - several topics, namely: the hard work of women working in factories, Freud's psychoanalysis, feminism or dialogue with feminism/feminists. Yes, several topics were interesting, such as "Opposition Styles", fashion in the city. However, the author's language and the number of ideas do not allow enjoying the disclosure of these issues because everything is too complicated.
And as a result: the theme is interesting, but the performance is terrible. Perhaps, this book will be of interest to professionals. As for ordinary readers, I think we need to look for simpler, clearer and easier books.
December 21, 2025
once again not really sure if this is a fair review as i picked through this for a historiography. regardless, i really enjoyed this outside of the context of my essay and would like to reread when i have more time/less stress concerning fashion and fashion theory
August 18, 2024
This might just be the best, most complex (in the best way) and entertaining book on fashion that you’ll ever read.
June 24, 2025
one of the ones it makes sense people cite all the time. loved.
July 14, 2015
"Romanticism created its own fashions..."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews