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The nineteenth century, according to C. Willett Cunnington, was a period when the cult of modesty was a tactical maneuver camouflaged as a virtue. It was also a period when euphemisms were used for such terms as naked, breast, and leg, and when underclothing was vaguely spoken of as lingerie. Cunnington, an early twentieth-century authority on fashion, argues that the Victorian matron was governed as much by current popular style as she was by instinct and custom. In a light, amusing, and highly readable account, he not only describes what Englishwomen wore in the nineteenth century but also explains why they clothed themselves as they did. Enlivened with extracts from novels; correspondence from the columns of ladies' magazines; fashion descriptions and period advertisements of beauty aids; the volume traces changes in feminine dress and ideas decade by decade through the 1800s. The importance of being in fashion and the longing to imitate -- in appearance -- those in the same social group is closely examined, as is the desire to be sexually attractive and its counter-effort -- to conceal sexual features. A carefully researched work on a fascinating subject, this volume will appeal to a wide audience, encompassing feminists, sociologists, fashion historians, and costume designers.

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9780486788616

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