Overview

The way we dress can show or hide who we are; make us fit in, make us stand out, or make our own community. Yet 'lesbian fashion' has been strangely overlooked. What secrets can it reveal about the lives and status of queer women through the ages? The lesbian past is slippery: often deliberately hidden, edited or left unrecorded.Unsuitablerestores to history the dazzlingly varied clothes worn by women who love women, from top hats to violet tiaras. This story spans centuries and countries, from 'Gentleman Jack' in nineteenth-century Yorkshire and Queen Christina of seventeenth-century Sweden, to Paris modernism, genderqueer Berlin, butch/femme bar culture and gay rights activists via drag kings,Vogueeditors and the Harlem Renaissance. This book is a kaleidoscope of the margins and the mainstream, celebrating trans lesbian style, Black lesbian style, and gender nonconformity. You don't have to be queer or fashionable to be enthralled by this hidden history.Unsuitablelights it up for the world to see, in all its finery.

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9781805260967

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Reviews

'A charming, enlightening and inspiring history of a too-often overlooked identity.' -- Paul Baker, author of 'Camp!', 'Outrageous!' and 'Fabulosa!' 'An affectionate and informative history, deeply researched and bursting at the seams with interesting facts about the lives and styles of queer women from the past.' -- Diarmuid Hester, author of 'Wrong' and 'Nothing Ever Just Disappears'

‘Charts the myriad styles of women-loving women through the ages.' -- <b><i>The Guardian</b></i> 'While Unsuitable painstakingly traces the style aspect, it also examines the reasons lesbian fashion has been lost to history. While homophobia against women is nothing new, Medhurst underscores how it even permeates the fashion world.' -- <b><i>Vogue</b></i> ‘Unsuitable takes all the great work Medhurst has done to preserve this key component of queer history and wraps it up into one absolute must read.’ -- <b><i>Pride</b></i> ‘Unsuitable is an essential read that shines a light on a rich and often obscured legacy.’ -- <b>Oxford University Press blog</b> 'An absolutely fascinating study of lesbian clothing, in all its unpredictable variety, over continents and centuries.' -- <b>Emma Donoghue, author of <i>Room</i>; <i>The Pull of the Stars' and 'Passions Between Women</i></b> 'A charming, enlightening and inspiring history of a too-often overlooked identity.' -- <b>Paul Baker, author of <i>Camp!</i>, <i>Outrageous!</i> and <i>Fabulosa!</i></b> 'A wonderful, celebratory and joyously queer insight into lesbian fashion — I loved it.' -- <b>Tasha Suri, award-winning author of the <i>Burning Kingdoms</i> trilogy</b> 'Whether it's Japanese Bluestockings or stage actresses in Georgian London, Eleanor Medhurst brings hidden worlds to life in her positively engrossing book.' -- <b>Cameron Esposito, standup comic, host of Queery and author of <i>Save Yourself</i></b> 'An affectionate and informative history, deeply researched and bursting at the seams with interesting facts about the lives and styles of queer women from the past.' -- <b>Diarmuid Hester, author of <i>Wrong</i> and <i>Nothing Ever Just Disappears</i></b> 'A wonderful, long overdue celebration of often neglected histories. It reminds us of the power of dress to shape our place in the world.' -- <b>Kate Strasdin, author of <i>The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes</i></b> 'A rare exploration of the nuanced history of lesbian fashion.' -- <b>Clare Hunter, author of <i>Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle</i></b>

‘Charts the myriad styles of women-loving women through the ages.' -- The Guardian 'While Unsuitable painstakingly traces the style aspect, it also examines the reasons lesbian fashion has been lost to history. While homophobia against women is nothing new, Medhurst underscores how it even permeates the fashion world.' -- Vogue ‘Unsuitable is an essential read that shines a light on a rich and often obscured legacy.’ -- Oxford University Press blog 'An absolutely fascinating study of lesbian clothing, in all its unpredictable variety, over continents and centuries.' -- Emma Donoghue, author of 'Room'; 'The Pull of the Stars' and 'Passions Between Women' 'A charming, enlightening and inspiring history of a too-often overlooked identity.' -- Paul Baker, author of 'Camp!', 'Outrageous!' and 'Fabulosa!' 'A wonderful, celebratory and joyously queer insight into lesbian fashion--I loved it.' -- Tasha Suri, award-winning author of the 'Burning Kingdoms' trilogy 'Whether it's Japanese Bluestockings or stage actresses in Georgian London, Eleanor Medhurst brings hidden worlds to life in her positively engrossing book.' -- Cameron Esposito, standup comic, host of Queery and author of 'Save Yourself' 'An affectionate and informative history, deeply researched and bursting at the seams with interesting facts about the lives and styles of queer women from the past.' -- Diarmuid Hester, author of 'Wrong' and 'Nothing Ever Just Disappears' 'A wonderful, long overdue celebration of often neglected histories. It reminds us of the power of dress to shape our place in the world.' -- Kate Strasdin, author of 'The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes' 'A rare exploration of the nuanced history of lesbian fashion.' -- Clare Hunter, author of 'Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle'

‘Charts the myriad styles of women-loving women through the ages.' -- <b><i>The Guardian</b></i> 'While Unsuitable painstakingly traces the style aspect, it also examines the reasons lesbian fashion has been lost to history. While homophobia against women is nothing new, Medhurst underscores how it even permeates the fashion world.' -- <b><i>Vogue</b></i> ‘Unsuitable is an essential read that shines a light on a rich and often obscured legacy.’ -- <b>Oxford University Press blog</b> 'An absolutely fascinating study of lesbian clothing, in all its unpredictable variety, over continents and centuries.' -- <b>Emma Donoghue, author of <i>Room</i>; <i>The Pull of the Stars' and 'Passions Between Women</i></b> 'A charming, enlightening and inspiring history of a too-often overlooked identity.' -- <b>Paul Baker, author of <i>Camp!</i>, <i>Outrageous!</i> and <i>Fabulosa!</i></b> 'A wonderful, celebratory and joyously queer insight into lesbian fashion — I loved it.' -- <b>Tasha Suri, award-winning author of the <i>Burning Kingdoms</i> trilogy</b> 'Whether it's Japanese Bluestockings or stage actresses in Georgian London, Eleanor Medhurst brings hidden worlds to life in her positively engrossing book.' -- <b>Cameron Esposito, standup comic, host of Queery and author of <i>Save Yourself</i></b> 'An affectionate and informative history, deeply researched and bursting at the seams with interesting facts about the lives and styles of queer women from the past.' -- <b>Diarmuid Hester, author of <i>Wrong</i> and <i>Nothing Ever Just Disappears</i></b> 'A wonderful, long overdue celebration of often neglected histories. It reminds us of the power of dress to shape our place in the world.' -- <b>Kate Strasdin, author of <i>The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes</i></b> 'A rare exploration of the nuanced history of lesbian fashion.' -- <b>Clare Hunter, author of <i>Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle</i></b>

Author Information

Eleanor Medhurst is a historian of lesbian fashion and author of the blogDressing Dykes. She has worked on Brighton Museum's exhibitions Queer Looks and Queer the Pier, and been interviewed byGrazia, Cosmopolitan,Cameron Esposito'sQueeryand Gillian Anderson'sWhat Do I Know?!This is her first book.

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