Clothes [Paperback] [Sep 29, 2008]

Clothes protect our vulnerable skin and they keep us warm or cool. They help us show that we are young or old, rich or poor, at work or play, and whether we may be good to know. But though they are basic, much as food and shelter are #x96; and also may be beautiful #x96; they have long had a bad press in serious, moral and philosophical writing. The main reason for this is that they are external to us, a cover we may hide behind, and one on which some people spend too much money, perfecting a pompous plumage of vanity: also they, and the fashions for them, may not last long. Nonetheless, when we choose our own clothes, we know the choice is a sensitive matter and far from being merely superficial. John Harvey considers the overlapping values that clothes have for us. Clothes both cover and advertise the bodies within them. They help make us the men and women we are, and help us to attract each other. They enroll us in groups, from our own circle to our generation worldwide; and they show just how, as individuals, we want to be noticed. Clothes, like their wearers, may compete in claiming power. They may also, on and off the catwalk, compete to claim the spotlight. In sum they show how we think we matter #x96; and they can matter themselves in ways that may be intimate and even crucial to us. At all times clothes have demanded attention, even when they have been castigated for their vanity, and contemporary opinion is still divided. Are clothes the most frivolous of consumer disposables #x96; or are they, however extravagant, art? Though we wear and see them every day, the value that they have for us is multiple and fugitive and hard to catch exactly. Clothes attempts to sort the many-coloured wardrobe which marks off mankind from other creatures Quatrième de couverture : "As followers of fashion, are we innovators of the future or one of the herd? By wearing mass-produced clothes, do we become mass-produced people? Are clothes doing a different thing when they are worn by women than when worn by men? And what happens when we get it wrong? Drawing on literature, visual art, philosophy and history, Harvey explores these and many other issues to discover that the matter of clothes is not as straightforward as we may think. As well as being objects of beauty and affection, clothes, it seems, have their dark side, as symbols of status, as weapons of class war and as disguises for who we really are." "An entertaining mix of personal opinion and enlightened reflection, Clothes explores the values that clothes have for us and how they help make us the men and women we are. For anyone who has ever wondered how they could have got it so wrong it is captivating reading." "As followers of fashion, are we innovators of the future or one of the herd? By wearing mass-produced clothes, do we become mass-produced people? Are clothes doing a different thing when they are worn by women than when worn by men? And what happens when we get it wrong? Drawing on literature, visual art, philosophy and history, Harvey explores these and many other issues to discover that the matter of clothes is not as straightforward as we may think. As well as being objects of beauty and affection, clothes, it seems, have their dark side, as symbols of status, as weapons of class war and as disguises for who we really are." "An entertaining mix of personal opinion and enlightened reflection, Clothes explores the values that clothes have for us and how they help make us the men and women we are. For anyone who has ever wondered how they could have got it so wrong it is captivating reading."--Jacket Annotation. What shall I wear today? Who shall I be? Whether it's a pair of old jeans, a smart, job-clinching suit or the latest haute couture creation, we know that what we choose to wear each day is an important matter. Whether we are rebels, conservatives or trendsetters, our clothes say something about how we feel and the image we want to present to the world. They reflect our individuality, wealth and position in society. Shell suits, club ties, puffball skirts and cravats: clothes appal, enthral, amuse and confuse. In this fascinating book, John Harvey steals a look inside the modern-day wardrobe to reveal how, by being aware of the role clothes play in our lives, we can come to know and better understand who we are