Goths represent one of the most arresting, distinctive and enduring subcultures of recent times. The dedication of those involved to a lifestyle which, from the outside, may appear dark and sinister, has spawned reactions ranging from admiration to alarm. Until now, no one has conducted a full-scale ethnographic study of this fascinating subcultural group. Based on extensive research by an 'insider', this is the first. Immersing us in the potent mix of identities, practices and values that make up the goth scene, the author takes us behind the faade of the goth mystique. From dress and...

With so much focus on contemporary theory, it is easy to forget that the serious analysis of clothing and fashion has a long history. In fact, they have been the subject of intense cultural debate since the nineteenth century. Fashion Classics provides an interpretative overview of the groundbreaking and often idiosyncratic writings of eight theorists whose work has profoundly influenced the conceptual and theoretical basis of our contemporary understanding of clothes and the fashion system.

Carter fully revives early 'fashion theorists' - some canonical and others less well known -...

It is easy to view fashion as an entirely modern concept. Costume historians, in fact, trace the birth of fashion back to the thirteenth century and writings on fashion date back as early as the sixteenth century. This classic fashion writing has profoundly shaped our understanding of modern day dress--from the psychology of clothes to collective fashion trends. Its impact, however, has not previously been recognized.

Fashion Foundations fills this major gap in the history of the discipline. This key text reprints a collection of pioneering fashion statements. Vital yet...

How does culture shape notions of sexuality and gender? Why are transvestites in the West so often seen as "deviant" or "perverse," while they are accepted in other societies? Is transvestism motivated primarily by sex or gender? What are the implications for the categories of "male" and "female" when considering transvestism? Unzipping Gender compares transvestism across cultures and considers how emotion, mythology, imagery, and beliefs influence ideas about sex and gender. Suthrell challenges the straightforward binary divide that dominates Western theories of gender. She argues...

Although the Victorian white wedding dominates western bridal dress and large portions of former colonial empires, marriage rituals vary significantly throughout the world. The Japanese, for instance, combine both traditional ceremonies with receptions utilizing western approaches to dress. In the Andes the bride will personally create a multi-layered dress to showcase her weaving skills. Berber brides in Morocco wear binding clothing that covers their faces, a notable contrast to Canadian prairie-province brides whose stylized gowns individualize and enhance body shape.

This...

Paris is renowned as the greatest fashion capital in the world. It has a rigid and tightly controlled system that non-western designers have difficulty penetrating. Yet a number of the most influential Japanese designers have broken into this scene and made a major impact. How? Kawamura shows how French fashion has been both disturbed and strengthened by the addition of "outside" forces such as Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Hanae Mori. She considers many other key questions the fashion industry should be asking itself. Does the system facilitate or inhibit...

We alternately think of nudity as a perversion and a state of innocence. Why is our response so contradictory and why is nudity treated so differently in different contexts? Drawing on popular culture, literature, philosophy, religion, and firsthand interviews in order to answer these questions, Barcan encounters morticians, nudists, strippers, nurses, tattooists, artists and pornographers. Shining a light on a topic that has been largely ignored despite its ability to titillate, shock and entertain, Nudity is a fascinating blend of meaningful minutiae and big philosophical...

From religious orders to the military, schools to fetish clubs, uniforms shape identities. What does it mean to wear one? Why do certain professions require them? Why are uniforms so alluring when they inspire so many ambivalent feelings? Craik debunks the myth that the meaning of uniforms is transparent. From nurses to brides, from athletes to police officers, uniforms express certain implicit (and sometimes explicit) codes about power, transgression, eroticism and masquerade. Uniforms Exposed investigates the social and cultural significance of these ordinary yet extraordinary...

Through an examination of the experience of transsexuals, this book enhances understanding of how gender can and does function in powerful, complex and subtle ways. The author, who has herself been surgically reassigned, has conducted extensive interviews with transsexuals from many walks of life. Her personal experiences, which inform this book, have given her an access to her subjects that others would likely be denied. While highlighting how the gender identity of transsexuals relates to hormonal and surgical changes in the body as well as to changes in dress, the book investigates the...

Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2000.

In the 1970s, often to the consternation of parents and siblings, certain progressive young Arab women voluntarily donned the veil. The movement, which rapidly expanded and continues to gather momentum, has sparked controversy within Islamic culture, as well as reactions ranging from perplexity to outrage from those outside it. Western feminist commentators have been particularly vociferous in decrying the veil, which they glibly interpret as a concrete manifestation of patriarchal oppression.

However, most Western...