Selling Style: Clothing and Social Change at the Turn of the Century

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Selling Style: Clothing and Social Change at the Turn of the Century Rob Schorman. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. In Selling Style, Rob Schorman examines the intersection of gender, mass media, and consumer culture at the turn of the twentieth century. Schorman reveals the importance of clothing and images of clothing in creating and maintaining social norms, especially expectations of sex role differentiation. The focus of the book is the 189Os, a restless time when there the sharpest contrast in the manner in which men's and women's clothing produced; American men wore ready-made clothing, while women still wore custom-made clothing. Schorman poses several questions: What accounts for this contrast? What connection do clothing and the making of clothes have to broader cultural issues such as gender? In answering these questions, he contrasts the development of the men's ready-towear industry with the custom-made traditions of women's wear and examines the cultural meanings associated with each. He analyzes the impact of social Darwinism in supporting notions of sex differentiation and the ways in which dress became symbols of masculinity, citizenship, and femininity, as well as the influence of advertising in helping shape these cultural categories. Schorman observes that during the 189Os, many Americans linked fashion to individual identity and social power, ideas that resonated in the social presentation of the self. It believed that inner truths could be determined by appearance -that is, outward garb an indication of the inward personality. Dress also denoted class and citizenship, but most important, clothing served to symbolize and maintain gender role distinctions. It was through consumer goods, especially clothing, that people constructed their identities. Men's clothing, especially the sack suit, evoked notions of a new masculinity and modernity. According to Schorman, ready-made suits were testament to American industrial prowess and democratic freedom. Unlike the frock coat, cutaway, or tailcoat, there nothing frivolous about the aesthetic of the sack coat. It square and solid. Ready-mades became popular, not only because they were inexpensive, but because they also offered a decent fit and eventually gained respectability. The manufacturers, clothiers, and retailers drew on advertising to make favorable comparisons to custom clothing. Schorman notes, however, that the attributes of custom clothing became linked to women's identity, character, and gender role. …