The American Look
Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York
The American Look
Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York
Description
By the 1940s the New York fashion industry had come into its own. Sportswear, which had evolved from its origins to include simple casual wear for travel, leisure, town and country, was at the centre of this shift.
Drawing on an array of sources, this book examines how New York sportswear evolved during the 1930s and 1940s to become the definitive American style. It reveals how designers such as Claire McCardell, Clare Potter and Tina Leser created a fashion identity for New York that was as dynamic and modern as the city itself.
Author Rebecca Arnold interrogates the American ideal of athletic, long-limbed women and looks for the first time at how sportswear impacted and was impacted by ideas of patriotism and democracy, as well as its links to notions of cleanliness and hygiene, and to 1930s theories of body image and contemporary dance.
As part of the Foundations of Fashion Studies series, this classic text now includes a new foreword by Emma McClendon and a new afterword and further reading list by the author.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. New York and the Evolution of Sportswear 1929–39
New York City
Sportswear
The Modern Sportswear Aesthetic I
2. American Body Culture
Body Image/Body Culture
Health and Hygiene
Exercise and Dance
Sports Body
3. Sportswear and the New York Fashion Industry During the Depression
Effects of the Depression
Career Women
Fashion Group
4. Sportswear's Promotion During the 1930s
New York Department Stores
Fashion Media
The Monastic Dress and the Sportswear Promotion in the late 1930s
5. Sportswear and the New York Fashion Industry During the Second World War
Effects of the Second World War
Sportswear Design and Representation
Modern Sportswear Aesthetic II
6. The American Look and the Rise of the Designer
The American Look
New York Sportswear Designers and Consumerism
The Woman of Fashion 1947
Conclusion
Afterword to this re-issue
Further reading for this re-issue
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 23 Feb 2027 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | 9781350563537 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Visual Arts |
| Illustrations | 77 bw illus |
| Series | Foundations of Fashion Studies |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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