The Language of Clothes

Even before we speak to someone in a meeting at a party or on the street our clothes often express important information or misinformation about our occupation origin personality opinions and tastes.

And we pay close attention to how others dress as well though we may not be able to put what we observe into words we unconsciously register the information so that when we meet and converse we have already spoken to one another in a universal tongue.Alison Lurie the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist is our savvy guide and interpreter on this tour through the history of fashion. She provides fascinating insights into how changing sex roles political upheavals and class structure have influenced costume. Whether she is describing the enormous amount of clothing worn by early Victorian women or illuminating the significance of the long robes worn by aging men throughout history to connote eminence her analysis is playful clever and always on target.