Fashioned from Penury: Dress as Cultural Practice in Colonial Australia

by Margaret Maynard

Overview

From the first white settlement clothing was of vast social significance to Australians. It was central to the ways class and status were negotiated and equally significant for marking out sexual differences. Dress was implicated in definitions of morality, in the relationship between Europeans and Aboriginal people, and between convict and free. This book reveals the broader historical and cultural implications of clothes in Australia for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521453103
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/30/1994
Series:	Studies in Australian History
Pages:	247
Product dimensions:	7.17(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Penal Dress 1788–1840: 1. Irregular patterns: government and the social order; 2. Fraying at the edges: clothing supplies and manufacturing; 3. A cut above: fashion, class and power; 4. On the fringe: clothing and Aboriginal/Colonial relations; Part II. Colonial Dress: 5. Dressing the part: urban codes - class and gender; 6. From a different cloth: etiquette and social practice; 7. Material needs: supply and demand; Part III. An Australian Distinctiveness: 8. A loose fit: emigration and adaption; 9. Alternative threads: perceptions and stereotypes; 10. Rough and ready made: bush dress and the mythology of the 'real' Australian; Appendices; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"How refreshing to discover that such an intelligent book title crowns and equally thought-provoking text! We are treated from the very start to some of the best commentary I have read about the discipline of costume research." Rags

"In her scholarly, multi-faceted study, Maynard...dispels myths entrenched in romanticized patriarchical, economic, and industrial forces...Recommended for comprehensive collections in costume history and Australian studies at all levels." M. F. Morris, Choice

"...an original, engrossing treatment of a fascinating subject....[A] fresh and vivid picture of nineteenth century Australia emerges. Copious well-chosen illustrations constitute an attractive supplement to the text. Making excellent use of literary sources, Maynard convincingly refutes the common view, both then and now, that Australian dress merely imitated British styles." Thomas E. Tausky, Australian and New Zealand Studies in Canada

"Well researched and well presented, this book usefully extends the study of the history of fashion into hitherto unexplored territory." Valerie Steele, American Historical Review

From the Publisher