Research Catalog

Dress casual how college students redefined American style

Title
Dress casual [electronic resource] : how college students redefined American style / Deirdre Clemente.
Author
Clemente, Deirdre.
Publication
Chapel Hill, NC : The University of North Carolina Press, [2014]

Available Online

  • Available from home with a valid library card
  • Available onsite at NYPL

Details

Description
1 online resource (xii, 196 pages)
Summary
"As Deirdre Clemente shows in this lively history of fashion on American college campuses, whether it's jeans and sneakers or khakis with a polo shirt, chances are college kids made it cool. The modern casual American wardrobe, Clemente argues, was born in the classrooms, dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, and gyms of universities and colleges across the country. As young people gained increasing social and cultural clout during the early twentieth century, their tastes transformed mainstream fashion from collared and corseted to comfortable. From east coast to west and from the Ivy League to historically black colleges and universities, changing styles reflected new ways of defining the value of personal appearance, and, by extension, new possibilities for creating one's identity. The pace of change in fashion options, however, was hardly equal. Race, class, and gender shaped the adoption of casual style, and young women faced particular backlash both from older generations and from their male peers. Nevertheless, as coeds fought dress codes and stereotypes, they joined men in pushing new styles beyond the campus, into dance halls, theaters, homes, and workplaces. Thanks to these shifts, today's casual style provides a middle ground for people of all backgrounds, redefining the meaning of appearance in American culture. "--
Series Statement
Gender and American culture
Uniform Title
Dress casual (Online)
Alternative Title
Dress casual (Online)
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access (note)
  • Access restricted to authorized users.
LCCN
2013041142
OCLC
ssj0001133735
Author
Clemente, Deirdre.
Title
Dress casual [electronic resource] : how college students redefined American style / Deirdre Clemente.
Imprint
Chapel Hill, NC : The University of North Carolina Press, [2014]
Edition
First edition.
Series
Gender and American culture
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
Connect to:
Available from home with a valid library card
Available onsite at NYPL
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