Surprisingly subversive or Emily Post of fashion?

books:


	• Wife Dressing: The Fine Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife Anne Fogarty Glitterati, Inc., 2008 - 196 pages average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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Wife Dressing

Don't be fooled by the title. Even though the book is vintage 1950's the attitudes towards selection of
clothing, maintenance of clothing and dressing tips are very timely.

Surprisingly subversive or Emily Post of fashion?

I was so happy to read in the fashion blogosphere that Wife Dressing has been dusted off and brought back into print. My first edition copy has crumbled to dust, and I am so pleased by Glitterati's reprinted it. The new illustrations are fabulous, and I love Feitelberg's new introduction that does a stellar job of contextualizing the book. I've bought a copy of it for my 26-year-old niece, who is getting married this spring, to give her fashion advice and to make sure that she appreciates feminism!

As a young girl growing up in suburban Chicago in the 1950s, I saw my mother and her "ladies that lunch" friends emulate Ann Fogarty's advice. My mother lectured me from the pages of that book on dressing with elegance, and when Fogarty wrote about packing 19 steamer trunks of clothing for a trip to Europe, my mother made sure to bring 20. Back then, us girls expected to go to college, maybe teach or nurse for a few years, before retiring into the home. And look, now, fifty-odd years after Wife Dressing was published a woman is making her way to the White House.

Now don't be too hasty in judging Wife Dressing because of the era that it came out of, not only does it have some very useful fashion advice, the book also shows the ways in which women could still have their way. I would even call parts of it subversive. Sure, it's not Betty Freidan, but Fogarty shows how women can assert their authority and independence within the confines of their stereotypical 1950s gender role. Fogarty was no housewife--she spent many years as a model and a fashion designer, even after her marriage. It's a book about working from within the system, which can be a valuable skill, and after all, marriage in any era still requires a great deal of diplomacy.

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Wife Dressing: The Fine Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife is a republishing of a fashion classic, with an updated introduction from fashion commentator Rosemary Feitelberg. Fashion icon Anne Fogarty's advice for the style-conscious woman is every bit as witty today as it was when it was originally published in 1959. Feitelberg's additional text contextualizes Fogarty's original concepts, underscoring how Fogarty's observations and expertise still hold true.