A new look for Austerity...The coldest winter on record, rationing, successive economic crises, bombed out towns and cities; with some justification 'Austerity Britain' in the late 1940s is coloured in the popular imagination in tones of drab. Dressing for Austerity shines a light on alternative visions of post-war optimism and aspiration. It traces how, set against the Labour government's philosophy of 'Austerity by design' in a climate of post-war idealism, the desire for affordable fashionable clothing, access to leisure, and the health, time and money to enjoy them became totemic symbols of post-war ambition that impelled new strategies of state control and consumer agency. The book examines the immediate post-war period - its politics, its fashions and its people - in new ways and on its own terms as a critical tipping point in the making of modern Britain.
| ISBN: | 9781780766287 |
| Publication date: | 26th April 2017 |
| Author: | Dr Geraldine (Central St Martins, London, UK) Biddle-Perry |
| Publisher: | I.B. Tauris an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 224 pages |
| Series: | Dress Cultures |
| Genres: |
Cultural studies: fashion and society Fashion and textile design History of art Social and cultural history |