The Book

Everywhere around the world, people make daily decisions about what to wear or how to dress. The Visible Self, 4th Edition, presents a systematic approach to analyzing daily rituals that we all share—not simply the act of putting on clothing, but also the method of cleansing the body and adorning it. Using Western and non-Western examples, the authors take a three-pronged approach to understanding dress across cultures, uncovering its relationship to human beings as biological, aesthetic, and social beings. Readings collected from classic books and academic journals enable students to appreciate the complexity of dress from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes anthropology, sociology, economics, fine arts, and the natural sciences. This new edition covers topics including social media, social responsibility, eco-fashion, plus subcultures and trends such as cosplay, making it a relevant resource for studying dress.

New to this Edition:
- Newly organized Part III uses John Bodley’s revised analysis of sociocultural systems to relate to dress and fashion across the world
- New reading by John Vollmer in Part III on the Qing Dynasty of China
- Revised and expanded art program, including 65 new photographs

Table of Contents

PART I: THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF DRESS
Chapter 1: The Classification System of Dress
Chapter 2: Dress, Culture, and Society
Chapter 3: Records of the Types of Dress
Chapter 4: Written Interpretations of Dress

PART II: PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ENVIRONMENT, AND DRESS
Chapter 5: Physical Appearance and Dress
Chapter 6: Body, Dress, and Environment

PART III: SOCIOCULTURAL SYSTEMS OF WORLD CULTURE AND DRESS
Chapter 7: Commercial Sociocultural Systems and Dress
Chapter 8: Tribal Sociocultural Systems
Chapter 9: Imperial Sociocultural Systems and Dress

PART IV: ART, AESTHETICS, AND DRESS
Chapter 10: The Art of Creating Dress
Chapter 11: Ideals for Individual Appearance and the Art of Dress
Chapter 12: The Art of Dress: Conformity and Individuality
Chapter 13: Dress and the Arts

About The Authors

Joanne B. Eicher is Regents Professor Emerita at University of Minnesota where she taught for nearly 20 years. She is Editor-in-Chief of the ten volume Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), editor of the Dress, Body and Culture book series (Bloomsbury Academic) and has authored many other books on culture, dress and identity.

Sandra Lee Evenson is a Professor and Interim Director in the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Idaho, USA, where she has taught courses on dress and culture and apparel design.