Real Clothes, Real Lives : 200 Years of What Women Wore Rizzoli

An unprecedented look at women s everyday clothes from Sylvia Plath s Girl Scout uniform to psychedelic microminis, business suits, and fast-food workers uniforms this fascinating volume shows how American women from every background have lived, worked, and dressed for 200 years. Groundbreaking in its focus on the everyday clothing of ordinary American women a subject neglected in most fashion histories Real Clothes, Real Lives highlights over 300 garments and accessories from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. This unusual survey honors the lives of countless anonymous women, tracing through the lens of dress how women s roles have dramatically changed over the decades. Each piece holds colorful stories about the woman who wore it, the one who made or bought it, and her context in place and time. Whether homemade or ready-made, many of the garments are modest and inexpensive. Some are one-of-a-kind pieces; others are examples of clever making-do, which seems particularly relevant today; and most