Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Clothing serves as a system of signs that helps to order social interaction by identifying and locating individuals and groups within society. In the first in-depth study to analyze the communicative character of uniforms and other types of clothing, Nathan Joseph examines how clothing functions in a variety of social contexts to enforce norms, maintain institutional power, identify group membership, and express or suppress individuality.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The premise of sociologist Nathan Joseph (Herbert H. Lehman College) is that clothing is a system of signs deriving meaning from social context. Clothing is not merely a social artifact, but also a form of human communication using both signals and symbols. This is a new, fascinating arena for scholarly exploration; no comprehensive sociology of clothing yet exists. Joseph wisely limits analysis of clothing to a controllable type, uniforms, which he defines as the ``legitimating emblem of membership within an organization''-not merely similarity of dress within a group. His book is both interesting and frustrating. Although it offers intriguing insights into subtleties of communication through clothing in general and uniforms in particular, the work makes such heavy use of obscure sociological terminology and concepts that meaning becomes unclear. The book is occasionally lucid, but it is difficult to follow the abstract reasoning Joseph uses in discussing ``types of sartorial signs, their references to reality, and their frequent nonfunctional or ludic employment.'' The 18-page bibliography includes a heavy percentage of short, recent articles treating contemporary attitudes on religious, social, and military uniforms, plus 16 interviews. This work also demonstrates the importance of illustrations for any publication treating clothing; Joseph produced a 248-page book with not one photo or diagram. Undergraduates and general readers interested in costume will be turned away.-B.B. Chico, Mizel Museum of Judaica