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Library Journal Review

Steele aims to underscore the importance of style and dress in modern society and concurrently to reveal why Paris has long been designated the center of world fashion, yet she claims, ``This is not a history of Paris fashion, still less of haute couture .'' The book is indeed both, with no disclaimer necessary. The title is perfectly apt, for Steele draws from the literature, politics, and art of the 14th to the 20th centuries; she is as fascinated by the treatment of ``sartorial'' distinctions in Proust and Baudelaire as she is by fashion images in 19th-century French painting. Ultimately, her strongest chapters deal with this century, but her research throughout is broad-ranging and her notes and bibliography extremely useful. Sally R. Sims, Univ. of Maryland, Coll. Park, Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This edition of Paris Fashion: A Cultural History has been substantially expanded and updated from its two earlier editions. Steele published the original (CH, Nov'88, 26-1655) early in her career, and since then has risen as a leading voice in fashion scholarship. She serves as the chief curator at the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and as editor in chief of the academic journal Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. This new edition reflects the intervening rise in both Steele's career, and the field of academic fashion history as a whole. The particular focus on the 19th century remains from the first edition, but chapters on the earlier and more recent periods have been added and expanded, and the 19th-century chapters have been updated (the endnotes are full of citations of sources written since the first edition). In addition to endnotes, the book includes an image list (well over double the images in the original, most in color) and selected bibliography. Those with the earlier editions (the second edition appeared in 1998) should consider investing in this update. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Clara E. Berg, Museum of History and Industry

Booklist Review

Certain to please discerning students of fashion, as well as those who have a passing interest in the subject, Steele's study offers a fascinating and detailed view of the Parisian influence of the last 300 years. Focusing on cultural reflections upon fashion (rather than pure historical descriptions), Steele begins her coverage in the early nineteenth century, disclosing the particular social events that inspired the French from the Empire period to the House of Worth. She further cites how social trends have continued to influence the infamous Chanel and Schiaparelli, the modernists Dior and Saint Laurent, and the contemporary Parisian couture phenomenon, Lacroix. With its examination of the roles that various individuals have played in establishing the French mode, the causes of changes in fashion, and the significance of the long-standing Parisian influence, this work is an undeniably informative source that should be included in any fashion collection. Notes, bibliography; index. JL. 391'.00944 Fashion-France-Paris-History-19th century / Paris (France)-Social life and customs-19th century [CIP] 87-11143