Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This lavishly illustrated chronicle of American women's fashions examines relationships between the mass-market ready-to-wear industry, fashion journalism, and fashion advertising. Throughout the twentieth century, these industries fueled one another's successes by identifying an ever-widening consumer class and fanning the desire to be fashionable. Daniel Hill employs a wealth of primary source material to document not only this symbiosis but also an evolution in American fashion, society, and culture, as evidenced by more than six hundred fashion ads that appeared in Vogue from the magazine's debut in 1893 through the next ten decades.These American vignettes document more than the looks and fashions of their eras; they reveal dramatic transformations in women's roles and self-image--witness the metamorphosis from alabaster Victorian homemaker to painted flapper in just a generation, from conformist fifties mom to miniskirt-clad iconoclast only a decade later.In this comprehensive study, Hill offers a fathomless trove for fashion historians and pop-culturists, an invaluable resource for students and professionals in advertising, marketing, and business history, and a niche perspective on cultural influences for women's studies.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Although this volume claims to be a study of advertising in Vogue, the title is not strictly accurate. While the illustrations are from ads, the first chapter is devoted to the story of Vogue's evolution from society magazine to prominent fashion journal, and much of the text is based on Vogue's editorials. The approach works well, allowing Hill (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.) to highlight his central theme: an examination of how manufacturers translate complex couture designs into easily replicated pret-a-porter styles for the masses. This aspect of the book is very strong, as is the author's discussion of the tension between French and American designers and the differences between the two countries' high-fashion production. As a work of theory, it is not as successful. Hill makes simplistic correlations between social change and fashion trends that most fashion scholars would not accept--women's votes led to short skirts, the Depression created long ones, the New Deal introduced frivolity into styles, and other bits of pop wisdom that do not stand up to serious analysis. This work is very valuable for its clear overview of trends, not theoretical sophistication. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers and undergraduate students at all levels. R. A. Standish University of Maryland University College