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Nazi Chic?: Fashioning Women in the Third Reich
This is the first book in English to deal comprehensively with German fashion from World War I through to the end of the Third Reich. It explores the failed attempt by the Nazi state to construct a female image that would mirror official gender policies, inculcate feelings of national pride, promote a German victory on the fashion runways of Europe and support a Nazi-controlled European fashion industry. Not only was fashion one of the countrys largest industries throughout the interwar period, but German women ranked among the most elegantly dressed in all of Europe. While exploding the cultural stereotype of the German woman as either a Brunhilde in uniform or a chubby farmers wife, the author reveals the often heated debates surrounding the issue of female image and clothing, as well as the ambiguous and contradictory relationship between official Nazi propaganda and the reality of womens daily lives during this crucial period in German history. Because Hitler never took a firm public stance on fashion, an investigation of fashion policy reveals ambivalent posturing, competing factions and conflicting laws in what was clearly not a monolithic National Socialist state. Drawing on previously neglected primary sources, Guenther unearths new material to detail the inner workings of a government-supported fashion institute and an organization established to help aryanize the German fashion world.How did the few with power maintain style and elegance? How did the majority experience the increased standardization of clothing characteristic of the Nazi years? How did women deal with the severe clothing restrictions brought about by Nazi policies and the exigencies of war? These questions and many others, including the role of anti-Semitism, aryanization and the hypocrisy of Nazi policies, are all thoroughly examined in this pathbreaking book.
499 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 14, 2024
I've known plenty of non fiction works to have a section of notes at the back end of the book, but that's nothing compared to the scale of what it is here: almost 200 pages of notes. This is a 500 page book, so that's a lot of notes! Can't say it's not heavy on details and handy information that's for sure.
Just like a book I read a year or so ago about the Hitler Youth, I doubt we'll see any other book being as comprehensive on the Third Reich's women fashion industry as it is here. For anyone with a passion for reading about German history of the first half of the 20th century then I'd highly recommend it. It starts from around the time of of WW1, so covers more than just the Third Reich. Learning about the DMI (Deutsches Mode-Institut), I found to be most interesting of all.
February 8, 2025
Again, I wish this app allowed half stars. 4.5 is my intended rating, the reasons for which I will list at the end.
TLDR: this book is an incredibly important, informative contribution to the subject of fashion and textile history in the Third Reich, a subject that is woefully under researched and a field of study that is still in its infancy~ thus, I consider this a must-read for anyone interested in WWII and in the history of clothing both as a reflection of contemporary life and as a means of messaging or gauging the health and morale of a given populace in a given era.
Okay, long-winded review incoming:
This book represents one of the only English-language historic research on fashion, textile, and other clothing-related spheres during the Third Reich (with a bit of context provided pre-WWI and in the interwar years). Much is available to the English audience when looking into male uniforms (and some contemporary fashioning), but little can be found on the subject of women—their clothing, their daily life, their experiences—at least not in English. Guenther provides a clearly well-researched and well-organized approach to the serious discussion of women’s fashioning and rationing in the Third Reich. Guenther sets out from the beginning to tackle several questions: what elements dictated women’s fashion (regulations? Propaganda? Or something else?), how did the women of Germany fashion themselves in extreme rationing and shortages, Germany’s illusion of “plenty” and the efficacy of that messaging on the home front (and hoped efficacy of messaging to the international audience), and how the Reich did or did not clothe itself, its elite, and its military in the height of the war.
Much time is spent on the subject of Germany’s attempt at autarky, and how the Nazi government’s antisemitism and unbridled (and wholly unchecked) belief in their ability to self-sustain despite systematic dismantling of their own infrastructure whilst obliterating their international relations (thus placing their starting-point well below the zero in terms of chance for success), mixed with an unclear vision for how they would achieve any of their proclaimed intentions…Guenther lays bare several of the “why’s” for Nazi Germany’s failures, with obvious special attention paid to the textile, fashion, and manufacturing spheres of operation. The naked truth of the torture of Jewish people is not skimmed over, and the devastation of Aryanization is approached both from the utter loss of livelihoods of the Jewish populace, but also from the utter loss in the realm of clothing design, manufacturing, and distribution.
Guenther’s writing strikes a decent balance between the dry academia of historic non-fiction works, and the overly glossy or inherently short-changed of many Pophistory books available today. She is approachable, got the most part, though the subject is decidedly niche. Her contribution to the subject is a well-compiled, well-organized, and first-of-its-kind in serval of the covered subjects (I believe this contains one of—if not THE—only works that covers the entire lifespan of the DMI). Any budding fashion historian or people simply interested in WWII (specifically in the realm of domestic impact vs battlefield discussion) should consider giving this a read.
Why I deducted a star: A half point (or in the app’s case, full point) reduction is driven primarily by occasional unnecessary repetition of specific concepts (eg. animosity towards French and Jewish people and goods), inconsistent title translations of German primary sources causing a little bit of confusion (translate all or none, is my preference), as well as inconsistent use of acronyms (eg. One acronym was used regularly in earlier chapters, but only fully written out for the first time in one of the closing chapters.) lends to the likelihood that this was written and researched in parts, then placed together in a sort of omnibus-style book of research on the topic, which is not uncommon! But could and should have been caught by beta readers and her editors. This isn’t necessarily a ding on the author, in truth, but more on the editors who should have assisted in the overall organization of the book and the presentation of information therein.
TLDR: this book is an incredibly important, informative contribution to the subject of fashion and textile history in the Third Reich, a subject that is woefully under researched and a field of study that is still in its infancy~ thus, I consider this a must-read for anyone interested in WWII and in the history of clothing both as a reflection of contemporary life and as a means of messaging or gauging the health and morale of a given populace in a given era.
Okay, long-winded review incoming:
This book represents one of the only English-language historic research on fashion, textile, and other clothing-related spheres during the Third Reich (with a bit of context provided pre-WWI and in the interwar years). Much is available to the English audience when looking into male uniforms (and some contemporary fashioning), but little can be found on the subject of women—their clothing, their daily life, their experiences—at least not in English. Guenther provides a clearly well-researched and well-organized approach to the serious discussion of women’s fashioning and rationing in the Third Reich. Guenther sets out from the beginning to tackle several questions: what elements dictated women’s fashion (regulations? Propaganda? Or something else?), how did the women of Germany fashion themselves in extreme rationing and shortages, Germany’s illusion of “plenty” and the efficacy of that messaging on the home front (and hoped efficacy of messaging to the international audience), and how the Reich did or did not clothe itself, its elite, and its military in the height of the war.
Much time is spent on the subject of Germany’s attempt at autarky, and how the Nazi government’s antisemitism and unbridled (and wholly unchecked) belief in their ability to self-sustain despite systematic dismantling of their own infrastructure whilst obliterating their international relations (thus placing their starting-point well below the zero in terms of chance for success), mixed with an unclear vision for how they would achieve any of their proclaimed intentions…Guenther lays bare several of the “why’s” for Nazi Germany’s failures, with obvious special attention paid to the textile, fashion, and manufacturing spheres of operation. The naked truth of the torture of Jewish people is not skimmed over, and the devastation of Aryanization is approached both from the utter loss of livelihoods of the Jewish populace, but also from the utter loss in the realm of clothing design, manufacturing, and distribution.
Guenther’s writing strikes a decent balance between the dry academia of historic non-fiction works, and the overly glossy or inherently short-changed of many Pophistory books available today. She is approachable, got the most part, though the subject is decidedly niche. Her contribution to the subject is a well-compiled, well-organized, and first-of-its-kind in serval of the covered subjects (I believe this contains one of—if not THE—only works that covers the entire lifespan of the DMI). Any budding fashion historian or people simply interested in WWII (specifically in the realm of domestic impact vs battlefield discussion) should consider giving this a read.
Why I deducted a star: A half point (or in the app’s case, full point) reduction is driven primarily by occasional unnecessary repetition of specific concepts (eg. animosity towards French and Jewish people and goods), inconsistent title translations of German primary sources causing a little bit of confusion (translate all or none, is my preference), as well as inconsistent use of acronyms (eg. One acronym was used regularly in earlier chapters, but only fully written out for the first time in one of the closing chapters.) lends to the likelihood that this was written and researched in parts, then placed together in a sort of omnibus-style book of research on the topic, which is not uncommon! But could and should have been caught by beta readers and her editors. This isn’t necessarily a ding on the author, in truth, but more on the editors who should have assisted in the overall organization of the book and the presentation of information therein.
April 1, 2025
WWII histories are so common in the United States, it was refreshing to read a text on Nazi Germany that addresses new, cultural information without rehashing anything that could have easily been taken from a History Channel special. Highly recommend for cultural historians, but definitely a bit heavily for most readers.
June 23, 2018
Excellent book! This is a fantastic bit of work, that illuminates an aspect of the Third Reich that is overlooked, and the author did amazing work on this.
It does drag a bit, I skipped ch 5, but overall, it actually does a great job of making this interesting
It does drag a bit, I skipped ch 5, but overall, it actually does a great job of making this interesting
January 17, 2021
This was definitely a highly specific read for research, but it was well written, thorough and very educational. I chose Guenther’s book for fashion information, but was educated on the Nazi mentality. A great read for those with any interest in World War II.
October 21, 2024
There's a haute-couture and there's a haute-academia which this book most certainly is
February 6, 2020
This is the first book in English to deal comprehensively with German fashion from World War I through to the end of the Third Reich. It explores the failed attempt by the Nazi state to construct a female image that would mirror official gender policies, inculcate feelings of national pride, promote a German victory on the fashion runways of Europe and support a Nazi-controlled European fashion industry. Not only was fashion one of the countrys largest industries throughout the interwar period, but German women ranked among the most elegantly dressed in all of Europe. While exploding the cultural stereotype of the German woman as either a Brunhilde in uniform or a chubby farmers wife, the author reveals the often heated debates surrounding the issue of female image and clothing, as well as the ambiguous and contradictory relationship between official Nazi propaganda and the reality of womens daily lives during this crucial period in German history. Because Hitler never took a firm public stance on fashion, an investigation of fashion policy reveals ambivalent posturing, competing factions and conflicting laws in what was clearly not a monolithic National Socialist state. Drawing on previously neglected primary sources, Guenther unearths new material to detail the inner workings of a government-supported fashion institute and an organization established to help aryanize the German fashion world.How did the few with power maintain style and elegance? How did the majority experience the increased standardization of clothing characteristic of the Nazi years? How did women deal with the severe clothing restrictions brought about by Nazi policies and the exigencies of war? These questions and many others, including the role of anti-Semitism, aryanization and the hypocrisy of Nazi policies, are all thoroughly examined in this pathbreaking book. Interesting aspect of the Third Reich. Recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby
September 24, 2016
Kind of problematic title I'd say but useful info!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews