Trappings: Stories of Women, Power, and Clothing

by Tiffany Ludwig, Renee Piechocki

What do you wear that makes you feel powerful? How about the woman next to you at the bank? In line with you at the store? Think about your mother. What would she put on to reveal her power source to the world? These are the questions that inspired Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki to embark on an interview journey across the United States. Over a period of six years, they talked with more than 500 women and girls, ages four through ninety-two, who ranged from office workers to drag-kings, stay-at-home moms to attorneys, fashion industry executives to elected officials, students to cowgirls.             It is these women’s sensitive, funny, and always revealing thoughts that are at the heart of Trappings —a book that although it begins with a question about clothing is not about fashion at all. Here, clothing is simply a vehicle to access a larger dialogue about a diverse range of issues women face related to power and identity, including what expectations and limitations are placed upon them by their affiliation with a specific gender, culture, race, class, or profession. A complex spectrum of responses include discussions about the importance of clothing’s comfort and practicality, how clothing can facilitate women’s movement through class and social strata, how sex is used strategically in business and social settings, and how clothing can be used to empower women by connecting them with cultural or personal history.             Complimented by 148 color and black-and-white photographs, the visual and written portraits in this book reveal much more than the contents of women’s closets. Through the intimate lens of clothing, Ludwig and Piechocki expose the very personal ways that power is sought, experienced, and projected by women.  

Genres: Nonfiction

228 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Velvetink]

Recommended to me by Nicole. she said;" It was a project two women did - they went around the US interviewing women of all ages, asking the question: "What kind of outfit of article of clothing makes you feel powerful when you wear it?" It mentions an Alaskan female pottery artist who also HUNTS BLACK BEAR WITH A BOW. It blew my mind because she looks like a stereotypical librarian kind of lady".

So yeah I have to read this.