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Dress Like a Woman: Working Women and What They Wore
A woman can be a firefighter, surgeon, astronaut, military officer, athlete, judge, and scientist. So what does it mean to dress like a woman?
Dress Like a Woman turns that question on its head by sharing a myriad of interpretations across history. The book includes more than 240 incredible photographs that illustrate how women’s roles have changed over the last century. The women pictured in this book inhabit a fascinating intersection of gender, fashion, politics, culture, class, nationality, and race. You’ll see some familiar faces, including trailblazers Shirley Chisholm, Amelia Earhart, Angela Davis, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Michelle Obama, but the majority of photographs are of ordinary working women from many backgrounds and professions. Pioneering scientists and mathematicians, leading civil rights and feminist activists, factory workers and lumberjacks, stay-at-home moms and domestic workers, and artists and musicians; all express their individual style and dress to get the job done.
With essays by renowned fashion writer Vanessa Friedman and New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay, Dress Like a Woman offers a comprehensive look at the role of gender and clothing in the workplace—and proves that there’s no single way to dress like a woman.
Dress Like a Woman turns that question on its head by sharing a myriad of interpretations across history. The book includes more than 240 incredible photographs that illustrate how women’s roles have changed over the last century. The women pictured in this book inhabit a fascinating intersection of gender, fashion, politics, culture, class, nationality, and race. You’ll see some familiar faces, including trailblazers Shirley Chisholm, Amelia Earhart, Angela Davis, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Michelle Obama, but the majority of photographs are of ordinary working women from many backgrounds and professions. Pioneering scientists and mathematicians, leading civil rights and feminist activists, factory workers and lumberjacks, stay-at-home moms and domestic workers, and artists and musicians; all express their individual style and dress to get the job done.
With essays by renowned fashion writer Vanessa Friedman and New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay, Dress Like a Woman offers a comprehensive look at the role of gender and clothing in the workplace—and proves that there’s no single way to dress like a woman.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published February 27, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 10, 2018
I was overjoyed at the sight of this in my mail, courtesy of Abrams Books.
What does it mean to dress like a woman?
Today, a woman can be a surgeon, an artist, an astronaut, a military officer, an athlete, a judge, a scientist--the possibilities are endless. The photographs inside this book depict women--both familiar and unknown--who inhibit a fascinating intersection of fashion, gender, class, nationality, and race, proving there is no single answer to this question. With essays by Roxane Gay and Vanessa Friedman, Dress Like a Woman is a comprehensive look at the role of gender and clothing in the workplace.
Beyond the empowering concept set behind Dress Like a Woman , this is the most beautiful book I've received to date. The high-quality images produced in here, ranging into the world of women through time and space (literally), astonishes me. The creative people behind this book put all their toil into this compilation, and you can feel it through the detailed pages. WE NEED MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS!!
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: February 27, 2018
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August 2, 2018
Why I enjoyed this book and would have loved to give it five stars: It's a beautiful look back at dressing like a woman and what that means around the world, back in the day, present day, and more and represents all kinds of work from artists to writers to first ladies. It's pay homage to the working woman.
Why I couldn't give it five stars: I wanted more! The layout that varied from two-page spreads, full pages, or several squares captioned the woman's culture, the date, sometimes a name and location. The two-page spreads and full pages had the caption on a completely separate page and not organized how I would have read to understand what I was seeing (or disappointingly what I just saw) and led me to flip back and forth. I needed more. I needed it to explain what I was seeing, why a woman would choose to dress this way whether for functionality, available textiles of the time, ingenuity, etc. I wanted it to be either chronological, by career field, through interviews, actual dress codes, research, historical documents, SOMETHING!
Why I couldn't give it five stars: I wanted more! The layout that varied from two-page spreads, full pages, or several squares captioned the woman's culture, the date, sometimes a name and location. The two-page spreads and full pages had the caption on a completely separate page and not organized how I would have read to understand what I was seeing (or disappointingly what I just saw) and led me to flip back and forth. I needed more. I needed it to explain what I was seeing, why a woman would choose to dress this way whether for functionality, available textiles of the time, ingenuity, etc. I wanted it to be either chronological, by career field, through interviews, actual dress codes, research, historical documents, SOMETHING!
March 8, 2018
"Dress Like a Woman" is a perfect book to read for Women's History Month. It is a gorgeous book filled with pictures of women at work. Historically (and sometimes still in the present day), women have had to fight in order to be included in the workforce. Women have a huge role in making the world go around and this book celebrates that! Being a working woman, I loved seeing pictures of those who have come before me in order to allow me to do what I want to do with my career.
Although most of the pictures that it includes focuses on American women, there are still a bunch of photos dedicated to other parts of the world. I loved seeing the differences between women around the world and between women of different times. This is truly a beautiful book!
Although most of the pictures that it includes focuses on American women, there are still a bunch of photos dedicated to other parts of the world. I loved seeing the differences between women around the world and between women of different times. This is truly a beautiful book!
July 18, 2023
Wow ok just because OSHA didn’t “exist” before the 70s doesn’t mean you can just disregard the rules 🙄
July 4, 2018
This is a gorgeous book, both in intention and presentation. In response to Trump’s “dress like a woman” comment the editors have compiled an array of photographs portraying women in various work environments in many cultures and time periods.
Some photographs are candid while some are posed. Some are of women you know and will recognize while many are of everyday women. All are of women doing the things they do and wearing what they wear. I found each photograph remarkable in its simplicity, in its ability to memorialize a time and place, and in the beauty it portrays.
It would be easy to quickly flip through the pages but I suggest taking the time to really consider each one. My only complaint is that some of the more spectacular photos were made into double page spreads causing parts of the picture to be distorted into the center crease. It was harder to appreciate those photos.
I would say this is more an art book than it is a nonfiction book. If you are looking for comprehensive histories of each time period or country you will not find it in this book. It has been criticized for not providing enough information about each photograph or the setting of the photographs. I don’t believe that was the purpose of this compilation. Instead it offers the reader brief captions and the opportunity to question, explore, and research what they found interesting or inconsistencies they noticed. The editor does not spoon feed the reader background information but isn’t that an exciting chance to become inspired and to take the reins of your own learning and go find out more?
It is not organized by time or country. I think that has also been criticized by some readers but I liked it. The book wasn’t meant to compare all women from a certain time period or country. Organizing it would lead you to make those comparisons.
One more criticism I noticed when reading other peoples reviews is that the book does not represent professions that are commonly thought of as women’s careers (think nurse, teacher, librarian, flight attendants), unpaid (and often under appreciated) work in the home, and illegal work such as prostitution. I agree with the latter two. It would have been nice to see those women represented. As for the former, I believe that those images are often over represented. Those women hold important jobs but part of this book was pushing past those stereotypes. There was a teacher or two and a few nurses but they were only a small fraction of the jobs represented. I don’t think the book is any less substantial bc those professions weren’t more focused on.
Some photographs are candid while some are posed. Some are of women you know and will recognize while many are of everyday women. All are of women doing the things they do and wearing what they wear. I found each photograph remarkable in its simplicity, in its ability to memorialize a time and place, and in the beauty it portrays.
It would be easy to quickly flip through the pages but I suggest taking the time to really consider each one. My only complaint is that some of the more spectacular photos were made into double page spreads causing parts of the picture to be distorted into the center crease. It was harder to appreciate those photos.
I would say this is more an art book than it is a nonfiction book. If you are looking for comprehensive histories of each time period or country you will not find it in this book. It has been criticized for not providing enough information about each photograph or the setting of the photographs. I don’t believe that was the purpose of this compilation. Instead it offers the reader brief captions and the opportunity to question, explore, and research what they found interesting or inconsistencies they noticed. The editor does not spoon feed the reader background information but isn’t that an exciting chance to become inspired and to take the reins of your own learning and go find out more?
It is not organized by time or country. I think that has also been criticized by some readers but I liked it. The book wasn’t meant to compare all women from a certain time period or country. Organizing it would lead you to make those comparisons.
One more criticism I noticed when reading other peoples reviews is that the book does not represent professions that are commonly thought of as women’s careers (think nurse, teacher, librarian, flight attendants), unpaid (and often under appreciated) work in the home, and illegal work such as prostitution. I agree with the latter two. It would have been nice to see those women represented. As for the former, I believe that those images are often over represented. Those women hold important jobs but part of this book was pushing past those stereotypes. There was a teacher or two and a few nurses but they were only a small fraction of the jobs represented. I don’t think the book is any less substantial bc those professions weren’t more focused on.
November 14, 2018
En 2017 Donald Trump dijo que le gustaría (quería, deseaba) que las mujeres de su equipo "vistiesen como mujeres". Ante ese comentario, las redes se llenaron de mujeres vestidas de lo que son: juezas, bomberas, científicas, secretarias, cirujanas, maestras... ¿Qué es "vestir como una mujer"?
Este libro pretende dar una respuesta a esa preguntamostrando en fotografías a mujeres trabajadoras de los últimos 150 años y cómo visten (cómo vestimos).
Un magnífico libro de fotografías en el que he echado de menos una introducción más profunda o una explicación de las fotos con más enjundia.
En cualquier caso, vale la pena ver cómo ha evolucionado el papel público de las mujeres a lo largo de los últimos 100 años, y cómo esos cambios también se perciben en la vestimenta.
Y respecto a qué es vestir como una mujer, creo que todas lo tenemos claro. Vestir como una mujer es vestir como a cada una de nosotras nos sale del moño. Con falda, con pantalones, con tacones, con tenis, con vaqueros, con traje de chaqueta,...
Este libro pretende dar una respuesta a esa preguntamostrando en fotografías a mujeres trabajadoras de los últimos 150 años y cómo visten (cómo vestimos).
Un magnífico libro de fotografías en el que he echado de menos una introducción más profunda o una explicación de las fotos con más enjundia.
En cualquier caso, vale la pena ver cómo ha evolucionado el papel público de las mujeres a lo largo de los últimos 100 años, y cómo esos cambios también se perciben en la vestimenta.
Y respecto a qué es vestir como una mujer, creo que todas lo tenemos claro. Vestir como una mujer es vestir como a cada una de nosotras nos sale del moño. Con falda, con pantalones, con tacones, con tenis, con vaqueros, con traje de chaqueta,...
April 15, 2019
4.75 out of 5.
I loved this. In the end this is a fantastic collection of women working. I think title can be a turn off if you think it's only about 'fashion' but for me it's more complex. There are all kinds of women here from those in the navy with their plucked brows in the 40s, to women with lots of jewelry and fabric throughout the years, to office workers in the 70s. Though there are some well-known women in here I enjoyed being introduced to a host of people and their historic accomplishments.
It doesn't get a full 5 rating from me because of the blasted format. I don't understand why some art/photography books will do the one massive picture with the spine cutting into the center unless it's a picture than can handle that - a person sitting in the middle with their face cut and distorted cannot. I'd rather have to turn the book sideways! It's not the worst I've seen but it is a shame and I think is unintentionally disrespectful given the subject.
I loved this. In the end this is a fantastic collection of women working. I think title can be a turn off if you think it's only about 'fashion' but for me it's more complex. There are all kinds of women here from those in the navy with their plucked brows in the 40s, to women with lots of jewelry and fabric throughout the years, to office workers in the 70s. Though there are some well-known women in here I enjoyed being introduced to a host of people and their historic accomplishments.
It doesn't get a full 5 rating from me because of the blasted format. I don't understand why some art/photography books will do the one massive picture with the spine cutting into the center unless it's a picture than can handle that - a person sitting in the middle with their face cut and distorted cannot. I'd rather have to turn the book sideways! It's not the worst I've seen but it is a shame and I think is unintentionally disrespectful given the subject.
May 29, 2018
I loved this book so much! Yes, it is just photos of women at work, but that is exactly what makes the book powerful. There is nothing but women from all over the world working in various fields wearing what they do to get the job done. It was inspiring for me to see and I hope to buy this book for my future children. (I checked it out from the library.
Read
January 25, 2024a photo-book of what working women wore. love that this honors all sorts of labor. i’ve always been drawn to photographs from the past (most of the photos featured in here are from the twentieth century or prior) and these were super interesting to look at.
June 8, 2025
Fantastic topic with many excellent archival photographs. I only wish the layout had been a bit better. For example, it’s an oversight to have a photo spread across two pages in such a way that the woman’s head is hidden unless you damage the binding.
April 3, 2018
Well, first of all, it's an Abrams book, so it's beautiful. I flipped through it pretty quickly the first time, but found my self going back to spend more time on each photo. Some of the juxtapositions I found interesting and thought-provoking. Others I just didn't get at all. But that was thought-provoking, too.
September 20, 2025
A fun look-book. I appreciated the diversity of the subjects. Lots of impressive outfits. I’m so grateful to be born in a time where women can wear whatever they like, mostly.
April 15, 2018
This is an interesting and attractive book to flip through, although the coverage of the topic and the choice of photographs leaves something to be desired.
The creators of this book do not give much historical context about each photograph other than a short caption. There were times when I was taken by an image and wished I had more information about it. The forward and introduction, by Roxane Gay and Vanessa Friedman, respectively, don’t go into much depth either.
The photographs in this book come from various countries and time periods. They are presented in no discernible thematic order. Many of the photographs are of women in Europe and North America. A good number are these are of women who worked during WWII in the UK and US. To the book’s credit, among the pictures from the US there is a strong representation of African-American women, which is logical seeing as many African-American women worked outside of the home before middle class whites women did so en masse in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a fair amount of photographs of women from other parts of the world, although ironically many of the photos of non-western women are of garment factory workers. This issue is never really discussed in the book. In Vanessa Friedman’s introduction she describes “the assertive sapphire blue of a Bangladeshi garment worker’s sari, refusing to be dismissed or blend into the background, insisting the individual be seen on the way to perhaps being heard” but doesn’t touch on the fact that this woman probably works for poverty wages in an unsafe environment to make cheap clothing for western consumers.
My biggest issue with this book is that it defines working women as “women in the world (as opposed to, say, women in the home)” (Friedman’s introduction), therefore ignoring the unpaid labor in domestic and child rearing tasks that has historically been performed by women. The majority of the photographs in the book depict well known historical figures and entertainers or else women working in fields considered masculine such as anything STEM, manufacturing, law enforcement and medicine. There seem to be relatively fewer images of women in jobs considered traditionally feminine. I don’t recall many pictures of women working as teachers, librarians, daycare workers, flight attendants, waitresses, cooks, or social workers. There is no representation of sex workers either unless you count a photograph of a burlesque performer.
All in all this book is worth checking out for the fascinating and often beautiful photographs but it could have been more balanced and nuanced.
The creators of this book do not give much historical context about each photograph other than a short caption. There were times when I was taken by an image and wished I had more information about it. The forward and introduction, by Roxane Gay and Vanessa Friedman, respectively, don’t go into much depth either.
The photographs in this book come from various countries and time periods. They are presented in no discernible thematic order. Many of the photographs are of women in Europe and North America. A good number are these are of women who worked during WWII in the UK and US. To the book’s credit, among the pictures from the US there is a strong representation of African-American women, which is logical seeing as many African-American women worked outside of the home before middle class whites women did so en masse in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a fair amount of photographs of women from other parts of the world, although ironically many of the photos of non-western women are of garment factory workers. This issue is never really discussed in the book. In Vanessa Friedman’s introduction she describes “the assertive sapphire blue of a Bangladeshi garment worker’s sari, refusing to be dismissed or blend into the background, insisting the individual be seen on the way to perhaps being heard” but doesn’t touch on the fact that this woman probably works for poverty wages in an unsafe environment to make cheap clothing for western consumers.
My biggest issue with this book is that it defines working women as “women in the world (as opposed to, say, women in the home)” (Friedman’s introduction), therefore ignoring the unpaid labor in domestic and child rearing tasks that has historically been performed by women. The majority of the photographs in the book depict well known historical figures and entertainers or else women working in fields considered masculine such as anything STEM, manufacturing, law enforcement and medicine. There seem to be relatively fewer images of women in jobs considered traditionally feminine. I don’t recall many pictures of women working as teachers, librarians, daycare workers, flight attendants, waitresses, cooks, or social workers. There is no representation of sex workers either unless you count a photograph of a burlesque performer.
All in all this book is worth checking out for the fascinating and often beautiful photographs but it could have been more balanced and nuanced.
March 9, 2018
Flipped through briefly when I saw this at work. Lots of awesome pictures of empowering working women. Definitely worth a look.
March 6, 2024
While I enjoyed reading the introductions by the authors, that is where the words stopped (unless you count the captions on the pictures). I wanted more. maybe more in depth about how fashion has changed for working women over the decades and the reasons behind these changes; whither they be practical or political. Where woman banned from wearing certain things while working in factories for safety (did accidents happen to make these changes necessary).
June 24, 2018
This was a fabulous thing to see. Women doing all kinds of work and wearing all kinds of things while doing it.
April 15, 2018
It was surprising for me to learn that women have been working in diversified fields and throughout the globe, a great deal longer than I knew. During World War II, many women were asked to fill many traditionally male jobs till they returned from war. I had thought, though that outside of that brief period of time, many women stayed at home or had traditional "women's work" for the most part up until the 1960's. These photos, however, showed that, at least some women were quite active even in the early 1900's, doing a wide variety of jobs. The captioned photos and explanations created a shift in my thinking. Seeing actual photos, allowed me to feel the tremendous capacity and dignity of women, more deeply than ever before. I am definitely not minimizing stay-at-home-moms, I benefited from my mom's attention and I did a stint for a while too - I loved spending time with my kids. I am celebrating, however the expansion of job opportunities. Finding a job one is suited to, loves and is given opportunity to do is amazing. Women have unique qualities which they bring to wherever they are, which can be very beneficial to everyone.
Another important aspect of the book is allowing female students freedom to wear pants to school and to work by Title IX, mentioned in the book. This aspect of history is very much alive for me. It was not until my last year of high school that I was allowed to wear pants to school in sub-zero weather, for example. This change in the law was very significant because it allowed, as the author notes, women to wear what is needed to feel comfortable and is appropriate for their jobs and school, as well as help lessen discrimination. Women, the author mentions, had not just given guidelines for professional appearance at work or school, but guidelines according to what men felt constituted the very essence of a woman - a very narrowly defined, limited definition of the purpose and capacity of women.
I love that these very important topics were covered and that it took my understanding to another level. I kept feeling, however, that an additional aspect needed to be covered - maybe adding photos from the last few current decades, or some other aspect which I can not pinpoint right now. I also felt that the material, presented in a slightly different format would have been a bit more engaging and exciting vs. solely enlightening.
Another important aspect of the book is allowing female students freedom to wear pants to school and to work by Title IX, mentioned in the book. This aspect of history is very much alive for me. It was not until my last year of high school that I was allowed to wear pants to school in sub-zero weather, for example. This change in the law was very significant because it allowed, as the author notes, women to wear what is needed to feel comfortable and is appropriate for their jobs and school, as well as help lessen discrimination. Women, the author mentions, had not just given guidelines for professional appearance at work or school, but guidelines according to what men felt constituted the very essence of a woman - a very narrowly defined, limited definition of the purpose and capacity of women.
I love that these very important topics were covered and that it took my understanding to another level. I kept feeling, however, that an additional aspect needed to be covered - maybe adding photos from the last few current decades, or some other aspect which I can not pinpoint right now. I also felt that the material, presented in a slightly different format would have been a bit more engaging and exciting vs. solely enlightening.
June 30, 2022
I really found this an interesting photo collection of a variety of working women. There were a ton of variety!
I did, however, choose to give it a 3 star review because of the foreward written by Roxane Gay, which I very much disagreed with. Roxane Gay does not consider male dress codes a cultural expectation of masculinity, just a standard of "Professionalism."
As a gender non conforming person, this really annoyed me because these dress codes are LITERALLY designed to make me adhere to a standard of masculinity that I do not have any interest in participating. I intentionally have long hair, and I've been told if I want to get success after law school I will need to cut it, which I will not be doing.
I think that Gay is applying a very narrow range of potential impacts of social standards of gender, which has been outdated for decades. I would even argue that the modern day women's dress in the office is significantly more open and liberated then men's dress, which still hasn't managed to escape the rise of the lounge suit in the late 1800s and the popularity of clean shaven short hair cuts brought about by the trenches of WW1. I think to argue that the standards applied to me are mere professionalism while the standards applied to women in the office is sexism is narrow and fails to consider people who reject the gender binary or fall at a place beside STRICT MALE.
At one point gay says
"To dress like a woman is to ignore that women are individuals who have independent and diverse notions of how they wish to present themselves to the world."
Without realizing that she just described a single breasted gray flannel suit, 2 buttons, solid color tie, white dress shirt, and black dress shoes.
I did, however, choose to give it a 3 star review because of the foreward written by Roxane Gay, which I very much disagreed with. Roxane Gay does not consider male dress codes a cultural expectation of masculinity, just a standard of "Professionalism."
As a gender non conforming person, this really annoyed me because these dress codes are LITERALLY designed to make me adhere to a standard of masculinity that I do not have any interest in participating. I intentionally have long hair, and I've been told if I want to get success after law school I will need to cut it, which I will not be doing.
I think that Gay is applying a very narrow range of potential impacts of social standards of gender, which has been outdated for decades. I would even argue that the modern day women's dress in the office is significantly more open and liberated then men's dress, which still hasn't managed to escape the rise of the lounge suit in the late 1800s and the popularity of clean shaven short hair cuts brought about by the trenches of WW1. I think to argue that the standards applied to me are mere professionalism while the standards applied to women in the office is sexism is narrow and fails to consider people who reject the gender binary or fall at a place beside STRICT MALE.
At one point gay says
"To dress like a woman is to ignore that women are individuals who have independent and diverse notions of how they wish to present themselves to the world."
Without realizing that she just described a single breasted gray flannel suit, 2 buttons, solid color tie, white dress shirt, and black dress shoes.
July 19, 2023
The photographic art of this book steals the show. The text is spare and leaves the heavy lifting to all those who stopped for a moment in their life to allow a stranger to record their meeting.
The rest is left to you and I as readers. I was enthralled, rapt with contemplation. Each of them, separate, no connection with any other in this collection, worthy of stand alone consideration. Each one a treasure. Each one claimable for its moment, its subject and the context of all of it.
The irony? the subject of this book is the clothes these humans are wearing to accomplish their tasks - it is a very modern idea to think this was a "choice," that very careful decision making was involved - it was for a very few. Most were what was at hand, available, accessible. Some merely evidence of only wishful thinking (see nylon seams being painted on). There is no order, or even an attempt I can discern of sorting.
Even more breathtaking to me is the wonder of it. I wish I could talk to each and every one of them, get their story, hear their hurts, find a way to their wishes and hopes.
5-star worthy if you are asking me. Kudos to the collection builders, Kudos to the 2nd power to the photographers. Kudos forever to the working women who paused for a moment in their life for us.
The rest is left to you and I as readers. I was enthralled, rapt with contemplation. Each of them, separate, no connection with any other in this collection, worthy of stand alone consideration. Each one a treasure. Each one claimable for its moment, its subject and the context of all of it.
The irony? the subject of this book is the clothes these humans are wearing to accomplish their tasks - it is a very modern idea to think this was a "choice," that very careful decision making was involved - it was for a very few. Most were what was at hand, available, accessible. Some merely evidence of only wishful thinking (see nylon seams being painted on). There is no order, or even an attempt I can discern of sorting.
Even more breathtaking to me is the wonder of it. I wish I could talk to each and every one of them, get their story, hear their hurts, find a way to their wishes and hopes.
5-star worthy if you are asking me. Kudos to the collection builders, Kudos to the 2nd power to the photographers. Kudos forever to the working women who paused for a moment in their life for us.
Read
September 3, 2024Great photos of women in various workplaces over the last 150 years or so. I love the idea behind this and found it incredibly interesting. Often the photos and a small caption were enough to make me think about that woman and all those before her, like her, and after her. Many of the jobs shown were those that were traditionally male careers (with a large number of those being filled by women due to the men being at war), and I liked seeing each time a woman was cracking open a gender stereotype.
I would have liked the photos to be in chronological order to see the progress over time (and also show some of those women who didn't give a damn about the social/gender conventions at their time). There was also quite a bit of flipping back and forth because many of the captions were not on the same pages as their corresponding photos. Not a huge deal but worth noting if this would drive you bonkers. I could have done with a smidge more text - such as having a handful of the photos come with a more elaborate backstory - but I think this book aimed to let the photos speak for themselves.
This isn't the kind of book I rate, but I'd recommend it if you are interested in beautiful photos, history, and/or women's rights.
I would have liked the photos to be in chronological order to see the progress over time (and also show some of those women who didn't give a damn about the social/gender conventions at their time). There was also quite a bit of flipping back and forth because many of the captions were not on the same pages as their corresponding photos. Not a huge deal but worth noting if this would drive you bonkers. I could have done with a smidge more text - such as having a handful of the photos come with a more elaborate backstory - but I think this book aimed to let the photos speak for themselves.
This isn't the kind of book I rate, but I'd recommend it if you are interested in beautiful photos, history, and/or women's rights.
January 10, 2019
This is fundamentally a collection of photographs of women working at a vast variety of tasks, trades, vocations, etc., assembled on the presumption that it'll be interesting to see the vast variety of clothes they wear while they're working. It's an interesting premise and I expected to be a lot more intrigued than I actually was. There are a couple of forewords and they say all the obvious things to say about the subject, and then after that the only text is the captions for the photographs, and somehow they manage to make the whole idea seem boring. There's one more thing I didn't care for about the book: the fact that it's printed on a very heavy, slick paper stock, even heavier than a typical textbook, so heavy that it's difficult to turn the pages.
A much more interesting book, in my opinion, is Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton.
A much more interesting book, in my opinion, is Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton.
April 28, 2019
This book presents itself as a historical archive of working women's fashion, which is a nice attempt. Beautiful images and the captions are really helpful. The first half of the book feels US centric, which makes sense because the authors are American.
Issues with the book is that it feels like it was thought up due to the social media movement #dresslikeawoman. This is mentioned in the introduction, along with personal anecdotes. If something is trying to be a historical piece, then there's no room for your personal story. The introduction is the only real writing of the book and the book would have been better to cut half of it out. It was a well written rant. Some of the images that spanned both pages were placed so that the outfit or subject of the picture was hidden in the binding, which was a bit frustrating.
Issues with the book is that it feels like it was thought up due to the social media movement #dresslikeawoman. This is mentioned in the introduction, along with personal anecdotes. If something is trying to be a historical piece, then there's no room for your personal story. The introduction is the only real writing of the book and the book would have been better to cut half of it out. It was a well written rant. Some of the images that spanned both pages were placed so that the outfit or subject of the picture was hidden in the binding, which was a bit frustrating.
July 8, 2024
A wide-sweeping historical view through photos of what working women have worn since the mid-19th century (and haven't most women always been working women?). The pictures include African women balancing jugs of water on their heads, early 20th century sharecroppers, WWII shipyard and aircraft builders, laborers, market vendors, police & military officers, aerospace & computer professionals, public figures, the only female assistant surgeon during the American civil war and office workers throughout the decades. The numerous photos of women in heavy-industrial PPE or grit-covered overalls are a reminder that women have always worked in the world's dirtiest jobs even though their contributions have often gone unrecognized.
April 11, 2018
Dress Like a Woman is a powerful book of photography. In addition to a great essay by Roxane Gay, the over 200 photographs that span form the 1800s to present day show the variety of workplaces, roles and outfits women have worn over the years. There are many famous faces, like Georgia O'Keefe, Elizabeth Taylor, Alice Paul, and Angela Davis, just to name a few, but the majority of the subjects are unnamed. My one criticism is that there seemed to be no clear method of organizing the photographs. I don't think this was a major detraction from the book, but it would have been neat to have some sort of organization to it, even if it wasn't chronological.
August 24, 2021
Another in a long line of incredibly lavish photographic books that sold for a song. We readers are richer for it.
I find a bit of confusion melded into the charms of this volume. On the copyright page we are given the names of three editors; the cover tells us who wrote the Forward (Roxane Gay) and the Introduction (Vanessa Friedman). But who wrote the picture captions? Certainly some, at least, were written by a UK native. But no matter. Probably the editors and they did a bang-up job. The photos are exquisite. The selection covers the world and ranges over a century in time. Many messages may be read into these photos or they may be simply gazed at in wonder.
Recommended.
I find a bit of confusion melded into the charms of this volume. On the copyright page we are given the names of three editors; the cover tells us who wrote the Forward (Roxane Gay) and the Introduction (Vanessa Friedman). But who wrote the picture captions? Certainly some, at least, were written by a UK native. But no matter. Probably the editors and they did a bang-up job. The photos are exquisite. The selection covers the world and ranges over a century in time. Many messages may be read into these photos or they may be simply gazed at in wonder.
Recommended.
March 13, 2025
This book holds an interesting assortment of photographs of women at work, mostly during the 20th century. The foreword by Roxane Gay and the introduction by Vanessa Friedman kick things off well.
There seemed to be an emphasis on photos of women during wartime working jobs more typically held by men. I would have liked to have seen a better balance.
I also would have liked the photo credits to appear with the photos, rather than relegated to very small print at the back of the book. It was only through reading the credits that I learned the images shown on pages 170 through 172 were made by the renowned photographer Gordon Parks.
There seemed to be an emphasis on photos of women during wartime working jobs more typically held by men. I would have liked to have seen a better balance.
I also would have liked the photo credits to appear with the photos, rather than relegated to very small print at the back of the book. It was only through reading the credits that I learned the images shown on pages 170 through 172 were made by the renowned photographer Gordon Parks.
May 8, 2018
This was such an interesting read! It was really great that every picture had some sort of explanation next to it so that, if desired, you could go and dig up a little extra info on it. It was also really nice to see some of the recolored pictures. Often when we see pics in black and white, we get the feeling that they happened ages ago... when in reality, some were only 40 or so years. Once the picture is colored though, that sense of distance through time disappears and you feel like you could be looking at something that happened today.
January 9, 2019
Pros: What a fascinating topic and so well laid out with the photos NOT being in chronological order. Brilliant! So each time you flip a page, you'll never know what era you'll encounter next. Great representation from women and their occupations from around the world. The careers varied, from cultural, to executive types and more importantly, the every day, every woman's job.
Cons: None - although it would have been interesting to give salary information for the varying jobs. But this is not necessary nor does it take away from the main purpose of this book, which is -- women rock the world!!
Cover art: 5 out of 5 - Perfect representation of what's inside between the covers.
Cons: None - although it would have been interesting to give salary information for the varying jobs. But this is not necessary nor does it take away from the main purpose of this book, which is -- women rock the world!!
Cover art: 5 out of 5 - Perfect representation of what's inside between the covers.
September 11, 2020
How striking, how evocative this book is. Indigenous women fishing, weaving, sorting millet, or grinding grain; chorus girls, car-hop girls, or actresses; suffragists, civil rights activists, or autism activists; mechanics, pilots, doctors. Dress Like a Woman showcases women from different eras, places, and professions, their images intermingled. The effect is one of timelessness, of unity, and of the beautiful strength of women. I borrowed this book from the library, but it is coffee table material, well worth its cost.
July 10, 2018
I enjoyed reading this book and was inspired as a woman by the history of countless women before me who have been and are doctors, scientists, advocates, lawyers, teachers with babies on their hips, divers, factory workers, and much more. This book shows how intelligent and resilient and hardworking women are. I intend to buy this book for my little girl cousins to teach them they’re intelligent and powerful as young women.
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