Old Clothes, New Looks: Second-Hand Fashion

by Alexandra Palmer (Editor), Alexandra Palmer (Editor)

Recent interest in 'vintage' and second hand clothes by both fashion consumers and designers is only the latest manifestation of a long and complex cultural history of wearing and trading second hand clothes. With its origins in necessity, the passing of clothes between social and economic groups is now a global business, but with roots that are centuries old. To move from one social and cultural situation to another used clothes must be 'transformed' to become of potential value to a new social group. How, when and why this has happened is the subject of this book. Old Clothes, New Looks presents a three-part focus on the history, the trading culture, and the contemporary refashioning of second hand clothing. Historical perspectives include studies located in Renaissance Florence, early industrial England, colonial Australia, and mid twentieth-century Ireland. The global nature of the second hand trade in clothing is presented through original research from Zambia, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Japan. The reuse of garments as contemporary fashion statements is explored through studies that include neo-mod retro-sixties subculture in Germany, the impact of 'vintage' in the USA on consumers and designers, as well as consideration of its sartorial and cultural challenges, encapsulated by the work of designer XULY.Bet. This groundbreaking book will be essential reading for all those interested in fashion and dress, material culture, consumption and anthropology, as well as to dealers, collectors and wearers of second hand clothes.

Genres: Fashion

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2005

Reviews

[Carina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Needs another 5-15 years before it can become relevant as sociology guide regarding the resale trade in clothing. Fast fashion and its dependency on influencer culture really has rendered this sort of outlook obsolete.

Personally, I also found the attitudes towards the resale of clothing in Africa and "the East" to be quite condescending and frustrating.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed several of the articles and read one all through: "Vintage Whores and Vintage Virgins: Second Hand Fashion in the Twenty-first Century." Not quite what I was looking for, although somewhat interesting.

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really only want to read a few of the essays in this collection - those that pertain to the 20th Century.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Academics always beat the life out of language. It's so sad.