The sources, rhetoric, and gender of Artistic Dress

This study of clothing designed by artists covers Western Europe between 1890 and 1912. The work argues for the consideration of artists' attempts to create beautiful clothing outside the fashion industry as a pan-European movement rather than an individual or regional interest. An examination of the written explanations by designers and their visual sources results in the establishment of three camps of Artistic Dress, one allied with the current art nouveau movement, one an extension of the Reform movement, and a third related to the independence of women. In a study of the relationship of Artistic Dress to gender ideals of the period, a clear distinction between the male architects and female artists and designers who participated in the movement emerges. While the men often made clothing that reinforced contemporary ideals, the women used clothing design to both conform to and reject the feminine ideals. Throughout the work, the relationship between Artistic Dress and the fin-de-siecle fashion industry, which eventually absorbed Artistic Dress, is examined.