Fashion and Motherhood - by Laura Snelgrove (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Motherhood, whether achieved through biological or other means, is not a rare experience; dressing oneself, even less so. The two phenomena are intimately linked, as both occur on and to the private body, and are also fully subject to social pressures and the changing tides of public opinion. They also, for anyone who experiences motherhood, define one another and work together to shape an individual's identity and place in their culture.

This rich collection explores the essential question of how motherhood and fashion interact, interrogating their relationships to power, misogyny, temporality, longing and embodiment, among other themes. The 13 essays examine representations on film, in popular print and literature; they use images, narrative and material evidence from the past to excavate the historical cleavages in how mothers have been expected to hide, display, share and sacrifice their bodies. An international range of scholars explores the 19th to the 21st centuries, tracing how fashion and motherhood have operated as powerfully interdependent experiences and continue to determine how women are judged and corralled, yet also find meaning, connection and strength.

Review Quotes

"A fabulous collection of essays offering up new perspectives and debates, whether that be depictions of good and bad mothers; attitudes to fatness or 'stoutness'; or contemporary reflections on intergenerational dress and mothering." --Jacki Willson, University of Leeds, UK

"This book is a joy - and long overdue. In addressing motherhood, the authors bring insightful and serious attention to a subject and a condition that has been overlooked in fashion studies ... For those of us who are mothers - and for those who are not - this book validates the significance of this most liminal and most essential human experience for our greater understanding of bodies, identities, culture, fashion, and dress." --Hazel Clark, Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, USA

"A very timely collection of on the neglected experience of motherhood as experienced and represented through fashion in many arenas - film, TV and celebrity, and popular music - combining personal reflections with provocative insights on the many constructions of motherhood through fashion ... Fascinating reading." --Joanne Entwistle, Kings College London, UK

About the Author