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Victims of Fashion
Contributor(s): Cowie, Helen Louise (Author)
ISBN: 1108495176     ISBN-13: 9781108495172
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
OUR PRICE:   $42.74  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: January 2022
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Technology & Engineering | History
- Health & Fitness | Beauty & Grooming - General
Dewey: 391.009
LCCN: 2021031766
Physical Information: 0.8" H x 8.4" W x 9.2" (1.20 lbs) 300 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Animal products were used extensively in nineteenth-century Britain. A middle-class Victorian woman might wear a dress made of alpaca wool, drape herself in a sealskin jacket, brush her hair with a tortoiseshell comb, and sport feathers in her hat. She might entertain her friends by playing a piano with ivory keys or own a parrot or monkey as a living fashion accessory. In this innovative study, Helen Cowie examines the role of these animal-based commodities in Britain in the long nineteenth century and traces their rise and fall in popularity in response to changing tastes, availability, and ethical concerns. Focusing on six popular animal products - feathers, sealskin, ivory, alpaca wool, perfumes, and exotic pets - she considers how animal commodities were sourced and processed, how they were marketed and how they were consumed. She also assesses the ecological impact of nineteenth-century fashion.