This books looks at fashion for women between 1890-1980. It gives us a visual history of women and there fight for freedom and equality.
Working class women, bicycle transportation and rainy days drive the first fashions of freedom. Next paved the way for more movement, thus the flapper. It was only after war that we could even consider sports wear. Grrr. Later bar burning. Bar burning was not something I could get behind. I hate an ill fitted bar, but I personally have to wear one. (My choice).
“These women- whether Gibson Girls, Rainy Daisies, suffragists, bohemian feminists, flappers, fashion designers, Hollywood stars, or radical women’s liberationists- demonstrate not only that fashion and feminism could exist, but that fashion could serve as an effective realm for conveying feminist messages.”
I’m grateful for my wardrobe choices and the women who fought this battle for me. I can imagine not having the choices I have now. Thank you.
Thanks University of Illinois Press via Netgalley.

I’ve been on a history book kick lately and this one really scratched that itch. Fashion, as we’ve seen recently, has real world impacts (look the spotlight on “fast fashion” of late and all the harm it does). This book shows just how far back fashion has been used as both a tool of freedom as well as a tool of the oppressor. Recommended.

If you've ever thought it didn't matter what you wore, and then found out how wrong you were, you know that the topic of fashion in the history of women's rights is not a frivolous or a minor topic. It's front and center and always has been. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox surveys the subject from the loose and adaptable shirtwaists that replaced the form fitting and constraining outfits of the turn of the 20th century to the white suits of Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Flappers and World War II and trousers and Helen Gurley Brown and the inclusion/exclusion of Black Women in the Movement are all considered here, and more, and it's fascinating. I'm not sure I learned anything new but I have never seen it put together and analyzed in this way before, which makes it all new. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Dressed for Freedom is the book you want when you're explaining the importance and significance of fashion in womens' history.

It's comprehensive, illustrative, and extremely well-written. This book answered many questions I had and ones I didn't know I had! It was so interesting to journey through fashion history with the eye of feminism so present.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an interesting history- the role of fashion in advancing the role of women in America. This history talks about some interesting trends in fashion that I was familiar with (the Gibson girl) but had not really connected relevance and the importance of the topics. This is a unique read and one that will speak to how popular life can have such an impact on the wider cultural and political discussions.
This is an example of how good political and cultural history can combine to produce a great story/argument/history.
If you are looking for some more nuanced history, check this out.