"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
This was a really interesting look at how fashion has developed over the years. The illustrations were gorgeous and added a lot to the information of the text.

This is a lovely book that explores the history of fashion through a gender neutral lens. Readers will be exposed to fashion from movies and history, which unequivocally proves that being gender neutral and/or queer have always existed.

I didn’t know a lot of the facts presented, but I’m not typically into fashion. Those who are, though, might be a bit turned off by how shallowly everything is touched on. This is more of a “here’s a little bit about many things” type of coffee table book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This book, self-described as "a book of many voices - a workbook, a scrapbook, a collection of short passages woven around images," is more expansive than I expected when I picked it up. It includes runway designs, interviews with designers and brand owners, lots of history about various gendered fashion tends, costume design analysis in films, cosplay genres, and much more - and beautiful photos and artwork along the way, of course. As someone who is interested in fashion but doesn't know much, I think this book can appeal to both novices and fashion fans alike. (Keep in mind that the language throughout was a bit academic at times, so it may be inaccessible for some.)

I read a digital copy, and I kept thinking how this book would be a great "coffee table book," meant in the best way possible. I would have loved to flip through it leisurely and skipped around as I went. It doesn't really seem made for sitting down and reading in one sitting (as I did, lol). Regardless, I really appreciated the way the book was organized into six themes to help orient the reader, and provide some direction in the expanse of what's being covered. I also appreciated the diverse cultures included in this book, and that it doesn't solely focus on Western notions of fashion and gender. This book was really successful in achieving what it set out to do and I'm glad it exists!

I think if you’re wanting to study fashion, this is a great book to pick up and if you’re wanting something for your coffee table, get three of these.

This is definitely a really cool book. I wish that the text and images were formatted a little bit differently so that it can be more of a cohesive experience versus a photo and then a story and or a caption that feels separate (but I think this is just because it’s an e-book currently and likely it will be a lot more cohesive once printed). This unfortunately does have a copyright watermark all over it so I could only read to about 25% before the watermark became way too obnoxious for me to be able to continue reading

I think this is a really neat read, but I think the mix of text and images is throwing me off and I think I would’ve preferred either more text or more images or less text more images, etc.. I also was hoping that the photos in this would be a little bit cooler and a bit more unique as it seems like there may have been stock images taken from movies, etc., for this rather than pictures for the book

If you’re looking for something that will genuinely educate you on the history of fashion and the details of fashion and the spectrum of gender. I don’t know that this is going to do a lot more than a Google search will for you. If you are someone that doesn’t really have any background or understanding in the gender spectrum and how clothing can play apart that I think this is a great read to pick up. I also think though that a lot of celebrities have been challenging the norm of what expectations are in gender roles, and clothing, and I want to see more books like this. It would be cool to see a few celebrities or a few fashion designers focused on and I think this one was just a more general overview as well.

I totally recommend this book.

Thank you so much for this arc. I appreciate to leave honest feedback voluntarily.