Fashion and Motherhood: Image, Materiality, Identity

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Description

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 individuals identity and place in their culture. This collection explores the essential question of how motherhood and fashion interact, interrogating their relationships to power, misogyny, temporality, longing and embodiment, among other themes. These 18 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 explore 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.

Author Bio

Laura Snelgrove is an editor for academic and scholarly work. She works as an independent fashion studies scholar researching and writing for digital projects, has previously taught university courses in fashion studies and is a lead editor at The Fashion Studies Journal.