The description and use of women's clothing in eighteenth-century England : with special reference to the counties of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire
Where was womenâs clothing described in eighteenth-century England, and by whom? How was it described? And why? These are the questions at the heart of this thesis. Previous studies have already attempted to tackle some of them, focusing largely on the where and why. One of the key arguments which has emerged from this is that women used their clothing to engage in a form of feminine âsentimentalâ consumption. Scholars argue that women described their clothing to express emotional meaning, which is betrayed in these âmeticulousâ or âcarefulâ descriptions. I argue that these assumptions are long overdue a revision. The thesis is in two halves, and the first tackles where womenâs clothing was described, by whom, and how. In chapters one and two, I identify a shared language of description across three sources â wills, newspaper advertisements, and account books. The description of clothing in these sources has been interpreted as emotional, but I argue that it cannot be read in this way; moreover, I outline a number of methodological issues with this approach. This has important implications for arguments about women and âsentimentalâ consumption. The second half suggests some more productive
Spencer, Elizabeth
The description and use of women's clothing in eighteenth-century England : with special reference to the counties of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Where was womenâs clothing described in eighteenth-century England, and by whom? How was it described? And why? These are the questions at the heart of this thesis. Previous studies have already attempted to tackle some of them, focusing largely on the where and why. One of the key arguments which has emerged from this is that women used their clothing to engage in a form of feminine âsentimentalâ consumption. Scholars argue that women described their clothing to express emotional meaning, which is betrayed in these âmeticulousâ or âcarefulâ descriptions. I argue that these assumptions are long overdue a revision. The thesis is in two halves, and the first tackles where womenâs clothing was described, by whom, and how. In chapters one and two, I identify a shared language of description across three sources â wills, newspaper advertisements, and account books. The description of clothing in these sources has been interpreted as emotional, but I argue that it cannot be read in this way; moreover, I outline a number of methodological issues with this approach. This has important implications for arguments about women and âsentimentalâ consumption. The second half suggests some more productive
description use woman clothe eighteenth_century england special_reference county yorkshire nottinghamshire woman clothe described eighteenth_century england describe question heart thesis previous_study already attempt tackle focus largely why one_key argument emerge woman use clothing engage form feminine consumption scholars argue woman describe clothe express emotional meaning betray careful description argue assumption long overdue revision half first tackle woman clothe described how identify share language description across_three source will newspaper advertisement account book description clothing source interpret emotional argue read way moreover outline number methodological_issue approach important_implication argument woman consumption suggests productive