Fashion: Themes and Debates

So far, this book has shown that working-class consumers could obtain clothing from a variety of sources. This chapter will focus on what clothing such consumers wore and what influenced this choice beyond retail availability. It will examine the effect of fashion on working-class clothing in relation to both gender and age, and will question whether fashion was a gendered construct.

‘Fashion’ is a notoriously difficult term to define. It can refer to material possessions and the way that they are used, as well as manners and habits. Fashion can also be linked exclusively to clothing and a rapid continuous change in styles. This constant alteration in the manner of dress, allied to knowledge about what style was current and up-to-date, will be examined in the context of provincial working-class clothing. This chapter will question whether working-class clothing had any connection with fashion, or whether practicality and durability were more important. Whilst the elite looked to London for guidance, particularly in matters of fashion, there were regional differences, a localism, associated with plebeian culture, which underscored social hierarchies. Beverly Lemire has noted how inexpensive garments and accessories which could be cheaply purchased and easily changed created fast-changing fashions amongst the lower social orders. These had little connection to elite fashion and formed small distinctive fashions only within peer groups, a practice noted by Francis Place.