Hair: An Illustrated History (Elements of Dress)

Hair: An Illustrated History (Elements of Dress)

by SusanJ.Vincent (Author)

Synopsis

Bobs, beards, blondes and beyond, Hair takes us on a lavishly illustrated journey into the world of this remarkable substance and our complicated and fascinating relationship with it. Taking the key things we do to it in turn, this book captures its importance in the past and into the present: to individuals and society, for health and hygiene, in social and political challenge, in creating ideals of masculinity and womanliness, in being a vehicle for gossip, secrets and sex. Using art, film, personal diaries, newspapers, texts and images, Susan J. Vincent unearths the stories we have told about hair and why they are important. From ginger jibes in the seventeenth century to bobbed-hair suicides in the 1920s, from hippies to Roundheads, from bearded women to smooth metrosexuals, Hair shows the significance of the stuff we nurture, remove, style and tend. You will never take it for granted again.

$31.93

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 256
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: 04 Oct 2018

ISBN 10: 0857851713
ISBN 13: 9780857851710
Book Overview: A lavishly illustrated history of hair and its cultural importance in the past and the present.

Media Reviews
This richly illustrated book reveals the power and importance of hair, from the 16th century to the present day. Amazing, amusing and erudite, Susan Vincent brings historical hair practices into lively dialogue with the hair on our heads today. -- Sarah Cheang, Royal College of Art, London, UK
Meticulously documenting hair as an object, a commodity, a gift, a fond memory of a person and, sometimes, an animal, Vincent covers 500 years of European hair history in clever chapter titles: from hair care, to those who care for hair, those who are hairy, and those who are hairless. Well written and strategically illustrated, her account is thoroughly absorbing. -- Joanne B. Eicher, Editor in Chief, Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion
Hair is `extraordinary stuff' are the closing words of this informative and witty examination of its history in developed societies. The text is complemented by 150 images providing readers with a well-illustrated primer on hair in its myriad forms. -- Valerie Cumming, author of 'Understanding Fashion History' and Editor, Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society
Author Bio
Susan J. Vincent is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies (CREMS) at the University of York, UK.