I have to start this review with an confession. I have actually bought this book for my mother for Christmas but I couldn't resist taking a very quick look through( and when I say quick I mean 2 hours of note taking).
I first heard about this book on the Dressed Podcast where they interviewed the author and a few fascinating stories from the book. Then I did the classic selfish gift giver thing when realising the book was too expensive for me to buy for myself, I thought AH HA! my mum would like it! (and hopefully at some point when she was done with it I could borrow it mwahaha).
So on arriving the next day, I thought I'd take a very quick look, just to check it wasn't damaged of course. That turned into an afternoon of reading it was so interesting. The Dressed Podcast ladies suggested this was a must have for anyone with an interest in fashion history, and they weren't wrong.
Worn on this day presents documented fashion stories that have shaped world history, from the 1st of January to New years eve, from ancient Pompei to present day. Every date has a story, some longer than others making it easy to digest and like the stories themselves, do not require being read in order.
But this isn't just a record of fashions most iconic and impressive garments, as suggested on the cover which shows Jackie Kennedy's famous pink Chanelle suit, worn on the day President Kennedy was shot. No, the book also discusses how clothes can tell a story, as artefacts of both happiness and devastation, wealth and poverty, triumph and failure. One day could be look at the wedding gown of movie star, and the next show a concentration camp uniform or a dress worn by a little girl who died after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
The book also discusses why these clothes have survived, who they belonged to and why were they made in the first place. A lovely example of this is a wedding dress, not white with a long train but a plain red suit purchased after WW2 from Bon Marche in Liverpool. At the time clothes were still rationed in the UK and so this lady was very lucky to receive coupons from friends and family giving her enough to purchase this suit. Us people interested in fashion and fashion history, often get lost in the show stopper gowns, the workmanship and wow factor of fashion however, this unremarkable red suit tells a much more interesting story than any designer gown displayed in a museum, it has a meaning both to its wearer and as a part of our cultural history.
Fashion as forms of protest, defence and survival are also discussed in the book. Chrisman- Campbell uses an example from 2016 where Lebanese women, wearing torn and bloodied clothes protested the laws that allowed rapists free if they married their victim. Another example from 2005 discusses a man who made shoes out of cigar boxes after losing everything in Hurricane Katrina in the US. Clothing or the lack of it, can tell a powerful story in a way other mediums often cannot.
Unfortunately, there aren't as many photos and illustrations as one might want however Chrisman-Campbell does an excellent job of describing the each story in enough detail to get your imagination working to at least to make you google it. But the photographs you do get will not leave you disappointed. Every glimmer of embroidery can be seen on Queen Elizabeth's II coronation dress, which contains floral symbols of every UK nation. And this dress I would wear tomorrow I love it so much. I cant even remember its story because the only story I want it to tell is that it lives in my wardrobe. But alas, it will have to be the inspiration for something I make myself.
In conclusion, this is a fab coffee table book that is informative and leaves you wanting to either delve into your own research or in to your sewing box. And if nothing else, it gives you an interesting fact for every family and friends birthday!
Go and buy it now!
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