1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910798655003321

Autore

Edwards Tim <1963->

Titolo

Men in the mirror : men's fashion, masculinity and consumer society / / Tim Edwards

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, England : , : Bloomsbury Academic, , 2020

London, England : , : Bloomsbury Publishing, , 2020

ISBN

1-4742-8736-0

1-4742-8735-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (178 p.)

Collana

Cultural Studies: Bloomsbury Academic Collections

Classificazione

21.85

Disciplina

391/.1

Soggetti

Men's clothing - Social aspects

Masculinity

Fashion - Social aspects

Popular culture

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

His story of fashion -- The classical tradition -- Private investigations: interpretations on the theme of the new man -- The marketing of masculinities -- Consuming masculinities: style, content and men's magazines -- Just looking: masculinity and the contemporary shopping experience -- Express yourself: the politics of dressing up -- The sting in the tale: social policy and social divisions.

Sommario/riassunto

In this book, Tim Edwards applies a sociological approach to our understanding of men's fashion, which he perceives to be significant in the nexus of masculinity and society, past and present, rather than simply an artistic of aesthetic interest, usually denoting effeminacy or homosexuality. Rejecting an essentialist or 'natural' origin, Edwards explores how masculinity and men's fashion are constructed, particularly in relation to consumer society. If is the growing commodification and aestheticism of everyday life alongside developments in marketing and advertising, that Edwards identifies as the catalyst in the self-conscious emergence of men's fashion, rather than an abstract 'crisis of masculinity' or the 'new man' identity. Concurrently, in the 1980s, changes in demography, economics and



ideology gave certain men greater freedom and spending power than ever before. Edwards investigates how these men, clearly distinguished by age, class and sexual orientation, were seduced by advertisers with sexy images of suited city gents and body-beautiful boys in Levis, and how the resultant process of consumption was facilitated through developments in the practice of shopping itself, such as easy access to credit. He examines the influence of the advertisers' message in creating of hierarchy of masculinity in which some men are valorized and others denigrated. Starting with an historical review of men's fashion and a discussion of its importance and meanings, Edwards goes on to analyse the contemporary marketing of menswear and masculinity in advertising and in the media, and considers the politics of fashion for men in terms of gender, class, race and sexuality.