Dress and Identity in America

Daniel Delis Hill is an independent fashion historian. He is the author of Peacock Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2018). He has contributed to the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion and the American National Biography (Oxford University), and has taught fashion history at the University of the Incarnate Word, Texas, USA.

Preface

1. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit: Growing Up
Sociocultural legacies from his childhood
American manhood during World War II
Civilian dress and identity during the Second World War
Conclusion

2. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit: The Postwar Years
Masculine identity in transition
The GI Bill of Rights
Postwar marriage
Masculine identity in suburbia
Fatherhood in the baby boom era
TV dads of the 1950s
Conclusion

3. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit: Crisis in Masculinity
The feminization of American manhood
Conformity and Cold War masculine identity
The stress of success
Noncomformist Beats, beatniks and bikers
Playboys
“Lavender Lads”
Conclusion

4. Men’s Dress from Ivy League to Continental to Mod
Ivy League style
Continental suits
Accessories
Sportswear
The dichotomy of desexualized dress and erotic masculine styles
The British Invasion: from the London Line to mod
Conclusion

5. Ethnic Men’s Identity and Dress
The zoot suit
The social significance and cultural meaning of the zoot suit
The zoot suit riots
Soul style in the 1960s
Conclusion

6. Women of the Baby Boom Era: Lessons of Youth
Feminine role models and expectations
American women during World War II
Sociocultural changes for women during World War II
Conclusion

7. Women’s Identities in the Baby Boom Years
Marriage reunions at the end of the war
Postwar newlyweds
Postwar marriage: not happily ever after
Postwar suburban wives
Motherhood in the baby boom era
TV wives and mothers of the baby boom era
Working women of the baby boom era
Feminism in the baby boom era
Conclusion

8. Women’s Fashions of the Baby Boom Era
The New Look
Mod and the miniskirt
Women’s accessories of the baby boom years
Decade of “miracle fabrics”
Conclusion

9. Baby Boom Children
An era of children
Gender role socialization
A new consumer demographic
Children’s dress
Standardization of children’s sizes and textile regulations
Children’s body modifications
Conclusion

End Notes
Bibliography
Index