06 Textile/Apparel Industries

06.3 Historic

Lemire, B. (1991). Fashion's favorite; The cotton trade and the consumer in Britain, 1660-1800. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-921062-4, 244 pages, $65.00.

Reviewed by Judith Lopez, Southwest Texas State University

This is the ninth volume in a series of textile histories published by the Pasold Research Fund of London School of Economics. It is the first to explore the symbiotic relationship between Britain's cotton industry and its local consumers. This work will be of particular interest to textile and economic historians, and of general interest to marketing personnel and other interested scholars. Unlike authors who credit foreign markets, Lemire stresses the importance of the British market as a cardinal factor in the development of the cotton industry.
This slim volume is packed with material from Pepys' diary and peddlers' accounts to manufacturers' ledgers and court records. Many facts Lemire would have used to support her proposition have been lost to time. Fortunately, she has a knack of putting herself in the place of her subjects and offering imaginative, yet plausible, explanations for their behavior. Her deductive logic breathes human motives and values into the otherwise lifeless appendices.
The many convenient footnotes take the place of a bibliography. Illustrations include reproductions of documents, engraving, cotton garments, and swatches. Regrettably, the latter are not in color.
Lemire presents intriguing data that suggest early 18th century consumer demands were created and met through print sources and traveling salesmen who used an ingenious variety of delivery systems involving the horse, wagon, coach, and barge. Ready-made cotton gowns and cotton yard goods circulated throughout Britain with "speed and profit" to meet a relentless demand as early as the mid-1700's.
Prices given in pence and shillings are made more understandable to American readers when correlated to typical servant girl's wages Lemire provides. The fact that there was more demand than there were wages is seen in the numerous court cases recording stolen clothing and used yard goods.
Using rare sources, Lemire establishes the prevalence of a well-established second hand clothing trade to illustrate the broad demand for cottons in the second chapter, and again in the fifth to demonstrate democratization of fashion. It is not clear how selling the same garment again and again stimulated the cotton manufacturing industry.
Despite her assertion that the cotton industry's history is so well known that it need not be chronicled again, Lemire reviews the familiar contributions of French silks, increased informality in dress, activities of the East India Company, and sumptuary laws. The many references to wool and silk garments, given to illustrate various points, also diffuse the cotton focus of the book.
Nevertheless, Lemire's careful research, detailed documentation, and imaginative writing are welcome additions to textile libraries. The interesting tangents she explores in this work add an important human factor to our understanding of the development of the cotton industry in Britain.

Harris, J. (ed.). (1993). Textiles - 5000 years: An international history and illustrated survey. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9-8103-3875-8, 320 pages, $75.00 ($100.00 Canada).

Reviewed by Geitel Winakor, Iowa State University (Ret.)

This book probably offers "a more comprehensive and authoritative introduction to the history of textiles than has so far been available," as its editor hopes (p. 7). The volume is highly pleasing to browse, but its text could have been more satisfying and useful with better editing and organization.
The content of historic textiles is baffling to organize because it has to many dimensions. Probably no one author or small team of authors could cover everything, yet unevenness often characterized edited works. Attempting to include the whole world over five millennia, this book has 42 chapters by 24 authors. With nearly 400 illustrations, most in color, the text of each chapter is brief relative to content, despite small type size. Some topics receive little or no mention, one chapter is just three paragraphs, inconsistencies include discussion of folk textiles of eastern and southwestern Europe but omission of western, central, and northern Europe, and inclusion of William Morris but not William Perkin.
Authors differ greatly in how well they use their limited spaces. Some effectively place textiles in economic, technological, or social settings, others focus on textiles as artifacts. Most authors, however, cover problems of survival and interpretation.
Order of chapters is confusing. For example, felt floor coverings are mentioned with rug weaving, several chapters before treatment of felt as structure; a later chapter on carpets of the middle and far east precedes chapters on Chinese and Japanese textiles.
Some chapters use maps well; others need maps or need to use them better. Fortunately the book has a good glossary and an index, plus a list of picture credits.
The British focus of the editor and chapter authors causes several problems. To me, only one chapter, "Printed Textiles," has a marked English bias, but people of the United States and Canada may be perplexed to find their textile history headed "Colonial North America (1700-1990s)! More serious, discussion of weaving and looms names only "heddle" or "heddles', not "harness." Thus, without diagrams I found it difficult to interpret verbal descriptions of unfamiliar types of looms, such as African looms. One author writes of "acetate rayon" a term obsolete in the U.S. Authors seem to vary in firsthand familiarity with their topics and regency of their sources, a situation that might have been avoided by a more international selection of authors. Few chapters include citations although a list of references and readings for each chapter appears at the back of the book.
In chapters on Europe and North America names are misspelled, geography garbled. Cranbrook Academy is located "near Chicago;" Meriwether Lewis is "Merryweather;" Paris couture embroiderer Lesage is "Lessage." Similar howlers may occur in chapters with less familiar subject matter. Blanket stitch is mislabeled "buttonhole stitch." Trademarks are not so identified. An African loom has "peddles" (does the author mean "pedals" or "treadles"?).
Illustrations are appropriate to the text as well as having aesthetic appeal. Figures are numbered, but the text does not refer to specific figures. Most authors coordinate text and figures well but a few leave the connection to the reader. Cross-referencing among chapters is limited and awkward.
The identical book is published as 5,000 Years of Textiles by the British Museum Press in association with the Whitworth Art Gallery and Victorian and Albert Museum.

Zola, E. (1995). The ladies' paradise (B. Nelson, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1883). Fiction. ISBN 0-19-283180-1, 438 pages, softcover, $11.95.

Reviewed by Marlene Brue, Western Michigan University

Emile Zola was born in Paris in 1840. His fictional books about life in Paris are known for their social and historical commentary on Parisian life in his day - the social and economic activities of the vibrant city, and the struggles, pain, pleasures, and successes of the inhabitants. He witnessed the demise of the small shop and the unfolding and rise of the modern department store, the setting for The Ladies' Paradise. The book is worth reading by anyone interested in the evolution of the mass fashion system for its 17-page introduction by Brian Nelson, if not for the pleasure and enlightenment of Zola's story. Nelson provides the reader with an analysis of the historical, social and economic contexts within which Zola placed his story. He gives Zola credit for having a keen understanding of the capitalist system which was unfolding in the 19th century and for using this under
standing as a basis for his fiction. Included are citations of other literature of interest to apparel scholars. Some of this literature describes the antecedents of the modern department store.
According to Nelson, Zola attempted to incorporate into his fiction the social and hereditary determinants of behavior. Mouret is the man who quickly and successfully engulfs an entire Paris city block with his "paradise" that lures women. Mouret's "paradise" brings success to his employees while forcing the decline of the small shops and destroying homes and families. This aspect of the novel in which suffering and success are presented alongside one another in a non-judgmental way as dynamic forces of life is a characteristic of Zola's writing and is partly responsible for the success of The
Ladies' Paradise.
Zola is an expert writer, creating rich imagery providing an opportunity to witness economic and social history in the making. The reader observes the historical process of creating modern mass culture wherein an attempt is made to create a desire for commodities rather than to function solely to fulfill needs. Remarkable parallels to today's economic environment are found.
For those who assign fiction to students in apparel courses, The Ladies' Paradise would be an excellent choice because information is combined with entertainment. It is also recommended for those in apparel studies taking a break from academic literature to read an enjoyable book related to textile and apparel discipline.