Inside the royal wardrobe
Enlarge text Shrink text- Book
Queen Alexandra used clothes to fashion images of herself as a wife, a mother and a royal: a woman who both led Britain alongside her husband Edward VII and lived her life through fashion. Inside the Royal Wardrobe overturns the popular portrait of a vapid and neglected queen, examining the surviving garments of Alexandra, Princess of Wales - who later became Queen Consort - to unlock a rich tapestry of royal dress and society in the second half of the 19th century. More than 130 extraordinary garments from Alexandra's wardrobe survive, from sumptuous court dress and politicised fancy dress to mourning attire and elegant coronation gowns, and can be found in various collections around the world, from London, Oslo and Denmark to New York, Toronto and Tokyo. Curator and fashion scholar Kate Strasdin places these garments at the heart of this in-depth study, examining their relationships to issues such as body politics, power, celebrity, social identity and performance, and interpreting Alexandra's world from the objects out. Adopting an object-based methodology, the book features a range of original sources from letters, travel journals and newspaper editorials, to wardrobe accounts, memoirs, tailors' ledgers and business records. Revealing a shrewd and socially aware woman attuned to the popular power of royal dress, the work will appeal to students and scholars of costume, fashion and dress history, as well as of material culture and 19th century history.
Title |
Inside the royal wardrobe : a dress history of Queen Alexandra / Kate Strasdin. |
---|---|
Publisher |
London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |
Distributor |
London, England : Bloomsbury Publishing |
Creation Date |
2020 |
Notes |
Based on the author's thesis (Ph.D.--University of Southampton, 2013) under the title: Fashioning Alexandra. Also published in print. Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Content |
Managing the royal wardrobe -- Engagement & marriage -- Evening and court dress -- The travelling princess -- logistics of royal travel -- Fancy dress -- Tailoring -- Mourning dress -- The coronation gown -- Dispersal of a royal wardrobe. |
Series |
Dress and fashion research |
Extent |
1 online resource (192 pages, 17 numbered pages of plates) : illustrations (some color). |
Language |
English |
National Library system number |
997012196896605171 |
MARC RECORDS
Tags
- Alexandra, Queen, consort of Edward VII, King of Great Britain, 1844-1925 Clothing.
- nnaa Alexandra, consort of Edward VII, King of Great Britain, 1844-1925
- Queens Clothing Great Britain.
- Costume Great Britain History 19th century.
- Costume Great Britain History 20th century.
- Queens Great Britain Biography.
- History of fashion
- Fancy dress
- Motion pictures Costume
- Opera Costume
- Stage costume
- Theater Costume
- Theatrical costume
- Royalty
- Rulers
- Sovereigns
Have more information? Found a mistake?