Dress Code - A Review
I picked up this book off a sale rack in a bookstore in Chicago a few years ago. It caught my eye because I considered myself to have one foot in the fashion world (albeit hand-made fashion). While I am less in that world now, I did finally pick it up to read. Written by ELLE’s fashion features director, this book is a collection of essays about why we dress the way we do. Hyland has a very thought provoking way of looking at styles of dress, digging in deep to ask the questions of why and how and does this really mean what you think it means? She covers such trends as millennial pink, normcore, and leisurewear. She also tackles big questions like the difference of expectations depending on gender (spoiler: women’s fashion is scrutinized much more than men’s) and the labor intensive goal of being fit, which sometimes masquerades as “self-care.” It was informative, interesting, and reflective.
Author: Véronique Hyland
Published: 2022
Awards: A New Yorker Magazine Best Book of 2022; An Esquire Best Nonfiction Book of 2022; A Town & Country Must-Read Book of 2022
Other books by author: No other books that I could find, but you can read more of her work in her column Style Points on Elle.com
Genre: Nonfiction Essays
Themes: Fashion, Society, Politics, Feminism
How I found this book: a bookstore find (unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the bookstore)
My recommendation: Medium - an informative read if you like to think about why you dress the way you do
