Dress Codes: Deciphering Gender and Fashion in Eighteenth-Century London Through Frances Burney's Evelina; or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World (1778)

Yıl 2023, Sayı: 37, 1271 - 1286, 21.12.2023

Elif Guvendi Yalcin

https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1406011

Öz

Fashion is regarded simply as a display of individual preference, while it offers deep perspectives on social standards, cultural shifts, and the identity construction. Clothing is a medium for reflecting and expressing complex social dynamics, norms, and changes in identity, particularly during significant cultural shifts. In 18th-century Britain, the fashion industry experienced considerable transformation, driven by increased consumerism, and this period revealed a critical relationship between gender roles in society and fashion trends. Women, usually portrayed as erratic and unpredictable, emerged as the most ardent fans of fashion, personifying its transient nature. This paper examines the intricate bond between fashion and gender roles in 18th century London by using Frances Burney's well-known work Evelina; or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World (1778) as a primary reference. Fashion during this era was not merely a means of decoration; it was inextricably linked to the prevailing social norms and standards. By studying the clothing choices in Evelina (1778), this research aims to expose the rigorous gender conventions of the period and demonstrate fashion's critical role in upholding societal expectations. Essentially, this study goes beyond the physical layers of clothing to uncover the stringent gender conventions prevalent in 18th-century London. It reveals how fashion, typically considered superficial, is a pivotal factor in reflecting and forming societal standards and norms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

18th-Century Fashion, Gender Roles, Frances Burney, Evelina (1778), Societal Norms

Kaynakça

• Allen, D. Smith, P. G., & Malgaretti, F. G. (2003). Words Words Words: A History and Anthology of Literatures in English from the Beginnings to the Eighteenth Century. La Spiga Languages. Milan
• Barthes, R. (1985). The Fashion System (M. Ward & R. Howard, Trans.). Bedford Square. London
• Batchelor, J. (2005). Dress, Distress and Desire: Clothing and the Female Body in Eighteenth-Century Literature. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Beauvoir, S. D. (2009). The Second Sex. Jonathan Cape. London.
• Berg, M., & Eger, E. (Eds.). (2003). Luxury in the Eighteenth Century: Debates, Desires, and Delectable Goods. Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. New York.
• Berger, J. (1977). Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books. London.
• Burney, F. (2004). Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World. Penguin Classics. London.
• Castle, T. (1986). Masquerade and Civilization: The Carnivalesque in Eighteenth-Century English Culture and Fiction. Methuen. London.
• Colley, L. (1992). Britons Forging the Nation 1707-1837. Vintage. London.
• Crane, D. (2000). Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
• Craik, J. (1993). The Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion. Routledge. London and New York.
• Davis, F. (1992). Fashion, Culture, and Identity. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago & London.
• Defoe, D. (1725). Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business. T. Warner. London.
• Edwards, T. (2011). Fashion in Focus: Concepts, Practices and Politics. Routledge. London and New York
• Entwistle, J. (2000). The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory. Polity Press. Cambridge.
• Haulman, K. (2011). The Politics of Fashion in Eighteenth-Century America. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill.
• Heyck. T.W. (1992). The Peoples of the British Isles: A New History from 1688 to 1870. Vol.2. Wadsworth. California
• Hopkins, J. (2012). Fashion Design: The Complete Guide. Ava Publishing SA. Lausanne, Switzerland
• Kaiser, S. B. (2013). Fashion and Cultural Studies. Berg Publisher. London.
• Lurie, A. (1981). The Language of Clothes. Random House. New York.
• Mandeville, B. (1997). The Fable of the Bees and Other Writings (E. J. Hundert, Ed.). Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis & Cambridge.
• McCracken, A. B. V. (2014). The Beauty Trade: Youth, Gender, and Fashion Globalization. Oxford University Press. United States of America.
• McKendrick, N., Brewer, J., & Plumb, J. H. (1982). The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialisation of Eighteenth-Century England. Indiana University Press. Bloomington.
• Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6–18.
• Olsen, K. (1999). Daily Life in 18th-Century England. Greenwood Press. USA.
• Richter, D. H. (2017). Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• Roberts, H. E. (1977). The exquisite slave: The role of clothes in the making of the Victorian woman. Signs, 2(3), 554–569. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3173265
• Rule, J. (1992). Albion’s People: English Society 1714-1815. Longman. London and New York.
• Wilson, E. (2003). Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity. I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. New York