Dress, Dreams, and Desire
A History of Fashion and Psychoanalysis
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:13th Nov '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This beautifully illustrated book, written by leading fashion theorist, Valerie Steele, shows how psychoanalysis can provide important clues about the power and allure of fashion, as well as the ambivalence and hostility that fashion attracts.
What can psychoanalysis tell us about the power and allure of fashion? Valerie Steele, author of Dress, Dreams and Desire, was described by critic Suzy Menkes as “the Freud of fashion.” In this pathbreaking book, the first cultural history of fashion and psychoanalysis, Steele does not merely hold a mirror up to fashion’s surface, she looks into its soul.
A renowned fashion historian, Steele draws on key psychoanalytic concepts about the body, sexuality, and the unconscious – from the dream theories of Freud and Jung to Lacan’s mirror stage and Anzieu’s skin ego – to interpret the work of designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Gianni Versace, and Alexander McQueen. She explores how fashion is the lens through which we see ourselves – and how others see us. Far from being superficial, fashion can be regarded as a “deep surface” that communicates our unconscious desires and anxieties, with none of us fully aware of what we are "saying" with the clothes we wear.
Steele ... probes the intersections of psychoanalytic principles and the clothes we wear. * Millions *
Historian Valerie Steele guides us confidently and enticingly through the treacherous terrain of our biases, assumptions, fears and lusts, reminding us that even if a dress is sometimes just a dress, it still has a story to tell. * Robin Givhan, author of Make it Ours *
A stunning, beautifully crafted 3D rendering of the knot between body and soul—psyche and cloth—providing a dazzling and incredibly informative analysis of fashion. * Patricia Gherovici, psychoanalyst and author, USA *
Sumptuously illustrated and characterised by Steele’s formidable intellect and wit, this is a glorious book set to inspire a whole new generation of fashion writers, curators, historians and analysts . * Christopher Breward, Director, National Museums Scotland, UK *
Valerie Steele’s book is a great read, a truly Freudian pleasure. * Barbara Vinken, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany *
Valerie Steele is probably the most important figure in contemporary dress studies and the creator of groundbreaking fashion exhibitions. With this book she brilliantly opens up new ways of thinking about how clothes operate and how we use clothes to explore identity, sexuality and the body. * Elizabeth Wilson, author of Adorned in Dreams *
ISBN: 9781350428188
Dimensions: 244mm x 186mm x 22mm
Weight: 730g
264 pages