Book Review: Skirts by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell

I received an ARC of Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and this is an interesting look at femininity through garment structure, specifically skirts and skirted garments which have been so rigidly gendered in Western fashion convention, dating back centuries. 

The structure of this book is interesting and creative--after a brief introduction, she approaches the path of the evolution of both femininity and associated fashion by devoting a chapter to an iconic silhouette of each decade, roughly aligned with an iconic skirted garment or design associated with the decade in question, beginning with Fortuny's "Delphos" and progressing through the bodycon dresses of the end of the century. 

And yet, within each chapter, she explodes the restrictive chronology by detailing how, in actuality, the structural conventions and fit/form of whatever her focus is, are actually part of a timeless continuum, pointing out where else throughout history similar/influential fashions appeared.

This book is a really smart, contemporary, and subversively innovative look at a fascinating and timely topic. Highly recommended for anyone interested in deep dives into fashion, gender, and interrogative history.