Dressed To Kill: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions, 1748-1857

DRESSED TO KILL: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions, 1748-1857


Written by Amy Miller, Curator of Decorative Arts and Material Culture at the National Maritime Museum, this book is a comprehensive study of naval uniform, and its correlation with contemporary fashion of the time. Beginning with the year 1748 when the first naval uniform for commissioned officers was introduced the author works thru a chronological progression of uniform development. The book is generously illustrated with color photographs of entire uniforms from the rich collections of the National Maritime Museum along with carefully selected details. Line drawings illustrate the patterns and construction of the garments Accompanying the images are personal papers, diaries, fiction and other period artifacts which are used to demonstrate the significance of male fashion and uniform in forging a national, hierarchical, gendered identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A must have for anyone interested in military or civilian fashion! (softcover)