Fashion in the Fairy Tale Tradition : What Cinderella Wore

"This book is a journey through the fairy-tale wardrobe, explaining how the mercurial nature of fashion has shaped and transformed the Western fairy-tale tradition. Many of fairy tale's most iconic images are items of dress: the glass slippers, the red capes, the gowns shining like the sun, and the red shoes. The material cultures from which these items have been conjured reveal the histories of patronage, political intrigue, class privilege, and sexual politics behind the most famous fairy tales. The book not only reveals the sartorial truths behind Cinderella's lost slippers, but reveals the networks of female power woven into fairy tale itself"-- Back cover Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 9 Chapter 1 Introduction: The Rise of Fashionable Fairy Tales, a Noble Fabrication 10 Why Cinderella? 13 Fashionably Told: Understanding the Relationship Between Fashion and Fairy Tale 15 So Why Did Perrault’s Tales Take the Lead?: A Question of Identity 26 The Consumer at the Root of Fairy Tale 28 The Fashionable Bourgeoisie (Contains Some Aristocrats) 35 A Girl in a Dress: In Disney Fashion 41 Conclusion: Fashion in Fairy Tale Matters 45 Chapter 2 Fashion Felons I: Leading La Mode 56 The Fashion Protagonists: The Impact of Sumptuary Regulation and Social Practices on Class and Gender 58 The Neapolitan Cinderella Cat 66 Cinderella at Versailles 71 Conclusion: Comeback Queens 88 Chapter 3 Fashion Felons II: Breaking All the Fashion Rules 99 Ashes 101 Domestic Goddesses 104 The Witty Fancy of Pastoral Domesticity 110 Sex and the Furry Princess 114 Male Fashion Pigs 125 Conclusion: Beyond the Animal Skin 129 Chapter 4 Skills with Threads: Heroes Who Make Fashion 137 Wondrous Cloth: Fairy Tale’s Écriture Féminine 139 Why the Little Golden Spinning Wheel Fell into the Soup: The Noble Worth of Tools 142 Spinning for Your Life 144 Walking down the Path of Pins or Needles 152 Cunning Fingers 160 Modern Cinderellas 166 Make Do and Mend 170 Re-weaving the Conclusion 176 Chapter 5 Shoes, the Sole of Fairy Tale: Stepping Between Desire and Damnation 186 In Cinderella’s Shoes: The Origins of Sexy 189 Dancing in Red Shoes: It’s Complicated 196 The Brothers Grimm’s Disposable Shoe 201 The Iconic Slipper 205 Crafty Cats and Their Beautiful Boots 212 Suffering in Iron 217 A Moment for Facardin 219 Conclusion: If the Shoe Fits 220 Chapter 6 What the Fairies Wore: Sartorial Means and Darkest Villainies 231 The Sartorial Gift of the Fairies 232 Authorial Cross-Dressing in Mother Goose’s Skirts 238 Under the Red Chaperon 242 Witch Dressing 249 Villainy Is the Awesome Black 258 What the Wise Wear: Conclusion 269 Chapter 7 Conclusion: The Fairy Tale Undressed 279 Unmentionable 279 The Fairy Tale’s Cinched Waist 282 Why It Matters What Cinderella Wore 288 References 291 Index 313 Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: The Rise of Fashionable Fairy Tales, a Noble Fabrication (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 1-46 Fashion Felons I: Leading La Mode (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 47-89 Fashion Felons II: Breaking All the Fashion Rules (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 91-128 Skills with Threads: Heroes Who Make Fashion (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 129-177 Shoes, the Sole of Fairy Tale: Stepping Between Desire and Damnation (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 179-223 What the Fairies Wore: Sartorial Means and Darkest Villainies (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 225-272 Conclusion: The Fairy Tale Undressed (Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario)....Pages 273-284 Back Matter ....Pages 285-316