Religion in Vogue
Christianity and Fashion in America
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- $27.99
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- $27.99
Publisher Description
Shows how the fashion industry in the mid- to late twentieth century created a particular way of seeing religion as fashionable
From cross necklaces to fashion designs inspired by nuns’ habits, how have fashion sources interpreted Christianity? And how, in turn, have these interpretations shaped conceptions of religion in the United States?
Religion in Vogue explores the intertwined history of Christianity and the fashion industry. Using a diverse range of fashion sources, including designs, jewelry, articles in fashion magazines, and advertisements, Lynn S. Neal demonstrates how in the second half of the twentieth century the modern fashion industry created an aestheticized Christianity, transforming it into a consumer product.
The fashion industry socialized consumers to see religion as fashionable and as a beautiful lifestyle accessory—something to be displayed, consumed, and experienced as an expression of personal identity and taste. Religion was something to be embraced and shown off by those who were sophisticated and stylish, and not solely the domain of the politically conservative.
Neal ultimately concludes that, through aestheticizing Christianity, the fashion industry has offered Americans a means of blending traditional elements of religion—such as ritual practice, miraculous events, and theological concepts—with modern culture, revealing a new dimension to the personal experience of religion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Neal (Romancing God), professor of religious studies at Wake Forest, mines issues of Vogue magazine from the mid-1940s to the late 1990s to explore fashion's shifting use of religious symbols in this persuasively argued work. First, she examines how Vogue used explicit religious topics in articles and photos to train readers into being participant-observers that felt acknowledged but also distanced from some practices (such as articles on pilgrimages in foreign lands). Next, she considers advertisements to argue that fashion knowingly drew on notions of Sunday best dress, the conception of women as "Eve," and even magic to entice Christian women. Neal's arguments become even more convincing as she turns to fashion articles, with chapters on the cross as an accessory, the creative remixing of Catholic religious dress as fashion, and the use of images of Mary and Jesus on clothing. Neal balances her historical analysis with clear but persuasive theory and has a real skill for summarizing controversies. Scholars of fashion, popular culture, and religion will welcome this fresh take on an underexplored facet of the American experience.
