Worn: A People's History of Clothing

by Sofi Thanhauser

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 393
Rating:

Synopsis:

Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool: through the stories of these five fabrics, Sofi Thanhauser illuminates the world we inhabit in a startling new way, travelling from China to Cumbria to reveal the craft, labour and industry that create the clothes we wear.

From the women who transformed stalks of flax into linen to clothe their families in nineteenth century New England to those who earn their dowries in the cotton-spinning factories of South India today, this book traces the origins of garment-making through time and around the world. Exploring the social, economic and environmental impact of our most personal possessions, Worn looks beyond care labels to show how clothes reveal the truth about what we really care about.

Sofi Thanhauser’s Worn is definitely a people’s history of clothing, and really more a history of fabric production than of clothing per se. There are so many points in clothing’s life cycle that Worn doesn’t even touch on, but it takes a good look at the production of fabrics like silk, cotton, linen, wool and synthetics: how they were first produced, how they’re produced now, their impact on the environment, and most of all their impact on the people who are involved in their manufacture, from the field to the factory.

I was hoping for something a bit more focused on clothing, rather than generally on fabric — I think there’s a meaningful distinction to be made between a history specifically about clothes and a history about fabric, and this is decidedly the latter, when I was looking for the former.

That said, I did find it interesting and enjoyable, and Thanhauser clearly put in a lot of time to ensure she heard the voices of those making fabric. There’s plenty of people writing books about clothes, and fabric is definitely a worthy part of the story. I’d have just picked a different title and subtitle.

Rating: 4/5