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Uniforms

Laurence King Publishing By Bill Dunn

6-3/4 x 9 in; 272 pp ; 294 color illustrations
Paperback
Published in March, 2009
ISBN 9781856695831
ISBN10 1856695832

$24.95  

Uniforms -- Look around and uniforms are everywhere. They're a way of belonging and of making people belong. Armies, police forces, and militias led the way, but today they're used by a new generation of service industries, from security guards to delivery firms. Subconsciously, uniforms oil the wheels of the world. We accept orders from a uniformed guard, respect the diagnosis of a doctor or nurse, and feel better about entrusting that important package to a uniformed private delivery company operative. Uniforms inspire trust, respect, and sometimes even fear.

This book traces the rise of the uniform in pictures up to the present day, from early military uniforms and on to the Second World War, from which a lot of uniform items made it through into civilian life, coinciding with the birth of the teenage phenomenon in the 1950s. It examines the different ways in which the uniform is used: as a means of control, of morale building, and of self-expression.

Featuring uniforms from all walks of life—military, school, sports teams, and workwear—the book examines how fashion has been influenced by uniform design and how fashion has, in turn, been reinterpreted by uniform designers.

Bill Dunn has been at the forefront of men's style journalism, joining GQ magazine soon after its launch. As style editor he has discovered and interviewed everyone in international men's fashion from the late Gianni Versace to Tom Ford. Later he became senior editor of Esquire. He is currently editor of Redwood's global, multi-award winning, 1.5-million circulation LIV magazine. He is the author of the men's fashion book Man About Town.