When high fashion blurred the lines between the pure and the fallen
In short: In the 19th century, fashion became a site of moral panic. This lecture explores how the styles of middle-class women began to mirror those of the demi-monde, sparking a cultural crisis over visual identity.
By the late 1800s, social critics in London and Paris feared that respectable middle-class women were losing their distinct visual markers. The prevailing belief was that these women had been seduced by fashion discourse, adopting styles that made them appear 'brash and vulgar' rather than pure.
The lecture examines this 'visual confusion' in public spaces, highlighting how the press and artists—such as James Tissot in his 'The Women of Paris' series—captured a society struggling to distinguish between different social classes through clothing.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Fashion and Visual Culture in the 19th Century: The Girl of the Period - Professor Lynda Nead
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