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Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear, by Paul Fussell
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From Boy Scouts to soldiers, nurses to UPS workers, chefs to nuns, Paul Fussell describes, in sharp and telling anecdotes, the history and meanings of various uniforms. He reveals their secret language and unfolds their cultural significance. Focusing on the American scene, he holds up a mirror to the folks who head off to work each morning in regulated clothing and charts the fault lines of the desire for conformity and individuality. In examining the way uniforms unite and divide us, he ranges over the globe, describing, among other things, the Russian love of shoulder boards, the German obsession with black, and the Italian enthusiasm for feathered military hats. According to Fussell, we are what we wear, and sometimes our get-ups say surprising things.
Uniforms is vintage Fussell — a blend of vinegar and grace, of keen cultural insight and hilarious wit, equal parts spoof and illuminating social analysis.
- Sales Rank: #1594935 in Books
- Published on: 2002-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .56" w x 5.50" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 204 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Right from the start of this examination of the personal and cultural meanings of the wearing of uniforms, celebrated author Fussell (Class; The Great War and Modern Memory) creates a light, humorous tone by disclosing his almost fetishistic interest in his subject: "All my life, I have had a thing about uniforms." Peppering his historical data with campy asides, the author goes on to fondly-and obsessively-analyze the roles that uniforms play in all walks of life: the military, the church, hospitals, restaurants, sports and even everyday civilian life. In each of these contexts, Fussell explores the symbolism of every aspect of uniforms-fabrics, buttons, badges, bows. Readers will learn, for instance, that Italian troops in WWII were considered "dandies and losers" by the Allies, mostly because they wore headgear accessorized with such vain flourishes as feathers and horsehair tails. Although his view of people's sartorial proclivities can be a bit jaundiced-Nazi Hermann Goering's love of furs makes him a "heterosexual Liberace," Ernest Hemingway is a "semi-weirdo" because of his lifelong soldier fantasies-Fussell's funny, touching insights spring from an unmistakable compassion for people's need to feel "the comfort and vanity of belonging." Whether its wearer is striving for power, virtue, courage or cleanliness, the purpose of a uniform, the author concludes, is to intimately and symbolically connect him or her to a specific community with a common purpose-thus repeating the experience of home. 8 pages of photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In his cursory study of uniforms, Fussell attempts to uncover the meaning of these special, emotionally laden garments. A prolific writer, Fussell won a National Book Award for The Great War and Modern Memory, which was included on Modern Library's list of "Best 100 Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century." His latest work, however, falls short. Presenting mostly examples from the previous century, Fussell sets out to show how uniforms shape and define a person. In a chatty, informal tone, he discusses a wide range of uniforms. From Nazi military attire to "sexy" UPS garb, Fussell points out the lore and lure of these habiliments. The chapters "Blue Jeans" and "Deliverers" are more amusing and thoughtful than the rest of the work. Most chapters offer only a superficial treatment of the topic, but Fussell is a popular writer who may generate some demand. Because the book lacks both a bibliography and an index, scholars can pass.
--Donna Marie Smith, Main Lib., Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Prolific Fussell's flair for parsing history with acuity and whimsy has earned him a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award. Here he focuses on the culture of uniforms, and readers are in for a thoroughly enjoyable, surprisingly revealing journey. Fussell confesses to having had "a thing about uniforms" since boyhood, and his appreciation for their authority and erotic appeal when they succeed in serving their function well, and abject silliness when they fail, is as piquant as it is well informed. He begins with a survey of military attire, discussing in passionate detail the uniforms of the Third Reich, General Patton's elaborate getups, and the U.S. Navy's failure to do away with traditional button trousers, then goes on to reveal the politics behind uniform design and to comment on fashion's raiding of the military closet. Religious clothing receives close scrutiny, as do wedding dresses, postal workers' all-season wardrobe, the paradox of blue jeans--once the emblem of nonconformity, now standard issue--and the sexy UPS look, considered the best of "delivery chic." Donna Seaman
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Needs more padding
By stackofbooks
Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear is a fun little compendium of facts on an interesting subject. This work, however, lacks the heft of Fussell's earlier works, including The Great War and Modern Memory and Class. Uniforms reads more like a haphazard collection of "scrap material" rather than a detailed analysis of its subject. Fussell also does little to answer the titular question: "why we are what we wear."
One of the advantages that a uniform affords its wearer is the ability to skimp on "the work of remaking one's external character all the time." That, of course, is one of a uniform's many advantages, but the flip side is a concurrent loss of individuality. Sometimes, as in the case of Levi's blue jeans, an effort to rebel and stand out gets adopted by so many, that it becomes the new uniform.
As would be expected, Uniforms talks about all manner of military attire and even the general military attitude (many a generalization here!) of a nation's people.
Besides military uniforms, Fussell also briefly points out uniforms in many other codes of dress. A nuptial dress, which is usually white, religious uniforms, and Boy Scout uniforms are but some of the examples outlined in the book. Long baggy boys' shorts and pants, we learn, are derived from prison wear as an act of rebellion against parents. Then of course there is the cute UPS truck driver in his cool brown uniform classified as "delivery chic."
In his book, Fussell points out the overwhelming masculinity of the subject (women came to uniforms pretty late). He also says that: "Dressing approximately like others is to don armor against contempt." Any woman who has tried buying her guy a purple shirt can attest to the verity of both of those statements....
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Cohesive composition on society's use of uniforms.
By Andrew J. Degnan
Paul Fussell narrates the legacy of society's garments through to their modern inheritance. He analyzes not only the uniforms we commonly associate with blue-collar workers, but also the nature behind dress outside of the workplace. Fussell shows the ways in which human nature leads us to want to fit in - to assume our uniformity - while claiming to maintain individuality. His writing is crisp, refreshing, and cutting - his words convey comical anecdotes, historical accounts, and incisive analysis in a palatable fashion. While tracing uniforms throughout history, Fussell's work primarily focuses on the uniforms in our contemporary society today. Uniforms: Why We Are What We Wear transcends mere history, making probing social commentary and examining deeper meaning of cloth - showing how society might just be made out of cloth. Fussell's work is a treasure and remarkably astonishing - Uniforms tells the reader just how important our clothing is in conveying our place in society, how uniforms speak volumes beyond their superficial appearances, and how uniforms persist even in the absence of official doctrine. This book brings to light many things that we take for granted and demonstrates the significance of our society made of cloth.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Good, fun pop sociology
By Michael K. Smith
Having grown up in an army family, I've always been aware of the subtle distinctions among military uniforms, while at the same time being semi-unaware of them because they were so fundamental to my world. In his urbanely witty but sharply observant way, Fussell identifies much deeper distinctions: The Russian love of large shoulderboards, the 20th century German fascination with black, the Italian thing for plumes, and the different perception and philosophy between British class-conscious khaki and American egalitarian olive drab. And the essential reason army and navy uniforms are so very different: until the Cold War, the army and its uniforms were made up anew for each new major conflict, while the navy continued to exist much the same in peacetime as in wartime. But "uniform" means more than the military -- witness the ubiquity of blue jeans in the United States and, eventually, all over the world. Fussell also asks the questions most of us wouldn't have thought of, like why do British and American cops tend to dark blue uniforms, quite unlike the tradition in Continental countries? Why do commercial airline pilots wear uniforms at all? (The early ones didn't.) Why are UPS men considered sexy while FedEx guys aren't? And what was it with Elmo Zumwalt and Richard Nixon when it came to bizarre uniforms? This isn't a very long book, nor is it scholarly in style, but it's a lot of fun. And you'll find yourself looking at all the uniformed people around you with a new eye.
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