One of the great pleasures of this panoramic history of getting dressed is Sofi Thanhauser’s ability to spot moments...where human desire and material culture collide ... Worn, though, consists of much more than a string of entertaining anecdotes about people raiding the dressing-up box and embarrassing themselves in the process ... None of this is logistically or morally simple and the great virtue of Thanhauser’s analysis is how alive she is to the difficulty of making these networks legible, even when they lie relatively close to come ... Thanhauser’s approach to exposing a system gone so horribly wrong is to synthesise the existing literature, add fresh insights drawn from her own fieldwork, and deliver the findings in a richly evocative narrative powered, but never overwhelmed, by a sense of righteous anger.
Although there is much to be depressed about in this book (the writing at times can turn into a bit of a jeremiad), in wool especially there is reason for optimism ... I couldn’t help smiling at the notion of a group of anarchists crocheting scarves or embroidering table runners. Worn is Ms. Thanhauser’s first book. It’s admirable, meticulously researched, and although occasionally tendentious, makes us pay attention.
... a work of history, it is less popular than personal and less about clothing itself—its types, its richness, its diversity—than about the sociopolitical dimensions of its production. Those who hope to find out from this book what wonderful clothes people used to wear, in what different ways and for what varied purposes, might be disappointed. It is one thing to describe the history and present state of textile industries in India, for example, but it is unfortunate that Thanhauser does not take this opportunity to discuss the long history of the sari, its evolution through centuries of conquest and colonialism, and its connections to gender, religion and sexuality in India. The scope of the book is narrower than its ambition, and the writing seldom attains the eloquence to which it aspires. These reservations notwithstanding, I still want people to read this book. As an argument against the horrors of fast fashion and the social and environmental disasters it provokes, it is powerful and persuasive. What’s more, it might make you think twice about stepping into that high-street store again.
... the joy of this history of clothing, which is eminently readable and meticulously researched, is its focus on people ... My only other complaint regarding this otherwise fascinating book was the absence of information on the resurgence of the second-hand clothing trade, which was given a boost by internet fashion.
In this deep dive into the history of clothing, Thanhauser confronts the economic impact and environmental damage wreaked by cloth manufacturers throughout history ... After all this, readers might need a little positivity, and will find it in accounts of contemporary weavers returning to traditional methods and sensibilities. This is a fresh and thoughtful reconsideration about the clothes we wear.
... a captivating and deeply researched study of the five main fabrics from which clothing is made: linen, cotton, silk, synthetics, and wool ... Interweaving eye-popping statistics; immersive descriptions of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, China’s Yangtze River Delta, and other locales; and vivid profiles of historical figures including union organizer Ella May Wiggins and sewing machine manufacturer Isaac Singer, Thanhauser unearths the secret life of fabrics with skill and precision. Readers won’t look at their wardrobes the same way again.
