Fashion and Jazz: Dress, Identity and Subcultural Improvisation (Dress, Body, Culture)

"Fashion and Jazz" addresses several underexplored areas of jazz culture, such as modern dandyism and the link between drug use and glamorous dress, and as such provides an history of fashion's dialogue with African-American art and style.

Born in the late 19th century, jazz gained mainstream popularity during a volatile period of racial segregation and gender inequality. It was in these adverse conditions that jazz performers discovered the power of dress as a visual tool used to defy mainstream societal constructs, shaping a new fashion and style aesthetic. Fashion and Jazz is the first study to identify the behaviours, signs and meanings that defined this newly evolving subculture.
Fashion and Jazz: Dress, Identity and Subcultural Improvisation Alphonso McClendon (Auteur)
Fashion and