Book Chapter

The catalyst of change. The clothing of the Viennese servants and their relation to fashion in the period 1760-1823

  • Aris Kafantogias

In the eighteenth century, fashion constituted a fundamental criterion for consumption for broader parts of the European (and Viennese) population. This article investigates, through various sources, like probate inventories, fashion magazines and pattern books, the consumption of clothes and accessories of female servants in the period 1760-1823 and associates it with debates on their appearance at the time. It compares their wardrobes to those of a broad part of the Viennese female middle-class population, and examines the relation of their wardrobes to fashion, notably in the period of the emergence of Viennese fashion. Finally, it investigates whether female servants could function as intermediaries of the prevalent fashion between the elites and this middle stratum, and, consequently, as trendsetters for this group.

  • Keywords:
  • Fashion,
  • consumption,
  • servants,
  • Vienna,
  • eighteenth century,
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Aris Kafantogias

University of Vienna, Austria

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  • Publication Year: 2022
  • Pages: 251-289
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

The catalyst of change. The clothing of the Viennese servants and their relation to fashion in the period 1760-1823

Authors

Aris Kafantogias

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/978-88-5518-565-3.15

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

La moda come motore economico: innovazione di processo e prodotto, nuove strategie commerciali, comportamento dei consumatori / Fashion as an economic engine: process and product innovation, commercial strategies, consumer behavior

Editors

Giampiero Nigro

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

422

Publication Year

2022

Copyright Information

© 2022 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/978-88-5518-565-3

ISBN Print

978-88-5518-564-6

eISBN (pdf)

978-88-5518-565-3

eISBN (xml)

978-88-5518-566-0

Series Title

Datini Studies in Economic History

Series ISSN

2975-1241

Series E-ISSN

2975-1195

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