American Style and Spirit: Fashions and Lives of the Roddis Family, 1850-1995

Description

Winner of the 2017 Milia Davenport Publication Award given by the Costume Society of America. Brought to life for the first time outside the attic in which they were stored for generations, here are more than 300 garments and accessories, beautifully preserved and complemented by archival objects, family photographs, and letters. The book is packed with evocative descriptions of whom the garments belonged to, when they were made or bought, and even where they were worn-all by members of the Roddis family of Marshfield, Wisconsin. Author Jane Bradbury describes the joy of discovering the clothes when her aunt, Augusta Denton Roddis, showed her the astonishing collection. A remarkable resource, the book presents the garments and their designers in the context of the various eras in which they were created, from the turn of the 20th century, spanning the 1920s and The Depression, through to the late 1990s. Beautifully designed, this is a must-have for every fashion enthusiast.

Jane Bradbury studied at Sotheby's Works of Art Course in London and has an MA from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Edward Maeder has held curatorial positions at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and was Founding Director of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.

There is nothing more powerful and potent than clothing and this book celebrates the extraordinary nature of ordinary lives, and the power of dress to bring history to life - Hamish Bowles, International Editor-at-Large, Vogue; This stunning book perfectly weaves together the fabric of fashion with the social history of America - Karen Augusta, Fashion appraiser and owner, Augusta Auction Company; substantive and mesmerizing - Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, November 19th 2016; 'This rich account of personal and peer-group taste is not just an absorbing micro-history; it is of broader sociological interest...'- Rebecca Arnold, Times Literary Supplement, December 23rd 2016