Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion

From Sappho and Suffragettes to t-shirts and TikTok, a fascinating journey through the history and politics of lesbian clothing.

‘Charts the myriad styles of women-loving women through the ages.''

''While Unsuitable painstakingly traces the style aspect, it also examines the reasons lesbian fashion has been lost to history. While homophobia against women is nothing new, Medhurst underscores how it even permeates the fashion world.''

‘Unsuitable takes all the great work Medhurst has done to preserve this key component of queer history and wraps it up into one absolute must read.’

‘Shines a much-needed spotlight on an entire group that’s too often been overshadowed, celebrating the ever-evolving style of the lesbian community.’

‘Unsuitable is an essential read that shines a light on a rich and often obscured legacy.’

''Unsuitable is likely to surprise and enlighten even readers with an extensive knowledge of the history of women-loving women.''

''An engaging history ... it reveals the power of dress to shape the lives of those who wear it - and to challenge, provoke and bring people together along the way.''

''An absolutely fascinating study of lesbian clothing, in all its unpredictable variety, over continents and centuries.''

''A charming, enlightening and inspiring history of a too-often overlooked identity.''

''A wonderful, celebratory and joyously queer insight into lesbian fashion — I loved it.''

''Whether it''s Japanese Bluestockings or stage actresses in Georgian London, Eleanor Medhurst brings hidden worlds to life in her positively engrossing book.''

''An affectionate and informative history, deeply researched and bursting at the seams with interesting facts about the lives and styles of queer women from the past.''

''A wonderful, long overdue celebration of often neglected histories. It reminds us of the power of dress to shape our place in the world.''

''A rare exploration of the nuanced history of lesbian fashion.''

The way we dress can show or hide who we are; make us fit in, make us stand out, or make our own community. Yet ‘lesbian fashion’ has been strangely overlooked. What secrets can it reveal about the lives and status of queer women through the ages?

The lesbian past is slippery: often deliberately hidden, edited or left unrecorded. Unsuitable restores to history the dazzlingly varied clothes worn by women who love women, from top hats to violet tiaras. This story spans centuries and countries, from ‘Gentleman Jack’ in nineteenth-century Yorkshire and Queen Christina of seventeenth-century Sweden, to Paris modernism, genderqueer Berlin, butch/femme bar culture and gay rights activists—via drag kings, Vogue editors and the Harlem Renaissance.

 This book is a kaleidoscope of the margins and the mainstream, celebrating trans lesbian style, Black lesbian style, and gender nonconformity. You don’t have to be queer or fashionable to be enthralled by this hidden history. Unsuitable lights it up for the world to see, in all its finery.

• | Author: Eleanor Medhurst
• | Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jun 01, 2024
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781805260967
• | ISBN-10: 1805260960