Dress and Morality

In 747, Saint Boniface declared that wide stripes and scarlet borders in dress were a dangerous incitement of lust and ruination of the soul. A thousand years later the Jesuit Father Bernard Vaughan, in his book The Sins of Society, claimed that immodest dress led to paganism, while the popular v-shaped necklines of fashionable tops (referred to by some doctors as ‘pneumonia necklines’) were denounced as immoral by religious critics, along with short skirts.

For many years dress and morality have been intertwined, while moralists throughout history have raged against fashions for being too short, too long, too tight, too loose, or too costly.

In this enlightening and entertaining book, Aileen Ribeiro looks at fashion extremes over the centuries – from codpieces to corsets – revealing how dress has functioned as a vehicle of righteousness or turpitude, and as an expression of sexuality, class or social status.

With sharp wit and lavish illustrations, Dress and Morality offers an in-depth exploration of the comical vanities and social etiquettes associated with dress in the past. This foundational fashion classic has been re-issued with a new preface, afterword and further reading list – remaining an essential and entertaining read.

Author Biography

Aileen Ribeiro is professor emeritus of History of Art at the University of London, UK. She is a historian of fashion and author of several books about the history of costume. Professor Ribeiro was Head of the History of Dress section at the Courtauld Institute from 1975 until 2009.