--- product_id: 333096523 title: "Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History" price: "130.69 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/333096523-dress-codes-how-the-laws-of-fashion-made-history store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History **Price:** 130.69 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History - **How much does it cost?** 130.69 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/333096523-dress-codes-how-the-laws-of-fashion-made-history) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A “sharp and entertaining” ( The Wall Street Journal ) exploration of fashion through the ages that asks what our clothing reveals about ourselves and our society. Dress codes are as old as clothing itself. For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control. Merchants dressing like princes and butchers’ wives wearing gem-encrusted crowns were public enemies in medieval societies structured by social hierarchy and defined by spectacle. In Tudor England, silk, velvet, and fur were reserved for the nobility, and ballooning pants called “trunk hose” could be considered a menace to good order. The Renaissance-era Florentine patriarch Cosimo de Medici captured the power of fashion and dress codes when he remarked, “One can make a gentleman from two yards of red cloth.” Dress codes evolved along with the social and political ideals of the day, but they always reflected struggles for power and status. In the 1700s, South Carolina’s “Negro Act” made it illegal for Black people to dress “above their condition.” In the 1920s, the bobbed hair and form-fitting dresses worn by free-spirited flappers were banned in workplaces throughout the United States, and in the 1940s, the baggy zoot suits favored by Black and Latino men caused riots in cities from coast to coast. Even in today’s more informal world, dress codes still determine what we wear, when we wear it—and what our clothing means. People lose their jobs for wearing braided hair, long fingernails, large earrings, beards, and tattoos or refusing to wear a suit and tie or make-up and high heels. In some cities, wearing sagging pants is a crime. And even when there are no written rules, implicit dress codes still influence opportunities and social mobility. Silicon Valley CEOs wear t-shirts and flip-flops, setting the tone for an entire industry: women wearing fashionable dresses or high heels face ridicule in the tech world, and some venture capitalists refuse to invest in any company run by someone wearing a suit. In Dress Codes , law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” ( The New York Times Book Review ) history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, a walk down history’s red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing—rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes , you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again—and getting dressed will never be the same. Review: Completely Engaging. - Being a student of history and fashion (I sew) this was of great interest to me. I fond it engaging, thought provoking, and just entertaining. I read mostly nunfiction, this one is a keeper. I would love to have a coffee and chat with the auther of this book. Review: Well-researched, very interesting, very well thought-out! - Top read! I really appreciate how much time and research went into this. I ended up looking up the word "sartorial" pretty quickly because it is used a bunch. :) A very, very interesting read. I learned a lot that I didn't know, about menswear especially. I particularly appreciated the author's ability to put words to a lot of social subtleties regarding norms of clothing and dress that are difficult to verbalize or even realize consciously at times. This really helped me clarify some of my own thoughts about clothing and social expectations. I would love to see more books like this, since the nuances of clothing and people's responses to it is such a broad topic, and a more important one than most people realize it is, as the author so articulately and convincingly observes. Excellent read!! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #137,470 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #55 in Design History & Criticism #71 in Customs & Traditions Social Sciences #74 in Fashion History | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 355 Reviews | ## Images ![Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/911pCbOGSaL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Completely Engaging. *by K***N on April 13, 2026* Being a student of history and fashion (I sew) this was of great interest to me. I fond it engaging, thought provoking, and just entertaining. I read mostly nunfiction, this one is a keeper. I would love to have a coffee and chat with the auther of this book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Well-researched, very interesting, very well thought-out! *by A***N on August 12, 2021* Top read! I really appreciate how much time and research went into this. I ended up looking up the word "sartorial" pretty quickly because it is used a bunch. :) A very, very interesting read. I learned a lot that I didn't know, about menswear especially. I particularly appreciated the author's ability to put words to a lot of social subtleties regarding norms of clothing and dress that are difficult to verbalize or even realize consciously at times. This really helped me clarify some of my own thoughts about clothing and social expectations. I would love to see more books like this, since the nuances of clothing and people's responses to it is such a broad topic, and a more important one than most people realize it is, as the author so articulately and convincingly observes. Excellent read!! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ History, culture, and psychology all in one book. *by M***. on June 18, 2021* I bought this book because, as a former fashion design professor, the topic naturally intrigued me. It is well researched, full of cultural and historical references, and offers great insights about why we dress the way we do. It is not a quick read because it feels a bit more like a textbook and reference guide, but it is well worth the time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. ## Frequently Bought Together - Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History - Fabric of Civilization - Worn: A People's History of Clothing --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/333096523-dress-codes-how-the-laws-of-fashion-made-history](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/333096523-dress-codes-how-the-laws-of-fashion-made-history) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-10-11*