The language of clothes
In this exhaustive and entertaining study, Alison Lurie shows what the clothes we choose to wear say about us. Approaching clothing from four perspectives -- historical, social logical, psychological, anthropological -- she demonstrates how color, fabric and cut are not mere whims of designers or manufacturers but constitute a vocabulary and grammar as precise and full of subconscious intent as any verbal language: how our clothes announce our sex, age and class and often give important information (or misinformation) about our occupation, geographical origin, personality, opinions, tastes, sexual desires and current mood. - Back cover.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Mental Health. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Mental Health
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest mental-health concerns, sexual material. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3947-1713-5
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL3186738M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Mental Health, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Which ideas feel usable in your actual circumstances—not only persuasive on the page?
- Where does the author distinguish evidence, experience, and opinion?
- What would a small, humane experiment with one idea look like?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
More Mental Health books
These matches combine shared categories with author, publication-era, and reading-length signals.
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Why it fits: shares Mental Health, a similar reading length.
