Dress became a testing ground for masculine ideals in Renaissance Italy. With the establishment of the ducal regime in Florence in 1530; there was increasing debate about how to be a nobleman. Was fashionable clothing a sign of magnificence or a source of mockery? Was the graceful courtier virile or effeminate? How could a man dress for court without bankrupting himself? This book explores the whole story of clothing; from the tailors workshop to spectacular court festivities; to show how the male nobility in one of Italys main textile production centers used their appearances to project social; sexual; and professional identities. Sixteenth-century male fashion is often associated with swagger and ostentation but this book shows that Florentine clothing reflected manhood at a much deeper level; communicating a very Italian spectrum of male virtues and vices; from honor; courage; and restraint to luxury and excess. Situating dress at the heart of identity formation; Currie traces these codes through an array of sources; including unpublished archival records; surviving garments; portraiture; poetry; and personal correspondence between the Medici and their courtiers. Addressing important themes such as gender; politics; and consumption; Fashion and Masculinity in Renaissance Florence sheds fresh light on the sartorial culture of the Florentine court and Italy as a whole.
#3543420 in eBooks 2016-06-15 2016-06-15File Name: B01FLJDSOE
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