Fashioning Socialism

Fashioning Socialism is the first history of communist fashion in East Germany. Using clothing as a lens to read society, the author unveils wider tensions between the regime and the population and within the regime itself.In telling the surprising - and often bizarre - story of communist haute couture, fashion shows, seasonal clearance sales, the textile and garment industries, and everyday consumer practices, this book explores the paradoxical causes, forms, and consequences of East Germany's attempt to create a communist consumer culture during the Cold War. In attempting to compete with capitalism on the West's terms, East Germany unwittingly bred disgruntled consumers - consumers who ultimately tore down the Wall. Topics covered include gender and consumption, Americanization and Sovietization, women as consumer-citizens, and much more.A rare glimpse into consumerism under state socialism, this book offers unique insights into the Cold War, the dynamics and collapse of communism, and modern consumption.

"Stitziel's great accomplishment in this well-researched book is to offer a multi-dimensional analysis that treats fashion as both a cultural phenomenon and a productive concern. He intertwines this cultural and political history with a fascinating discussion of what the textile-and-garment industry produced and which wares did (and did not) sell. A most impressive achievement." --Donna Harsch, Carnegie Mellon University

"This excellent book explains how and why East German citizens came to judge their standard of living using the capitalist criteria of individual consumption while taking for granted subsidized social consumption. This is genuinely original work, exceptionally well written and fascinating." --Jonathan Steinberg, University of Pennsylvania

"A highly original analysis of the making of a socialist consumer culture, and of how the attempt to forge a socialist personality and modernity with new consumer desires, values, and habits ultimately failed." --Alon Confino, University of Virginia