Beginning with the establishment of the Consulate of 1799 and ending with the 1900 Paris Exposition, the course examines the striking political, economic, and social change of the 19th century. Topics include luxury dress as part of Napoleon's imperial agenda, the dandy in England and France, the rise of the middle class and the proliferation of fashion periodicals and etiquette manuals, the establishment of the couture and the department store, dress reform and aesthetic dress in England and America.
