Becoming fashionable: Actresses, fashion, and the development of American consumer culture, 1893--1919

This dissertation examines the convergence of the theatre and fashion industries in New York City between 1893 and 1919 and considers the extent to which a heightened emphasis on accurate and expensive costuming in contemporary society drama, vaudeville, and the revue transformed the commercial theatre into a fashion showroom. Bridging recent work in theatre history, cultural studies, film history, fashion history, and women's history, I argue that this "revolution in modern gowns" facilitated a new and complicated dynamic among actresses, theatre managers and producers, female audiences, fashion designers, and beauty product manufacturers. My goal in exploring this dynamic is to demonstrate how turn-of-the-century concerns about gender, class, and race became intertwined with the development of mass consumption and the cult of celebrity. The "revolution in modern gowns" set into play a series of complex and contradictory processes that redefined what it meant to be a professional actress, intensified competition between "stage-struck girls" and established theatrical performers, changed the way audiences---predominantly women---went to the theatre, gave managers an opportunity to strengthen business relationships with advertisers, influenced the American fashion industry, and fostered the development of a cult of celebrity.;The term 'becoming' is particularly apt for an analysis of "the revolution in modern gowns" and its effect on American culture. Used as a verb, 'becoming' can refer to the individual's ongoing quest for subjectivity; as an adjective, it can refer to the need, or desire, to present oneself as attractive and appealing. It also hints at the very instability of fashion itself, a perpetual process of rejection and renewal, an unceasing search for 'the new.' The other key word in this study is 'authenticity.' In a period when distinguishing between a 'real' product/person/label and an imitation was becoming increasingly difficult, proving authenticity was essential for anyone hoping to attract attention/friends/fans/consumers. In doing so, they not only affirmed their status, but also implied that their competitors were 'false.' "Becoming fashionable" was therefore inextricably linked with presenting oneself as 'authentic.'...