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Laws And Fashion

Posted on:2016-06-20Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:J X CuiFull Text:PDF
GTID:2296330467457386Subject:Art theory
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
In the late Middle Ages, the fashion in Italy is prosperous and flourishing, and the exquisitecostume has become a kind of luxury consumption. The governments had formulated a lot oflaws to forbid the luxuries in order to constraint the fashion of the period. However,SumptuaryLaws don’t restrict the development of fashion, instead promote its development. This thesiswill begin with the Sumptuary Laws and fashion in the period of Italy, and study the relationshipbetween laws and fashion.First of all, it had achieved great progress in the terms of economic and social life, whichbrought extremely extravagant to people s costume and consumption, and result in a lot ofSumptuary Laws of Clothes in Italy by the government.Secondly, the excessive luxurious and bold fashion aroused the attention of the legislator inlate Middle Ages in Italy, they focused on the prohibition of costumes. This paper aims toanalysis the motivation about Sumptuary Laws which is multiple and complicated includingthe aspects of economic, moral, politic and so on.Thirdly, it intensively explored the deeply intension of Sumptuary Laws, that was thesociety could remain stable through managing and disciplining body. But the fashion wasassociated more with body to express their desire, while the emphasis on personality wasopposite to social order. Although sumptuary laws applied to male and female to manage body,female became a primary object and they made respond to the laws, under the influence ofpatriarchal society and Christian Culture. Meanwhile, sumptuary laws were also used to managebody of other social groups, such as hookers and the Jews etc.. Sumptuary laws were one of theway to define different social groups, religion, gender, or to maintain class distinction by thegovernor.Fourthly, it discussed the execution of Sumptuary Laws and reasons of ultimate failure. it is impossible to prohibit the fashion because of its nature and rulers ambivalence to the use ofluxury.In conclusion, it pointed out the relationship between Sumptuary Laws and fashion. Firstly,legal restrictions on fashion promote new fashion, and In order to limit new fashion, the lawscontinue to increase. Secondly, legal restrictions on fashion may make really originally simpledress become a fashion.
Keywords/Search Tags:Sumptuary Laws, Fashion, Clothes Ban
PDF Full Text Request
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