"Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling American Style" by Cintra Wilson

"Fear and Clothing" is a fascinating look at what Americans wear and what their fashion choices say about their values, lifestyles, and socioeconomic opportunities. Cintra Wilson travels across the country to experience regional styles and events, and describes it all in hilarious detail. Nothing is too "middle America" for this New York Times fashion columnist to visit; her list includes the Kentucky Derby, the Iowa State Fair,  and Salt Lake City thrift shops. She doesn't stop there, however, as some of the more esoteric designers in Manhattan and the most aggressively "anti-social" subcultures of San Francisco also receive her careful examination.

Wilson is, above all else, an exceptional writer. She deftly describes the clothing and personalities she encounters along the way, and is unsparing in her judgment of both. Her strong voice grabbed me from the first page and kept me reading straight to the end. One of the passages I enjoyed the most playfully skewered the wardrobe of former high-ranking military officers in Washington, D.C., who suddenly find themselves jettisoned into the civilian world without an explicitly defined dress code. The chapter covering Salt Lake City drew interesting and sympathetic parallels between the observant Mormon dress code and the horrific ordeal undergone by Elizabeth Smart. I'll admit that many of her references to famous designers went clear over my head, but I was still able to follow her train of thought. Above all else, Wilson reminds readers that while clothing expresses who the wearer is, fashion can also be aspirational; who do we want to become? After reading this, I felt like diving into my own closet to examine what I tell the world.