"Stitched Up delves into the exclusive and alluring world of fashion to expose class division, gender stereotyping and wasteful consumption. Tansy E. Hoskins illuminates the political and sociological dimensions of an industry that promotes and supports the dominant values of our age: image, glamour, money and sex. Hoskins also provides a fascinating historical narrative, showing that in today’s world, the clothes we wear are as indicative of who we are as they were during the reign of Louis XIV. Hoskins tackles key contemporary issues, such as the controversy over “size zero” and the impact of fashion in depleting the world’s natural resources. In a provocative move, Hoskins argues that fashion controls our aspirations and self-worth through a set of impossible beauty standards. At a time when high spending on clothes persists despite the economic recession, Stitched Up provides a unique critical examination of fashion in relation to contemporary culture and the distorting priorities of capitalism."