| These essays speak about the visible items, like clothing, jewellery, the opulence of the elite, fashion and styles, but they also inform the reader about the manner in which these connect with the political and social evolutions. In and between these lines, one may guess the existence of important themes regarding the history of textiles, the transfers of the commercial venues and of the different artisan centres, the professionalization of the various fields in the history of fashion and the connection with the introduction and proliferation of steam-powered machinery and later of electrical equipment, about Orientalism and Balkanism as themes that are still prone for analysis. In their way, clothing items also take part in the social and political transformations that have accompanied the changes induced by the multiple modernities traversed by the Balkan societies. Tissues, colours, threads, barrels and buttons, lace and jewellery, these are marvellous documents that can facilitate ones passage through the intimacy of a distant world, and an understanding of appearances. They will supply some answers, but will certainly open many research paths. |
