“Indeed, I would go further and argue that dress can reflect economic situation, social class, and cultural orientation and identity.” (324)
“Particular garments stood out in his memory precisely because clothing was a rare and costly commodity, which, for him and probably for many poor people, performed a dual role. Protective clothing was a necessity, escpecially for those agricultural laborers whose jobs involved much walking and workign out of doors in all weathers. Paradoxically, however, it was also a luxury, because after rent, food and fuel had been paid for, there must have been very little left out of the total earnings brought in by a fmaily to spend on clothing—a fact to which the above accounts testify.” (326)
Lots of information abotu smocks and sun-bonnets (328, 331)
“rustic stereotype manifested in traditional representations of milkmaids and gleaners” (334)
“The Dorsetshire Labourer” FIND THIS STORY/BOOK/ARTICLE
rural simplicity of tess—Hardy’s use of the sun-bonnet; perceptions of rural dress because Hardy’s readership was urban and middle class(335)
Alec and his smock-frock (337)
attitudes and changes in dress, hand-crafting of garments (339)
WHAT ROLE DOES THE SUN-BONNET PLAY AS BOTH A NOSTALGIC TOOL AND A SIGNIFIER OF CLASS, TIME PERIOD, CULTURE? HOW IS HARDY’S WRITING SITUATED FOR HIS AUDIENCE; WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HIS USE OF DRESS? FASHION, ETC? HOW IS THIS PERCEPTION OF TESS’S DRESS TO BE COMPARED WITH HER DRESS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE NOVEL—HER MARRIED TO ALEC CLOTHES, HER CLOTHES BOUGHT BY ANGEL?
Reason Breeds Insanity 