Made to Dress Like a Woman and Go to Work

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· 241 ratings · 50 reviews

Start your review of Dress Like a Woman: Working Women and What They Wore

May 09, 2018 Nat rated it really liked it

I was overjoyed at the sight of this in my mail, courtesy of Abrams Books.

Dress Like a Woman 1-- bookspoils

What does it mean to dress like a woman?

Today, a woman can be a surgeon, an artist, an astronaut, a military officer, an athlete, a judge, a scientist--the possibilities are endless. The photographs inside this book depict women--both familiar and unknown--who inhibit a fascinating intersection of fashion, gender, class, nationality, and race, proving there is no single answer to this question. With ess

I was overjoyed at the sight of this in my mail, courtesy of Abrams Books.

Dress Like a Woman 1-- bookspoils

What does it mean to dress like a woman?

Beyond the empowering concept set behind Dress Like a Woman , this is the most beautiful book I've received to date. The high-quality images produced in here, ranging into the world of women through time and space (literally), astonishes me. The creative people behind this book put all their toil into this compilation, and you can feel it through the detailed pages. WE NEED MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS!!

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ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: February 27, 2018

Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Dress Like a Woman,just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!

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Aug 01, 2018 Alicia rated it liked it

Why I enjoyed this book and would have loved to give it five stars: It's a beautiful look back at dressing like a woman and what that means around the world, back in the day, present day, and more and represents all kinds of work from artists to writers to first ladies. It's pay homage to the working woman.

Why I couldn't give it five stars: I wanted more! The layout that varied from two-page spreads, full pages, or several squares captioned the woman's culture, the date, sometimes a name and lo

Why I couldn't give it five stars: I wanted more! The layout that varied from two-page spreads, full pages, or several squares captioned the woman's culture, the date, sometimes a name and location. The two-page spreads and full pages had the caption on a completely separate page and not organized how I would have read to understand what I was seeing (or disappointingly what I just saw) and led me to flip back and forth. I needed more. I needed it to explain what I was seeing, why a woman would choose to dress this way whether for functionality, available textiles of the time, ingenuity, etc. I wanted it to be either chronological, by career field, through interviews, actual dress codes, research, historical documents, SOMETHING!

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"Dress Like a Woman" is a perfect book to read for Women's History Month. It is a gorgeous book filled with pictures of women at work. Historically (and sometimes still in the present day), women have had to fight in order to be included in the workforce. Women have a huge role in making the world go around and this book celebrates that! Being a working woman, I loved seeing pictures of those who have come before me in order to allow me to do what I want to do with my career.

Although most of th

Although most of the pictures that it includes focuses on American women, there are still a bunch of photos dedicated to other parts of the world. I loved seeing the differences between women around the world and between women of different times. This is truly a beautiful book!

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Jul 04, 2018 Christen rated it it was amazing

This is a gorgeous book, both in intention and presentation. In response to Trump's "dress like a woman" comment the editors have compiled an array of photographs portraying women in various work environments in many cultures and time periods.

Some photographs are candid while some are posed. Some are of women you know and will recognize while many are of everyday women. All are of women doing the things they do and wearing what they wear. I found each photograph remarkable in its simplicity, in

It would be easy to quickly flip through the pages but I suggest taking the time to really consider each one. My only complaint is that some of the more spectacular photos were made into double page spreads causing parts of the picture to be distorted into the center crease. It was harder to appreciate those photos.

I would say this is more an art book than it is a nonfiction book. If you are looking for comprehensive histories of each time period or country you will not find it in this book. It has been criticized for not providing enough information about each photograph or the setting of the photographs. I don't believe that was the purpose of this compilation. Instead it offers the reader brief captions and the opportunity to question, explore, and research what they found interesting or inconsistencies they noticed. The editor does not spoon feed the reader background information but isn't that an exciting chance to become inspired and to take the reins of your own learning and go find out more?

It is not organized by time or country. I think that has also been criticized by some readers but I liked it. The book wasn't meant to compare all women from a certain time period or country. Organizing it would lead you to make those comparisons.

One more criticism I noticed when reading other peoples reviews is that the book does not represent professions that are commonly thought of as women's careers (think nurse, teacher, librarian, flight attendants), unpaid (and often under appreciated) work in the home, and illegal work such as prostitution. I agree with the latter two. It would have been nice to see those women represented. As for the former, I believe that those images are often over represented. Those women hold important jobs but part of this book was pushing past those stereotypes. There was a teacher or two and a few nurses but they were only a small fraction of the jobs represented. I don't think the book is any less substantial bc those professions weren't more focused on.

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Apr 14, 2019 Rachel rated it it was amazing

4.75 out of 5.

I loved this. In the end this is a fantastic collection of women working. I think title can be a turn off if you think it's only about 'fashion' but for me it's more complex. There are all kinds of women here from those in the navy with their plucked brows in the 40s, to women with lots of jewelry and fabric throughout the years, to office workers in the 70s. Though there are some well-known women in here I enjoyed being introduced to a host of people and their historic accomplish

4.75 out of 5.

It doesn't get a full 5 rating from me because of the blasted format. I don't understand why some art/photography books will do the one massive picture with the spine cutting into the center unless it's a picture than can handle that - a person sitting in the middle with their face cut and distorted cannot. I'd rather have to turn the book sideways! It's not the worst I've seen but it is a shame and I think is unintentionally disrespectful given the subject.

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I loved this book so much! Yes, it is just photos of women at work, but that is exactly what makes the book powerful. There is nothing but women from all over the world working in various fields wearing what they do to get the job done. It was inspiring for me to see and I hope to buy this book for my future children. (I checked it out from the library.

Apr 03, 2018 Anne rated it really liked it

Well, first of all, it's an Abrams book, so it's beautiful. I flipped through it pretty quickly the first time, but found my self going back to spend more time on each photo. Some of the juxtapositions I found interesting and thought-provoking. Others I just didn't get at all. But that was thought-provoking, too. Well, first of all, it's an Abrams book, so it's beautiful. I flipped through it pretty quickly the first time, but found my self going back to spend more time on each photo. Some of the juxtapositions I found interesting and thought-provoking. Others I just didn't get at all. But that was thought-provoking, too. ...more

This is an interesting and attractive book to flip through, although the coverage of the topic and the choice of photographs leaves something to be desired.

The creators of this book do not give much historical context about each photograph other than a short caption. There were times when I was taken by an image and wished I had more information about it. The forward and introduction, by Roxane Gay and Vanessa Friedman, respectively, don't go into much depth either.

The photographs in this book

This is an interesting and attractive book to flip through, although the coverage of the topic and the choice of photographs leaves something to be desired.

The photographs in this book come from various countries and time periods. They are presented in no discernible thematic order. Many of the photographs are of women in Europe and North America. A good number are these are of women who worked during WWII in the UK and US. To the book's credit, among the pictures from the US there is a strong representation of African-American women, which is logical seeing as many African-American women worked outside of the home before middle class whites women did so en masse in the 1960s and 1970s. There are a fair amount of photographs of women from other parts of the world, although ironically many of the photos of non-western women are of garment factory workers. This issue is never really discussed in the book. In Vanessa Friedman's introduction she describes "the assertive sapphire blue of a Bangladeshi garment worker's sari, refusing to be dismissed or blend into the background, insisting the individual be seen on the way to perhaps being heard" but doesn't touch on the fact that this woman probably works for poverty wages in an unsafe environment to make cheap clothing for western consumers.

My biggest issue with this book is that it defines working women as "women in the world (as opposed to, say, women in the home)" (Friedman's introduction), therefore ignoring the unpaid labor in domestic and child rearing tasks that has historically been performed by women. The majority of the photographs in the book depict well known historical figures and entertainers or else women working in fields considered masculine such as anything STEM, manufacturing, law enforcement and medicine. There seem to be relatively fewer images of women in jobs considered traditionally feminine. I don't recall many pictures of women working as teachers, librarians, daycare workers, flight attendants, waitresses, cooks, or social workers. There is no representation of sex workers either unless you count a photograph of a burlesque performer.

All in all this book is worth checking out for the fascinating and often beautiful photographs but it could have been more balanced and nuanced.

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Mar 09, 2018 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Flipped through briefly when I saw this at work. Lots of awesome pictures of empowering working women. Definitely worth a look.

This was a fabulous thing to see. Women doing all kinds of work and wearing all kinds of things while doing it.

Apr 09, 2018 Vickie rated it really liked it

It was surprising for me to learn that women have been working in diversified fields and throughout the globe, a great deal longer than I knew. During World War II, many women were asked to fill many traditionally male jobs till they returned from war. I had thought, though that outside of that brief period of time, many women stayed at home or had traditional "women's work" for the most part up until the 1960's. These photos, however, showed that, at least some women were quite active even in t It was surprising for me to learn that women have been working in diversified fields and throughout the globe, a great deal longer than I knew. During World War II, many women were asked to fill many traditionally male jobs till they returned from war. I had thought, though that outside of that brief period of time, many women stayed at home or had traditional "women's work" for the most part up until the 1960's. These photos, however, showed that, at least some women were quite active even in the early 1900's, doing a wide variety of jobs. The captioned photos and explanations created a shift in my thinking. Seeing actual photos, allowed me to feel the tremendous capacity and dignity of women, more deeply than ever before. I am definitely not minimizing stay-at-home-moms, I benefited from my mom's attention and I did a stint for a while too - I loved spending time with my kids. I am celebrating, however the expansion of job opportunities. Finding a job one is suited to, loves and is given opportunity to do is amazing. Women have unique qualities which they bring to wherever they are, which can be very beneficial to everyone.

Another important aspect of the book is allowing female students freedom to wear pants to school and to work by Title IX, mentioned in the book. This aspect of history is very much alive for me. It was not until my last year of high school that I was allowed to wear pants to school in sub-zero weather, for example. This change in the law was very significant because it allowed, as the author notes, women to wear what is needed to feel comfortable and is appropriate for their jobs and school, as well as help lessen discrimination. Women, the author mentions, had not just given guidelines for professional appearance at work or school, but guidelines according to what men felt constituted the very essence of a woman - a very narrowly defined, limited definition of the purpose and capacity of women.

I love that these very important topics were covered and that it took my understanding to another level. I kept feeling, however, that an additional aspect needed to be covered - maybe adding photos from the last few current decades, or some other aspect which I can not pinpoint right now. I also felt that the material, presented in a slightly different format would have been a bit more engaging and exciting vs. solely enlightening.

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Jun 30, 2022 Bexan rated it liked it

I really found this an interesting photo collection of a variety of working women. There were a ton of variety!

I did, however, choose to give it a 3 star review because of the foreward written by Roxane Gay, which I very much disagreed with. Roxane Gay does not consider male dress codes a cultural expectation of masculinity, just a standard of "Professionalism."

As a gender non conforming person, this really annoyed me because these dress codes are LITERALLY designed to make me adhere to a standa

I really found this an interesting photo collection of a variety of working women. There were a ton of variety!

As a gender non conforming person, this really annoyed me because these dress codes are LITERALLY designed to make me adhere to a standard of masculinity that I do not have any interest in participating. I intentionally have long hair, and I've been told if I want to get success after law school I will need to cut it, which I will not be doing.

I think that Gay is applying a very narrow range of potential impacts of social standards of gender, which has been outdated for decades. I would even argue that the modern day women's dress in the office is significantly more open and liberated then men's dress, which still hasn't managed to escape the rise of the lounge suit in the late 1800s and the popularity of clean shaven short hair cuts brought about by the trenches of WW1. I think to argue that the standards applied to me are mere professionalism while the standards applied to women in the office is sexism is narrow and fails to consider people who reject the gender binary or fall at a place beside STRICT MALE.

At one point gay says
"To dress like a woman is to ignore that women are individuals who have independent and diverse notions of how they wish to present themselves to the world."
Without realizing that she just described a single breasted gray flannel suit, 2 buttons, solid color tie, white dress shirt, and black dress shoes.

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Jan 10, 2019 Stven rated it it was ok

This is fundamentally a collection of photographs of women working at a vast variety of tasks, trades, vocations, etc., assembled on the presumption that it'll be interesting to see the vast variety of clothes they wear while they're working. It's an interesting premise and I expected to be a lot more intrigued than I actually was. There are a couple of forewords and they say all the obvious things to say about the subject, and then after that the only text is the captions for the photographs, a This is fundamentally a collection of photographs of women working at a vast variety of tasks, trades, vocations, etc., assembled on the presumption that it'll be interesting to see the vast variety of clothes they wear while they're working. It's an interesting premise and I expected to be a lot more intrigued than I actually was. There are a couple of forewords and they say all the obvious things to say about the subject, and then after that the only text is the captions for the photographs, and somehow they manage to make the whole idea seem boring. There's one more thing I didn't care for about the book: the fact that it's printed on a very heavy, slick paper stock, even heavier than a typical textbook, so heavy that it's difficult to turn the pages.

A much more interesting book, in my opinion, is Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton.

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Apr 28, 2019 Danielle rated it it was ok

This book presents itself as a historical archive of working women's fashion, which is a nice attempt. Beautiful images and the captions are really helpful. The first half of the book feels US centric, which makes sense because the authors are American.

Issues with the book is that it feels like it was thought up due to the social media movement #dresslikeawoman. This is mentioned in the introduction, along with personal anecdotes. If something is trying to be a historical piece, then there's no room for your personal story. The introduction is the only real writing of the book and the book would have been better to cut half of it out. It was a well written rant. Some of the images that spanned both pages were placed so that the outfit or subject of the picture was hidden in the binding, which was a bit frustrating.

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Apr 10, 2018 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Dress Like a Woman is a powerful book of photography. In addition to a great essay by Roxane Gay, the over 200 photographs that span form the 1800s to present day show the variety of workplaces, roles and outfits women have worn over the years. There are many famous faces, like Georgia O'Keefe, Elizabeth Taylor, Alice Paul, and Angela Davis, just to name a few, but the majority of the subjects are unnamed. My one criticism is that there seemed to be no clear method of organizing the photographs. Dress Like a Woman is a powerful book of photography. In addition to a great essay by Roxane Gay, the over 200 photographs that span form the 1800s to present day show the variety of workplaces, roles and outfits women have worn over the years. There are many famous faces, like Georgia O'Keefe, Elizabeth Taylor, Alice Paul, and Angela Davis, just to name a few, but the majority of the subjects are unnamed. My one criticism is that there seemed to be no clear method of organizing the photographs. I don't think this was a major detraction from the book, but it would have been neat to have some sort of organization to it, even if it wasn't chronological. ...more

Aug 23, 2021 Dan Downing rated it it was amazing

Another in a long line of incredibly lavish photographic books that sold for a song. We readers are richer for it.
I find a bit of confusion melded into the charms of this volume. On the copyright page we are given the names of three editors; the cover tells us who wrote the Forward (Roxane Gay) and the Introduction (Vanessa Friedman). But who wrote the picture captions? Certainly some, at least, were written by a UK native. But no matter. Probably the editors and they did a bang-up job. The phot Another in a long line of incredibly lavish photographic books that sold for a song. We readers are richer for it.
I find a bit of confusion melded into the charms of this volume. On the copyright page we are given the names of three editors; the cover tells us who wrote the Forward (Roxane Gay) and the Introduction (Vanessa Friedman). But who wrote the picture captions? Certainly some, at least, were written by a UK native. But no matter. Probably the editors and they did a bang-up job. The photos are exquisite. The selection covers the world and ranges over a century in time. Many messages may be read into these photos or they may be simply gazed at in wonder.
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May 08, 2018 Jules rated it it was amazing

This was such an interesting read! It was really great that every picture had some sort of explanation next to it so that, if desired, you could go and dig up a little extra info on it. It was also really nice to see some of the recolored pictures. Often when we see pics in black and white, we get the feeling that they happened ages ago... when in reality, some were only 40 or so years. Once the picture is colored though, that sense of distance through time disappears and you feel like you could This was such an interesting read! It was really great that every picture had some sort of explanation next to it so that, if desired, you could go and dig up a little extra info on it. It was also really nice to see some of the recolored pictures. Often when we see pics in black and white, we get the feeling that they happened ages ago... when in reality, some were only 40 or so years. Once the picture is colored though, that sense of distance through time disappears and you feel like you could be looking at something that happened today. ...more

Jan 07, 2019 Denise rated it it was amazing

Pros: What a fascinating topic and so well laid out with the photos NOT being in chronological order. Brilliant! So each time you flip a page, you'll never know what era you'll encounter next. Great representation from women and their occupations from around the world. The careers varied, from cultural, to executive types and more importantly, the every day, every woman's job.

Cons: None - although it would have been interesting to give salary information for the varying jobs. But this is not nec

Cons: None - although it would have been interesting to give salary information for the varying jobs. But this is not necessary nor does it take away from the main purpose of this book, which is -- women rock the world!!

Cover art: 5 out of 5 - Perfect representation of what's inside between the covers.

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Sep 11, 2020 Jan Lynch rated it it was amazing

How striking, how evocative this book is. Indigenous women fishing, weaving, sorting millet, or grinding grain; chorus girls, car-hop girls, or actresses; suffragists, civil rights activists, or autism activists; mechanics, pilots, doctors. Dress Like a Woman showcases women from different eras, places, and professions, their images intermingled. The effect is one of timelessness, of unity, and of the beautiful strength of women. I borrowed this book from the library, but it is coffee table mate How striking, how evocative this book is. Indigenous women fishing, weaving, sorting millet, or grinding grain; chorus girls, car-hop girls, or actresses; suffragists, civil rights activists, or autism activists; mechanics, pilots, doctors. Dress Like a Woman showcases women from different eras, places, and professions, their images intermingled. The effect is one of timelessness, of unity, and of the beautiful strength of women. I borrowed this book from the library, but it is coffee table material, well worth its cost. ...more

I enjoyed reading this book and was inspired as a woman by the history of countless women before me who have been and are doctors, scientists, advocates, lawyers, teachers with babies on their hips, divers, factory workers, and much more. This book shows how intelligent and resilient and hardworking women are. I intend to buy this book for my little girl cousins to teach them they're intelligent and powerful as young women.

Apr 28, 2021 Marissa rated it really liked it

This is a very neat collection of photographs featuring women throughout history at work. There are some from around the world and a variety of roles shown, featuring everyone from some well known names/faces to the women who could be your next door neighbor or someone in your community. The leading essays are great for centering the focus on the intersection of clothing and being a woman. An interesting compilation!

May 09, 2021 Cameron Toney rated it really liked it

This is a beautiful book, full of images of women in their working clothes. It is fascinating, to see what women have worn, and what they have done through out history.
Where I wish this book had just a little bit more was in the context. The images are presented almost without information, and no move is made to paint a bigger picture.
But thats generally a minor quibble. The books gives us the images, and lets us draw our own conclusions.

It is a beautiful book with great photos but lacks organization. Or I should say a different organization. Photos seem to be together if the clothing is similar. 1943 is next to 1975. I would have liked it better if they were grouped by similar jobs and a time progression. I feel like I would have learned more that way rather than just looked at beautiful pictures.

Mar 09, 2022 Michael rated it it was amazing

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May 26, 2018 Joanne rated it really liked it

Coffee table photography book featuring historical photos of working women. My favorites are those from WW2, like the one of a group of female fire fighters at Pearl Harbor.

It could use some organizing and commentary, perhaps by chronology.

Aug 02, 2018 Claire rated it it was amazing

I really appreciate that this book showed women from all demographics, all time periods, from every corner of the world--not just 70s-era white American women. The forward by Roxane Gay made this book super legit, so bravo @ whoever's idea that was to ask her to be a part of this project I really appreciate that this book showed women from all demographics, all time periods, from every corner of the world--not just 70s-era white American women. The forward by Roxane Gay made this book super legit, so bravo @ whoever's idea that was to ask her to be a part of this project ...more

Feb 20, 2020 Dayna rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed the photographs and the information that went along with them. Some of the women I had not known about and I found myself doing much more research to learn more about those who paved the way. I appreciated every bit of this book and would definitely recommend this to all!

Dec 06, 2020 Kelly Magro rated it really liked it

Awesome collection of photographs from various time periods and cultures depicting women kicking ass in skirts or pants, heels or boots and just generally being badass human beings doing everything men can do.

Mar 17, 2021 Pamela Likely rated it it was amazing

Great pictures of women in different work attire. Beautiful! Women rule and looking good
while they do it. I was sold on this book when I found out Roxane Gay wrote the forward. Enough said I was in and I'm glad I did. Perfect read for Women's month Great pictures of women in different work attire. Beautiful! Women rule and looking good
while they do it. I was sold on this book when I found out Roxane Gay wrote the forward. Enough said I was in and I'm glad I did. Perfect read for Women's month ...more

Jan 14, 2022 Meredith rated it really liked it

This book was very interesting. The photos are wonderful and tell a story in themselves. I shared this with my teen daughters and they loved to see all the various jobs women do and how they dress. Great coffee table book or gift for any woman.