Oscar Wilde On Dress
Now in a New Updated and Expanded Artisan Edition.
Back in 2012 I rediscovered Oscar Wilde’s essay “The Philosophy of Dress” and published it the following year in a limited hardback bibliophile edition. That publication represented the essay’s first appearance in book form, and the first posthumous release of a lost work by Wilde.
I am now pleased to introduce the book in an updated and expanded softcover artisan edition.
The new book is distinguished by its loving production values. Wrapped in an embossed letter-pressed cover—with die-cuts taken from French dressmakers’ curves—and between decorative endpapers, lie lavish margins, elegant drop caps, and graceful Chiswick ornament. Indeed, the informed decadent might recognize its utterly Chameleon-like character.
The edition contains much new research, and an entirely new collection of articles and letters by female dress reform advocates of the period—which appear now in print for the first time since their initial publication in the Pall Mall Gazette in the 1880s.
Also new to this edition are contributions by Oscar’s mother and his wife, Constance.
Finally, as a supplement, and also published for the first time in book form, are “The Strand Letters”— a collection of invited comments from leading artists of the day on the subject of ladies’ dress, which appeared in The Strand magazine in 1891 and which notably support theories Wilde was espousing years earlier..
The result is a definitive examination of Wilde’s relationship to dress—an overlooked aspect in Wilde studies—that also constitutes a unique collection of Victorian dress theory.
Oscar Wilde continues to be favorably reappraised as one of the most culturally avant-garde tastemakers of the late nineteenth century. In an ever-fashion-conscious world, the themes explored, like Wilde himself, are still relevant. In this respect, this book will also be of deep interest and value to fashion students, historians, and practitioners.
INTERVIEW
I was recently invited back on to the popular New York podcast The Gilded Gentleman, to talk about the book.
You can hear that episode by clicking on the link below:
© John Cooper, 2025.
Recently purchased this yellow beauty, that found me on the wings of an aesthetic and literary force.
Very poetic Mr Bill.