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Reading In Vogue: The Function Of Fashion In Three Chopin Short Stories, Rachael Scardelli

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Since its debut in 1892, Vogue magazine has been a temple for fashion and consumerism amongst the elite. It provided instructions on mannerisms, tastes, marriages, and the latest styles. In 1900, the average family income was $769 with $108 allocated to clothing costs; the average elite consumer was spending more than $556 on clothing per year. Today, that would be a clothing budget of more than $12,000. With the ever-increasing interest in cultural studies of objects, particularly clothing and fashion, it is startling that more has not been done with the nineteen short stories Kate Chopin published in the magazine …