Fashion, Gender and Agency in Latin American and Spanish Literature

221 Pages·2021·2.26 MB·English

by  Stephanie N. Saunders

Colección Támesis
SERIE A: MONOGRAFÍAS, 392
FASHION, GENDER AND AGENCY
IN LATIN AMERICAN AND SPANISH
LITERATURE
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Tamesis
Founding Editors
†J. E. Varey
†Alan Deyermond
General Editor
Stephen M. Hart
Advisory Board
Andrew M. Beresford
Zoltán Biedermann
Celia Cussen
Efraín Kristal
Jo Labanyi
María E. López
José Antonio Mazzotti
Thea Pitman
Julius Ruiz
Alison Sinclair
Isabel Torres
Noël Valis
MONOGRAFÍAS
ISSN: 0587-9914 (print)
ISSN: 2633-7061 (online)
Monografías publishes critical studies covering a wide range of topics
in the literature, culture and history of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin
America from the Middle Ages to the present day. It aims to promote
intellectually stimulating and innovative scholarship that will make a
major contribution to the fields of Hispanic and Lusophone studies.
Work on un- or under-explored sources and themes or utilising new
methodological and theoretical approaches, as well as interdisciplinary
studies, are particularly encouraged.
Previously published books in the series may be viewed at
https://boydellandbrewer.com/series/monografias-a.html
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FASHION, GENDER AND AGENCY
IN LATIN AMERICAN AND SPANISH
LITERATURE
Stephanie N. Saunders
TAMESIS
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© Stephanie N. Saunders 2021
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Stephanie N. Saunders to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2021
Tamesis, Woodbridge
ISBN 978 1 85566 342 8 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 80010 126 5 (ePDF)
ISBN 978 1 80010 127 2 (ePUB)
Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate
A CIP record for this title is available
from the British Library
Cover image: Shawl fashioned by the Aymara, Fairtrade textile artisans
from the Asociación Flor del Tamarugal, Chile. (Photo by Giuseppe
Pandolfi-de-Rinaldis.)
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To Mub, Tressie, Willa, Evlon, Laura, Ruth and all the women who speak
with a mouth full of pins.
To Paolina Tressie, may you see the world as a beautiful un-cut fabric, full
of possibilities, even when life gives you an imperfect pattern.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Glorifying the Needle and Thread 1
1. On Pins and Needles: Hypermodernity and Hyperclothing
Ourselves 15
2. The Perfect Pattern: Dressmaking as a Political Tool in María
Dueñas’s El tiempo entre costuras 43
3. Lining with Surrealism: Spaces and Stitches in César Aira’s La
costurera y el viento 73
4. Unraveling Gender and Sexual Confinements in Pedro Lemebel’s
Tengo miedo torero 101
5. An Honest Measuring Tape: Peripheral Places in Frances de
Pontes Peebles’s The Seamstress 129
6. Tailoring Peace and Purpose: Sartorial Representations in
Children’s Literature 157
Conclusion: Final Notions: Toward Consumer Consciousness 181
Works Cited 187
Index 197
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While this project bears my name, support, invaluable insights and careful
readership span across many years and spaces. I am indebted to Dr. Susan
E. Carvalho, in particular, for her patient shaping of my research repertoire
and writing. Her selfless and numerous readings of previous research have
been instrumental in the positioning of this project. Thank you for your
caring mentorship over the last fifteen years. Dr. Regina Root, internationally
renowned fashion scholar, has also been a key figure in this project. In addition
to paving the way for fashion studies as a reputable field within Hispanic
Studies, her ground-breaking research and sincere and unshakeable mentorship
and friendship have been vital over the last several years – my most calurosa
gracias. An indebted thank you to Dr. Valerie Steele, internationally renowned
art historian, whose cutting-edge research revolutionized fashion studies as
we know it today, for the gift of time and for reading this manuscript. A
special thank you to Scott Mahler and Dr. Megan Milan for believing in this
project. Megan, thank you for your unshakable support, encouragement and
keen editorial eye.
I would like to thank my international research community. Among those,
Dr. Rodrigo Cánovas and the brilliant faculty at the Universidad Católica in
Santiago, Chile. My summer as a researcher-in-residence greatly widened
the scope of my research. I would also like to thank the support staff at the
Biblioteca Histórica in Santiago and the Biblioteca Nacional. My interna-
tional research team, including Dr. Emily Ahonen, Dr. Kaori Fushiri and Dr.
Annekatrin Hoppe, has contributed to my framework of immigration and place.
My colleagues and students at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, have
supported this project in many ways. I am grateful to Capital University for
supporting three Gerhold Summer projects, which facilitated my international
research, as well as a sabbatical that allowed me to juggle the writing of this
project and the birth of my daughter. Also, in particular, my dear friend and
colleague, fashionista-extraordinaire Dr. Dina Lentsner, offered numerous,
selfless readings and editorial insights. In my most difficult moments you
provided a tireless source of encouragement, spasibo. Dr. María José Delgado
read the manuscript with attention and offered invaluable feedback and encour-
agement. Dr. Alan Stam offered many editorial suggestions and much support.
I also thank Dr. Reg Dyck, Carl Acton and Dr. Dan Deffenbaugh for reading
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