Beyond Vanity

From the award-winning author of Dressing Up, a riveting and diverse history of women’s hair that reestablishes the cultural power of hairdressing in nineteenth-century America.


In the nineteenth century, the complex cultural meaning of hair was not only significant, but it could also impact one’s place in society. After the Civil War, hairdressing was also a growing profession and the hair industry a mainstay of local, national, and international commerce. In Beyond Vanity, Elizabeth Block expands the nascent field of hair studies by restoring women’s hair as a cultural site of meaning in the early United States. With a special focus on the places and spaces in which the hair industry operated, Block argues that the importance of hair has been overlooked due to its ephemerality as well as its misguided association with frivolity and triviality. As Block clarifies, hairdressing was anything but frivolous.

Using methods of visual and material culture studies informed by concepts of cultural geography, Block identifies multiple substantive categories of place and space within which hair acted. These include the preparatory places of the bedroom, hair salon, and enslaved peoples’ quarters, as well as the presentation places of parties, fairs, stages, and workplaces. Here are also the untold stories of business owners, many of whom were women of color, and the creators of trendsetting styles like the pompadour and Gibson Girl bouffant. Block’s ground-breaking study examines how race and racism affected who participated in the presentation and business of hair, and according to which standards. The result of looking closely at the places and spaces of hair is a reconfiguration that allows a new understanding of the cultural power of hair in the period.1 Introduction: Beyond Vanity
2 Bedrooms, Barbershops, and Parlors
3 Parties, Stages, and Studios
4 Workplace and Marketplace
5 In Motion and Outdoors
6 The International Marketplace
7 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index“A lot of fascinating stories . . . there is much to learn from Elizabeth Block’s new book, which is written as eloquently as her first book, Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion, a volume I would recommend to anyone interested in the story of fashion.”
—Forbes

“Beyond Vanity takes on hair and hairdressing in early America as the important cultural signifiers that they are . . . Yes, it’s a fascinating look at some fashionable and fabulous material culture, and is beautifully illustrated, but it’s also a clear reminder of how much the culture around hair reflects the racial and economic inequalities of society writ large.”
—Hyperallergic

“The book is meticulously organized, with each element contributing to the validation of her central thesis. Given Block’s stature as a prominent art historian, this level of excellence is expected, yet it’s always gratifying when she so precisely addresses our interests.”
—Daily Art Magazine

“While hair itself might have no intrinsic value, for centuries meaning has been assigned to it and it has played a vital role in our history. Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing seeks to untangle this role and the impact of women’s hair on culture throughout history.”
—Dazed

“A fascinating look at how hair was a powerful medium through which status and class were illustrated.”
—ELLE Canada


“Block . . . combs (not literally) through the complex cultural meaning of late 19th-century hair in America.”
—George Washington University Magazine“This beautifully illustrated volume explores the critical importance of hairdressing, skillfully encapsulating our profession’s profound historical and cultural significance while highlighting our commitment to women's lived experiences. It is a welcome resource and tribute to our professional legacies.”
—Frédéric Fekkai, Founder, FEKKAI and Bastide Aix-en-Provence

“Block’s meticulously researched study offers a new perspective on the significance of women’s hair and its styling and dressing in the wider context of the United States at a time of huge social and technological change. Examining the impact of hair styling on women’s lived experiences, this accessibly written book is an excellent addition to the expanding corpus of historical scholarship.”
—Geraldine Biddle-Perry, General Editor of A Cultural History of Hair
 
“Block enriches our understanding of how women, through their hair styles and practices, navigated their worlds; conversely, she shows how women’s intimate hair practices influenced everything from ideology to architecture to economies. Beyond Vanity’s forceful demonstration of all the ways that hair matters is both methodologically significant and aesthetically riveting: its images left me gasping page after page.”
—Sarah Mesle, editor of Avidly; senior editor-at-large of the Los Angeles Review of BooksElizabeth L. Block is an art historian, Senior Editor in the Publications and Editorial Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the author of Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion (MIT Press).