In the 20th century, the rise of industrialization, globalization, and modernism led to a huge number of subcultures, most of which are characterized by being young. As subcultures get more attention from the media, they become part of the mainstream, and their styles are often adopted by the fashion industry. From flappers and teddy boys to punk and grunge, the book will look at how these subcultures have influenced fashion.
Subcultures inspire, influence, and blend into each other. For example, hippies were a continuation of the beat movement and were influenced by the surfer lifestyle. The first skinheads were influenced by Jamaica’s rudeboys and London’s mods. There is also a recurring theme of “the hipster,” a word that came from Harlem in the 1920s. It comes from the words “hip” and “hep,” which mean “different” and “ahead of the curve.” This idea has helped us understand subcultures like the zoot suiters, the jazz-loving hipsters of the 1940s, the beatniks, the hippies, and the beard-wearing skinny jeans hipsters of today.
It shows pictures from the past and present and gives colorful details about each group to give a full picture of each subculture.
Reviews
Glamour magazine’s Christmas gift guide, December 2016
Running in Heels Review, October 13, 2016
Style Tribes is a powerful book that shows how fashion is not a waste of time. Instead, it’s a way of life and a sign of identity that we shouldn’t take for granted.
Review: January 30, 2017; History Wardrobe
Reading Style Tribes is like slipping on a well-worn pair of classic jeans: you know what to expect and you enjoy it. The order of events takes us through a long list of fashions that were all very new at the time.
Fashion Savage, a review of a fashion book on Friday, November 4, 2016
The book tells the stories of 30 different identities from the last 100 years, ranging from the Flappers and the Harlem Renaissance to Mods, Punks, and the Harajuku style. Style Tribes is an encyclopedic look at the origins, effects, and legacies of these popular youth movements, with photos from the past and present.
The Fashion Subcultures: A Review, Burgundy Whispers, October 6, 2016
Just looking at the pictures in Style Tribes gives us an idea of what fashion bloggers were like back then. This lets us make a connection and figure out how these different subcultures grew. This book is more than a coffee table book; it will get you talking and make you think more about how to blog about fashion.
Review, 11 October 2010, High Latitude Style
Caroline Young’s Style Tribes: The Fashion of Subcultures is a well-researched fashion history book that every woman who is interested in the history of fashion, style, and music should read. It will teach you a lot about yourself if you read it.
Review, August 11, 2017, Sustainability Style
A kick-butt reference guide for style lovers
Review, November 2, 2016, Fashionable Cleveland
The book is like a fashion encyclopedia because it looks at the history of each style and includes colorful photos from when that style was most popular. Young’s experience as a journalist helps her readers because she explains the cultural effects of each style in a clear and concise way.
Prairie Beauty Love: A Book Review, October 12, 2016
This book goes into a lot of detail about a lot of different cultures that I think a lot of us know about but don’t know much about their histories. Because this book is so well-researched and full, I think it’s a must-have for anyone who wants to learn about the history of fashion and subculture. This would also make a great coffee table book that people would want to pick up and read. I really and truly give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!
This year’s best books on fashion and style, August 30, 2017, The Culture Trip
This big book tells the story of 100 years of fashion and looks at how fashion has changed and reflected culture over the years. From the Harlem Renaissance to the Swing Kids of Nazi Germany, including the Beatniks, Disco, Neo-Rockabillies, and Sapeurs in between, Young puts together a complete, elegant, and interesting history of fashion.
