dc.contributor.author | Coetzee, Liza-Mari | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-11-25T12:26:35Z | |
dc.date.available | 2015-11-25T12:26:35Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Coetzee, L. 2015. Fashion and the world of the women of the VOC official elite. New Contree : A journal of Historical and Human Sciences for Southern Africa. 73:61-87, Nov. [http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/4969] | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0379-9867 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10394/15313 | |
dc.description.abstract | During the early modern period material culture increasingly started to
serve as symbols of identity and status rather than merely fulfilling a basic
need. One example of such possessions that was particularly relevant for
demonstrating social position was clothing. By using markers of distinction
such as clothing, individuals could affirm or reaffirm their identities and
could denote an association with a certain status group. At the Cape, this
means of distinction was employed by the social elite that consisted of a small
group of senior officials with the Governor at the head. The Governor was
appointed by the VOC and in all cases but one, was not locally born. Equally,
many members of the VOC elite were temporarily stationed at the Cape and
would return to Europe or move to another VOC station at the end of their
tenure, most often taking their wives and daughters with them. The aim of
this article is to discuss women belonging to the VOC elite of Cape society
and to determine whether these women maintained their status through the
use of status objects (in particular clothing and other items used for personal
adornment). The second aim of the article is to assess what effect this use of
clothing as a symbol of status had on the social consciousness surrounding the
importance or unimportance of particular objects. The article will also aim to
determine how these women in the top echelons of Cape society influenced
and determined what types of fashion, dress and accessories were seen as status
objects. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | School for Basic Sciences, Vaal Triangle Campus, North-West University | en_US |
dc.subject | Conspicuous consumption | en_US |
dc.subject | VOC | en_US |
dc.subject | Women | en_US |
dc.subject | Cape Town | en_US |
dc.subject | Clothing | en_US |
dc.subject | Fashion | en_US |
dc.subject | Cape Colony | en_US |
dc.subject | Eighteenth century | en_US |
dc.title | Fashion and the world of the women of the VOC official elite | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |