“This sense of personal performance has only intensified as dress codes have broken down over the past five decades. We have more choice in what we wear, the fashion industry thriving on selling us ideas of who we could be. Many are willing performers, though we may not like to admit it.”

The ability to form artistic vision out of something so simple such as clothing is what differentiates humanity from other animals. In What Artists Wear, UK fashion journalist Charlie Porter dives into the different ways artists dress themselves, and looks to see where it stems from and how it impacts their work. Rather than reading like a manual on how to dress to replicate the look of contemporary artists, it offers a counterpoint to the often cynical artistic style that we are accustomed to seeing.

The main selling point for this book is easily the amount of pictures that it offers. Each picture is accompanied by context from the artist, and offer different settings that often times explain why one is dressed a certain way. Each chapter, sectioned off by a certain dressing style such as denim, reveals why the piece or dressing style is so popular amongst artists. This book takes apart the idea that each article of clothing has to fit with an artist’s grand vision, but could also simply serve a functional role to what the artist does. For instance, many performers and painters will turn to a “uniform” look to offer practicality and focus in their work.

Fashion journalism when done right can be layered because it has the ability to speak volumes about the society that we live in. The way Porter writes pushed me to think about the artfulness of people, and better understand our language of clothing. I always knew that art and clothing were entwined, but this book really broke down why, and reconstructed my definition of both concepts entirely. After reading What Artists Wear, I will now take a deep look into my own wardrobe and uncover references to better articulate my own language of clothes.

Overall Rating: 6/10