Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofie Thanhauser

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A sweeping and captivatingly told history of clothing and the stuff it is made of--an unparalleled deep-dive into how everyday garments have transformed our lives, our societies, and our planet.   "We learn that, if we were a bit more curious about our clothes, they would offer us rich, interesting and often surprising insights into human history...a deep and sustained inquiry into the origins of what we wear, and what we have worn for the past 500 years." --The Washington Post   In this panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories--Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool--about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis XIV to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed with lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern