Clare H. Crowston
History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences |
Accounting for Rose Bertin: Credit, Fashion, and Gender in 18th Century France
This research combines a cultural history of credit, fashion, and gender with a detailed reconstruction of credit systems in the female-dominated fashion industry of 18th century France. The book under preparation takes its title from Rose Bertin, fashion merchant to Marie Antoinette and pioneering 18th century entrepreneur. The book’s aim is to illuminate the connections among culture, society and economy in this period, and the particular role women played in intertwined networks of cultural, social, and economic capital. The book first explores the cultural meanings of credit in this period. This cultural history is then combined with important economic and business developments of 18th century France. Previous research documented the emergence of a new commercial fashion industry, in which women played a central role. This industry contributed to substantial growth in French economic production and a ‘consumer revolution.’ Crossing disciplinary boundaries, this work argues that women’s access to economic credit must be understood within the rich web of power relations and influence trafficking contemporaries described as crédit. Illuminating the role of credit – and the role of women within credit systems – contributes to the ongoing reassessment of European economic development.
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