On Wed, 25 Oct 1995, Robert A. Baron wrote:

> I haven't been following these "threads," but it seems appropriate, here,
> to mention that Deborah Tannen, author of _You Just Don't Understand_ and
> _That's Not What I Meant_ had a piece in the New York Times Magazine
> several years ago that attempted to explore the unarticulated expressive
> meaning communicated by the way women choose clothing to wear in different
> situtations.
>
Those interested in this notion that men and women "use" costume
differently was reinforced for me this week after hearing an "All Things
Considered" NPR interview with the author of the new book "Loves, Losses
and What I Was Wearing," or a title almost like that.  Among other
things, she asserted that if you ask a women, "Do you remember when we
went to that neat little restaurant at the beach?" at first the women
might say she doesn't remember it, but then if the rejoinder is, "oh,
sure you do -- remember, you wore that pink cotton ensemble, with the
broad-brimmed hat," the second woman replies, "Oh, yes, now I remember .
. . ."  Men just don't do that, she says, and I must agree.
The whole book recountss autobiographical excerpts and connects them in
detailed and fascinating form to fashions and clothing.

Richard Perry
UC San Diego
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