In Woolf's novels dress does not simply act as a means of telling us about a character's external appearance, it becomes an integral part of their identity, telling us about their interior life and how they interact with the world.
Charting the evolution of Woolf's use of clothing imagery in her fiction, this book walks through Woolf's nine major works, charting the evolution of her relationship with fashion in her fiction, from sparing visual details in the early novels to symbolism and engagement with the psychology of clothes in her later fiction.

Virginia Woolf confessed to having a “clothes complex”; her own experiences with dress could sometimes bring joy but could also cause anxiety, distress and despair. Yet she was a sophisticated observer of fashion and employed imagery of clothing and accessories to subtle and vital effect in her modernist fiction. This book moves from Woolf's early novels through the sensual imagery of Clarissa's evening dress in Mrs Dalloway, to the gender fluidity of Orlando (1928) and the dynamic role of theatrical costume in her final novel, Between the Acts (1941). This distinct evolution in her use of dress in her fiction shows Woolf's awareness of contemporary attitudes to fashion and her response to current sartorial thinking.