What We Wore: A People's History of British Style

By Nina Manandhar with contributions by Ted Polhemus, Gary Aspden, Paul Gorman and Eve Dawoud

Filled with images selected from the personal photo albums of the British public, What We Wore provides a visual timeline of UK fashion since the 1950s. In What We Wore, crowdsourced family and amateur photos come together to create a makeshift style history of Britain. Taking readers into homes, onto city streets, into shops, and out to nightclubs and holiday spots, this book features a combination of original images and intriguing personal anecdotes that document changes in British fashion and style. The book encompasses the worlds of Mods, punks, ravers, grime kids, and everything in between, with photos submitted by everyday British people as well as celebrities, including M.I.A, Tracey Emin, Jeremy Deller, Jazzie B., DJ Harvey, and Don Letts. From black-and-white photos taken with Rolleiflex cameras and Polaroid party shots, to 35mm film and “selfies”, these images and words combine to create a collective family album that feels both private and public, satisfying our yearning for nostalgia as well as our voyeuristic tendencies. Most importantly, this book records and explains British fashion trends and gives the reader a rare insider's glimpse into youth tribes and subcultures from the past 60 years.