If there’s one thing that unites us all it’s that we all wear clothes, unless you’re you’re a nudis… you know what never mind (we won’t judge) In her brilliant account of the history of clothing Sofi Thanhauser gives us a panoramic view of the clothes we wear, where they come from along with many unexpected insights. Following five materials through history Sofi divides this vast history into five sections - Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics and Wool in which she shows there’s few aspects of history clothes doesn’t touch.  She takes us from pioneering Americans who literally grew and made their own clothes to 19th century Manchester which soon became known as  “Cottonopolis” a city that heavily relied on the cotton imported from American slave states. From there she brings us to the modern day Chinese province of Xinjiang where cotton is harvest using forced labour. Thanhauser clearly shows us how the clothing industry is now one of the planet’s worst polluters by its mass production disposable fast fashion and how it relies on chronically underpaid and exploited labourers.  However Thanhauser does offer some lines of hope by giving some manageable suggests of ways to combat the behemoth of fast fashion. Delving into vintage and charity shopping, giving old clothes a new lease of life with the help of our local tailors or the most radical and simplest which is just not filling up our wardrobes just as much. This book is brilliant comprehensive journey into the world of clothes and it’s just a fascinating and eye-opening read.  Written by Sofi Thanhauser How does it come? Hardback. Approx. 16 x 24 x 4 cm. Approx. 375 pages