La Garçonne: da figura estetica a tipo sociale : letteratura, arte, moda

This research shows the mechanisms through which the “aesthetic figure” of the garçonne has been recognized as a “social type”, highlighting the different semantic nuances assumed by the term – synonymous with deep changes in the woman lifestyle – in its migration from one cultural domain to the other. The analysis points out the different steps that allowed the inclusion of the substantive garçonne within the fashion domain. Moreover, it problematizes the cultural phenomenon that has been developed around this new female lifestyle. The process of reconstruction of the memory of the neologism coincided with the de-construction of the myth of la garçonne that the critical literature contributed to feed. Therefore, my thesis provides a complete analysis of the ways through which French society of the 1920’s represented and reflected itself by means of this aesthetic figure and life form.