The Function of Fashion Blueprint , April 2005 The Function of Fashion (pdf) Virginia Postrel is a contributing editor to Works in Progress, and the author most recently of The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World. She writes a Substack newsletter that you can read and subscribe to here. Her previous books include The Power of Glamour, The Substance of Style, and The Future and Its Enemies. Follow her on Instagram @vpostrel, subscribe to her YouTube channel, and "like" her on Facebook.