ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that Ruskin made two significant contributions to two distinct but related disciplines: dress studies and architectural theory. It outlines Ruskin's theory of the ideal dress and its impact on his interpretation of medieval architecture. Ruskin had strong ideas about dressing. Even though he was a part of the dress reform movement in Britain his concerns were moral and not ethical. In other words, he was unconcerned with ethical issues surrounding women's dress such as convenience and health. Throughout his writings, consciously or unconsciously, Ruskin outlined the qualities of the ideal dress, which simultaneously suppressed the body and celebrated the soul. In keeping with Carlyle's philosophy, Ruskin studied only dressed human figures in paintings and sculptures. Traditionally the face was considered a window into the soul and the innermost emotions. This role was now performed by the dress. Ruskin was motivated by the search for the ideal dress.
