With the title Liberty Equality Fashion, it may seem like Anne Higonnet's new book is an unserious work—maybe a picture book of dresses from revolutionary France, recalling the refrain of "liberty, equality, fraternity" that dominated in 1789. But this would be an incorrect assumption. An exhaustive history of the French Revolution this is not, but the book masterfully explores the confluence of social, political and economic factors that allowed for a sea change in something as basic as what women wore each day. Equally important are the author's insights on how clothing mirrored the expansion of opportunities for women and the reactionary reversals following a brief moment of progress.

This is the story of three women who created a new style in revolutionary France and whose celebrity status drove the adoption of their radical fashions by others. Joséphine Bonaparte (who ...