The Confessions of Frannie Langton

Clothing matters to Frannie throughout her narrative, What she and others wear affects her confidence and opinions. Clothing to Frannie symbolizes her social image. How others perceive her is something that consistently concerns Frannie. Her comfort in the blue serge dress she wears upon arriving in London comes from her belief that it will help her make a good first impression, a visible marker that she is respectable and thus should be respected. When Linux brings her cheaper linsey dresses to wear she is upset not out of vanity but out of pride — these dresses mark her as a maid, something she desperately does not want to be or appear to be.

This focus on clothing ties into the theme of visibility that is explored throughout the novel. When Meg gives Frannie her old dresses to wear, Frannie may be seen as nothing more than an extension of Meg, a sign of her eccentricity in having a Black maid. Frannie enjoys the fine clothes, but is frustrated by her invisibility. The dress her lawyer gives her during her trial also plays into the themes of visibility and image. Frannie feels comforted and confident in her nicer dress, knowing that it will make her appear more respectable to the court.