The Complete History of Costume & Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day Review

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(More customer reviews)Always on the lookout for any new costume reference, I was
eager to leaf through this one. Unfortunately, it was nearly
a waste of time.
I say "nearly", because Cosgrave provides quite a few helpful
illustrations, though the objects depicted are often mislabelled and period paintings are seldom fully cited.
In general, I found this volume to be shallow and badly researched. It's full of bad generalizations and misused terminology. Cosgrave makes numerous statements which are at odds with everything I've come to know about historical costume. Seldom are these bald statements backed by sources discussed in the text. She also has a 'thing' about Byzantine costume. Everything worn in any other place or time suffers in her constant comparisons.
One of my favorite absurdities is that her entire discussion of medieval jewelry is a dismissal of the same as "crude". (Though she does allow that the Irish did some nice work. And, of course, it suffers by comparison to Byzantine jewelry.)
Another example: The caption regarding a painting of people in Burgundian Court Dress urges the reader to "Note the Byzantine influences". Huh?!!
In general I'd recommend that the re-enactor or Costume History
student look at the pictures and ignore the text.

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The Complete History of Costume and Fashion is a comprehensive illustrated guide to the history of clothing and fashion. At different times in history, fashionable dress has taken very different forms. From the first fashion style of the Egyptians to the extravagant clothes of the Romans, from the birth of the Dandy to haute couture in the twentieth century, this book chronicles the evolution of style for both males and females from a social, cultural, and historical perspective.Organized by specific time periods, coverage includes:The Ancient Egyptians: Noble garments, wigs and hairpieces, eye make-up, jewelryGreece and Rome: Classical elegance, the Etruscan wardrobe, bright colors, the togaMiddle Ages: Medieval Europe and Byzantine fashion, age of chivalry, trains and sleevesEarly Renaissance: Damask, taffeta, velvet, tight-fitting bodicesSixteenth Century: Flowering of the arts, science and fashion, doublets and ruffs, bodicesSeventeenth Century: Influence of the Baroque, ribbons and embroidery, wigs for menEighteenth Century: Extravagance and excess, masks, buckled shoes, three-cornered hats, hoop skirtsNineteenth Century: Victorian values, crinolines and bustles, artificial hair color, double-breasted jacketsTwentieth Century: The age of diversity, global style, mini-skirts, supermodels, street fashion, new fabrics.

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What People Wore When: A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society Review

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(More customer reviews)What People Wore When is a rather recent addition to this particular genre. I am a very visual person and an individual who reads quite a lot of history and biography. I own several books addressing and covering the different clothing worn by different cultures throughout history, and have assess to quite a number of others. I find these books add much spice to my reading and certainly help me visualize those people about whom I am reading. This goes for fiction as well. I am currently reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and it is easier for me to see Marianne, Elinor and the others in my mind's eye as I read if I can view their clothing. This edition is one of the better works out at the present time and it is not only a tremendous help but an absolute delight reading.
As the publication descriptions note, this work features the art of Fredrich Hottenroth aned Auguste Rucinte, or is at least based upon their technique and style. These are two of the best of the classic illustrators of the nineteenth-century and their work appears in quite a number of publications, even to this date. Most readers of history will recognize their style when they first open this work. The clothing shown in this book is extremely detailed, both in style and in color. (More about this later).
This book starts with ancient times, beginning with the Egyptians, Assyrians, Etruscans and other civilizations, and goes through the nineteenth century. The clothing features represent each class of society, from the lowest to the highest; military, civilian and religious. Each illustration, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of them, and are accompanied by very insightful explanations and comments. As has been noted, the book is broken down into various sections, i.e. chronology, geographic, and specific era. All are well cross referenced. This work also has sections devoted to accessories such as head gear, hairstyles, footwear, belts, bags, neck wear and more. Both male and female clothing are well represented. All entries are dated as precisely as possible; something I find quite helpful. All sections of the book begin with a brief explanation and a brief history lesson.
While the main emphasis of this work is more or less Euro-centric, most of the other parts of the world are well represented as are specific, little known tribes and cultures. As an example, India is well represented, but not to the depth as say France or Germany. The Native American portion of the book is probably the weakest.
As to what I do not like about the book (which by the way, is not much) starts with the fact that I am quite unfamiliar with clothing jargon, and even though the Editor Melissa Leventon has given us a very nice Glossary to work with, I am still so uneducated in this area that I found even that somewhat wanting. Secondly, the illustrations could quite possibly be a little too stylized, a little too perfect. I have been fortunate enough to have visited many museums in my life, all over the world, and have had the pleasure of seeing many of the items illustrated here. I can assure you that reality can be a bit of a disappointment at times. These small points should not really even be considered as they are more "opinions of taste," i.e. mine, and an obvious gap in my education.
This is an extremely useful book, for my purposes, and it is quite fun to just leaf through it. So many times I caught myself wondering "what were those people thinking," when I viewed some of the fantastic, and I must say, ridiculous items of clothing; but then I would always stop and think about some of the things we have worn in my life time, both men and women, and feel a bit embarrassed for casting mental stones. Gosh, I wonder if I still have my polyester leisure suit with bell-bottoms and orange double knit polyester shirt stashed in the attic somewhere?
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


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Ancient Greek Costumes Paper Dolls (History of Costume) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a well done book which shows illustrations of typical clothing of the ancient Greeks throughout several historical periods. The drawings are clear and accurate as are all of Tom Tierney's similar works. This was an invaluable aid to designing an historically accurate costume for my 6th grader's "Greek Festival".

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Ancient Egyptian Costumes Paper Dolls (History of Costume) Review

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(More customer reviews)The drawings and costumes are exquisite, like most of Tom Tierny books are. The explanation of each type of costume is well-done and easy to understand. My only exception to the product is the near nudity--tastefully done and, I'm sure, just done to show authenticity, but it may be something to consider if you are buying this for a child. This particular book has a lot of the near nudity, but I guess that was ancient Egypt for you.

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