Choice of dress has always been affected by numerous influences-social and economic, artistic and technical-and, or course, the vagaries of individual taste.

    Featuring beautiful color photographs of the exhibition’s installation, details of the garments, and supplementary historical material, the book demonstrates how the extravagant clothing of the period reiterated the splendor of Rococo and Neoclassical interiors.

    Drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum's world-famous collection, these garments display skills that are now lost, yet continue to inspire today's leading designers.Much of the finery seen here is too fragile to be on permanent display, or its detail too intricate to be captured in conventional photography. Jacobean blackwork, neoclassical tambour work, exquisite stitching, and knife-sharp pleats are pictured in stunning photographs, alongside such unusual techniques as stamping, pinking, and slashing--many of which are rarely employees in the modern world, as they require labor-intensive handwork impossible to replicate by machine.With line drawings showing the construction of the complete garment and a text that sets each in the context of its time, this book is a visual feast for all fashion lovers, and an essential resource for curators, collectors, students, costumers and designers.

    Every crease, stitch, and stain in a piece of clothing supplies information about its wearer and its era. This stunning book features 18th- and early-19th-century garments from the premier collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, including many details and back views, the book treats not only elegant, high-style clothing in colonial America but also garments for everyday and work, the clothing of slaves, and maternity and nursing apparel.Drawing on contemporary written descriptions and on actual costumes of the period, the book analyzes what Americans in the 18th century considered fashionable and attractive and how they used clothing to assert status or to identify occupations. The book also examines the myths and meanings of clothing in British and American society, clothing for the entire lifecycle, and a history of clothing alteration. Informative sidebars on a variety of fascinating topics complete the volume.

    Visiting European royalty as well as American women returning from the International Exhibition in Paris in 1867 stimulated fashion awareness — and it was in this climate that the magazine Harper's Bazar flowered. Dedicated to being "A repository of Fashion, Pleasure, and Instruction," it brought to American women inside glimpses of the very latest European and American fashions, all in carefully detailed engravings. It was much the finest source for high fashion for this period.This book consists of the finest illustrations from Harper's Bazar between the years 1867 and 1898, the period of its peak importance. These illustrations not only show you what apparel appealed to our Victorian ancestors, but give you an idea of the evolutionary nature of fashion as well. You will see bustles come and go, natural forms become the vogue only to be superseded by the constricting hourglass figure. Each look is illustrated with a number of different garments. There are gowns for the morning hours, dinner dresses, sporting costumes, traveling clothes and apparel for special occasions: weddings, communions, funerals, etc. Since no costume was complete without accessories, a full line of hats, fans, parasols, muffs, gloves, handkerchiefs, jewelry, shoes and hair styles is shown as well. A selection of children's attire is also included. An introduction by Stella Blum covers the history of Harper's Bazar and examines the various phases fashion went through between 1867 and 1898.

    The photographs are richly supplemented by detailed commentary and illustrations.

    A person's clothing, whether it's a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential key to his or her culture, class, personality, or even religion. The Kyoto Costume Institute recognizes the importance of understanding clothing sociologically, historically, and artistically. Founded in 1978, the KCI holds one of the world's most extensive clothing collections and has curated many exhibitions worldwide. With an emphasis on Western women's clothing, the KCI has amassed a wide range of historical garments, underwear, shoes, and fashion accessories dating from the 18th century to the present day. Showcasing a vast selection of skilled photographs from the Institute's archives, depicting the clothing expertly displayed and arranged on custom-made mannequins, Fashion is a fascinating excursion through the last three centuries of clothing trends.From a rare treasure such as a 17th century iron corset with embroidered bodice to modern-day outfits by such designers as Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein, the collection provides an extensive overview of the evolution of women's fashion. The KCI believes that "clothing is an essential manifestation of our very being" and their passion and dedication positively radiate from every page of this book. It offers an opportunity to see how our ancestors dressed, to consider the amazing accomplishments of contemporary fashion, and to imagine how our descendants may dress in the distant future as clothing design continues on its tireless evolutionary path.

    This book will be of interest to anyone professionally or educationally involved in costume history as it includes many detailed drawings and studies of dresses and accessories based on research from private collections.

    The quantity of clothes recorded in the inventories taken in 1600 would seem to suggest sheer vanity, but a survey of work carried out in the Wardrobe of Robes throughout the reign reveals a different picture. It is one of careful organisation and economy. This copiously annotated work is illustrated with photographs of portraits, miniatures, tomb sculptures, engravings, woven textiles and embroideries. Two indexes are provided, the first of paintings, persons, places, and events, while the second, partly a glossary, enables the reader to quickly trace information on fashionable dress and accessories. An invaluable reference for students of the history of dress and embroidery, for social historians, for art historians working in the field of portraiture, and those with a general interest in the period. Case-bound in cloth with dust jacket.

    More than 200 photos depict aristocrats and the middle class as well as Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Winston Churchill, Queen Victoria, and others. Commentary and annotations describe and identify the costumes.

    There are more than 400 line drawings and 121 patterns.

    Includes many clear, measured patterns for reproducing historic costumes. Full text. 595 illustrations. "Landmark in the field of Western European costume . . . exceptional value for its price." — American Artist.

    Showing that the silhouette of women's dress has been in a state of continuous change, allied to economic and architectural evolution as well as changing ideas of sexual attractiveness, she itemizes three cycles in the last 400 years in which women's silhouette was blown up to the utmost limit, by artificial means, and then collapsed again to a long straight line. At these points and extremes were invariably considered absurdities and the corsets and hoops were discarded by their users, so that in actuality very few specimens from the earlier periods at least have come down to us.

    A definitive study featuring each epoch and region, clearly discussed so that the novice can enjoy this volume as well as the scholar. A must for any student of the arts or anyone interested in how fashion has evolved.

    From camisoles to corsets, basques to boudoir caps, Underwear: Fashion in Detail traces the peculiar evolution of underwear. Revealing photographs highlight close-up details in the garments, while intricate line drawings show their masterly construc­tion. A wide range of designs is represented, from rare 16th-century examples to Dior’s curvaceous New Look, to Calvin Klein’s notorious briefs.