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53 reviews for:
How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century
Lydia Edwards
3.88 AVERAGE
53 reviews for:
How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century
Lydia Edwards
3.88 AVERAGE
A frustrating book - quite badly written and copy edited, and it has an inadequate glossary of terms and is much too skimpy with its image selection. I know that it couldn't be completely comprehensive, but one or two more images for each date span would have been helpful - or at least mutiple views of dresses from different angles, and more closeups of details. I got annoyed by things like references to the back of a dress when only the front is shown, and also annoyed because the photos, which look impressive at first glance, aren't always big enough or clear enough to show you what the author is pointing out.
So many beautiful details! The only thing I wished it had more of, was information about how women actually felt while wearing these clothes! Did they like them? Were they trying to look sexy? How much of this did they just wear around the house?
While this book does presume some prior knowledge of fashion history and terms, it is a good reference for fashion and historical enthusiasts, hobby or theatrical costumers who want a reference for the feel of certain eras, or people who often attempt to date paintings/photographs and are looking for clues from the subjects. Admittedly, this is a fairly niche subject with a fairly niche audience, but there's a lot of that in academia.
It should be noted, as the author mentions several times, that this book confines itself to women's fashion, and focuses on dresses. There is some mention of separates and suits toward the end, but it doesn't talk about pants and such.
The end contains a short glossary with brief descriptions of some fashion terms, which could also prove useful.
It should be noted, as the author mentions several times, that this book confines itself to women's fashion, and focuses on dresses. There is some mention of separates and suits toward the end, but it doesn't talk about pants and such.
The end contains a short glossary with brief descriptions of some fashion terms, which could also prove useful.