THA V20 Costume Design: Print Books

In this classic book, Norah Waugh explores the changing shapes of women's dress from the 1500s to the 1920s. Simple laced bodices became corsets of cane, whalebone and steel, while padding at shoulders and hips gave way to the structures of farthingales, hoops and bustles.  Corsets and Crinolines explains the cyclical nature of these fashions, and how waists and skirts changed shape and size through three distinct eras:  The 1500s to 1670--farthingales and whaleboned bodies. 1670 to 1800--Stays and hooped petticoats. 1800 to 1925--corsets, crinolines and bustles. Each section describes how these garments originated, how they became popular and how they emerged as central to the fashions of the time. Extracts from diaries, journals, poems and newspapers, as well as over 100 illustrations, demonstrate the variety of these ubiquitous items of clothing throughout modern history. Corsets and Crinolines also contains a wealth of practical notes and resources for today's costume makers and designers, including:  Scaleable patterns for the construction of 25 different bustles, crinolines, corsets, corselets, stays, pocket hoops, hooped petticoats and bodices. Detailed appendices on the manufacture of corsets and crinolines, including farthingales, supports and hooped petticoats. A list of further reading, including costume histories; textile and weaving histories; reconstruction of period clothing; contemporary application of foundational garments; and a list of museums and institutions with period clothing collections, for first-hand study. A glossary of terms and materials.

This book traces the evolution of the style of men's dress through a sequence of diagrams accurately scaled down from patterns of actual garments, many of them rare museum specimens. The plates have been selected with the same purpose. Some are photographs of suits for which diagrams have also been given; others, reproduced from paintings and old prints, show the costume complete with its accessories. Quotations from contemporary sources--from diaries, travelers' accounts and tailors' bills--supplement Norah Waugh's text with comments on fashion and lively eyewitness descriptions.

Each period in the history of costume has produced its own characteristic line and silhouette, derived from a cut and construction which varies considerably from age to age. Here are patterns taken from actual dresses, many of them rare museum specimens, illustrated by sketches of the dresses. There are notes on the production of women's dress, with references to early technical books and journals, together with diagrams from some of them. Numerous illustrations show the dresses as worn complete with their hairstyles, jewelry, decorations and accessories.

Few books on costuming enjoy the reputation for excellence to the same degree as Lucy Barton's HISTORIC COSTUMES FOR THE STAGE. It is more than a book of costume design. It is a complete guide to costuming for the theatre. Over 600 pages of illustrations and information dealing with costumes and accessories for plays and productions from the Egyptians into the Twentieth Century.

The pursuit of style has prompted centuries of dramatic change in fashion. From the togas of ancient Rome to the gorgeous gowns of Dior, this lavishly illustrated, thoroughly researched treasury examines men's, women's, and children's clothing -- plus accessories -- from 3000 B.C. to 1958. An essential handbook.

Deborah Willis, an expert on African American photography asks 18 writers, critics and film makers each to select a photograph of personal or historical significance and to read it for insights into the black experience.