Oh, *my.*

[rivka]

I'm continuing to research 18th century clothing, in preparation for sitting down with Bill this weekend to work out the details of my soon-to-exist summer-weight dancing costume. I found some reproduction patterns online, but I wanted period pictures for comparison's sake, and so I could get an idea of colors and fabrics.

The Howard County library didn't have much - a couple of books along the lines of "History of Women's Fashions, 1066-present," but nothing that you might call detailed or period-specific. Bill obligingly agreed to look in the Johns Hopkins library, if I could tell him what to search for. A bit of cross-referencing between the Costume Society of America's bookstore page, the descriptions of those books at Amazon, and the JHU library catalog, which they have kindly put online, and I now have two absolute wonders in my avaricious possession.

The crown jewel is this: Costume in Detail: 1730-1930 by Nancy Bradfield. Exquisitely detailed line drawings of dozens and dozens of dresses for the time period I want, shown taken apart and put together and from all sides. Little notes about how the dresses were sewn together and how they were worn. Measurements. Notes on the colors. Notes on how the individual dresses differed because of their owners' particular interests and needs. Notes on how the styles changed over time. And, because these are drawings of real dresses, they come in all different sizes - not just the idealized belle with the 20 inch waist.

Even if you don't think you're interested in period dress, check out this sample page for an example of geekery at its highest.

They have the paperback at Amazon for $24.50. Ohhh. I might need to own this.

Comments

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Does it include male dress as well? If so, I can think of at least two beloveds who might like it.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are some doublets and fitted jackets and such that I saw in the Costume In Detail book. Not as much men's stuff as women's, but there is some there.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Actually, no. I think you're thinking of the other book, Historical Fashion in Detail. Also beautiful, with enormous color plates showing close-in details of embroidery and stitching and shaping and so forth, but not the book I was talking about. The author of Costume in Detail wrote that she had originally intended to include men's clothes, but in the end couldn't bear to leave out any of the women's clothes. Sorry, Liz.