Can anyone recommend an A-Z book on clothing down the centuries? I’m referring to Western clothing from the royal/aristocratic elite down to the lowly fishmonger. I’m looking for something scholarly.
I look forward to your feedback.
davidmich
The top place in the UK, and probably the world, for fashion history is the V&A. They have a good selection of books, but if you are serious, you should plan a visit.
I recall seeing a series or set of very large books that had a dozen or so illustrations per page of fashions, for each decade from perhaps the 1400s through each year of the 19th and 20th centuries. They were more fashion books than anthropological - and so didn’t have peasant and trade clothing as such - but they did have things like maid and clerk outfits. No idea of name, publisher, source, anything but someone better versed in the topic might know what I’m talking about.
I recall a couple of dazzled hours browsing them and noting the subtle changes even in the late 1500s and year by year in the early 20th. Amazing stuff.
My wife has a book called “20,000 Years of Fashion” by Francois Boucher. I’ve never looked inside, however, so can’t tell you much about it. It has a Shakespearian looking dandy on the cover.
EDIT: I suppose I can get it down and check it out for you, but I’ll need to go get a ladder. Its waaaaay up on a shelf.
Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/20000-Years-of-Fashion/dp/B0002IA1FY
Different cover.
Here are a couple more good books. “What People Wore” by Douglas Gorsline and “The Chronicle of Western Costume: From the Ancient World to the Late Twentieth Century” by John Peacock.