How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century by Lydia Edwards takes readers through 400 years of fashion history, one dress at a time.
How to Read a Dress is divided into 11 chapters, with the first being "1550-1600" and the last being "1960-1970." Not every chapter is divided into exact decades, as the beginning/ending points of each chapter mark big shifts in silhouettes (take the New Look of 1947, for example). Each chapter is color-coded and includes a few pages of background at the beginning. From there, the book presents one image of a dress at a time, accompanied by a date, a source, a short introductory paragraph, and an assortment of sentences explaining various bits of the ensemble, sometimes with smaller pictures to provide further explanation or examples. Most of the dress images are extant garments, but some dresses for earlier time periods are taken from paintings.
Beyond that, How to Read a Dress includes a Preface and Introduction and a Glossary of Terms, all of which are packed with useful information.
Now, it should be noted that this is NOT a sewing book, and if you're looking for patterns for construction information you'd best look for another book. But, if you're looking for inspiration, terminology, fashion history, or a starting point for research, definitely check out How to Read a Dress!
Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
Alexandra
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