Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style

by Susan Brown

Tracing the evolution of fashion — from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today — Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style is a stunningly illustrated guide to more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of clothing.

Containing everything you need to know about changing fashion and style — from ancient Egyptian dress to Space Age Fashion and Grunge — and information on icons like Marie Antoinette, Clara Bow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Alexander McQueen, Fashion catalogs the history of what people wear, revealing how Western fashion has been influenced by design from around the world and celebrating costume and haute couture.

Fashion will captivate anyone interested in style — whether it's the fashion-mad teen in Tokyo, the wannabe designer in college, or the fashionista intrigued by the violent origins of the stiletto and the birth of bling.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, History, Art, Reference, Fashion History, Historical

480 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[OLT · Rating 4 out of 5]

With 480 10" X 12" glossy pages with full-color illustrations and photographs, in addition to informative text, this is a great coffee-table book. It claims to be "The Definitive History of Costume and Style" and that may or may not be true, but it is certainly one of the loveliest and more impressive books on the history of fashion that I've seen.

The book is divided into ten chapters. Chapter One covers fashion from Prehistory to 600 C.E. Chapter Two from 600-1449. Chapter Three from 1450-1624. Chapter Four 1625-1789. Chapter Five 1790-1900. Chapter Six 1901-1928. Chapter Seven 1929-1946. Chapter Eight 1947-1963. Chapter Nine 1964-1979. Chapter Ten 1980 onward. (Since this edition of the book was published in 2012, "onward" only takes us to there.)

In addition, following these chapters there are some informative 2-page spreads on 3000 Years of Women's Wear, 3000 Years of Men's Wear, 400 Years of Women's Shoes, 200 Years of Women's Hats, 200 Years of Bags and Purses, 300 Years of Shaping the Body, followed by a 30-page glossary and a 12-page index.

This is a great reference book for the layman. Perhaps it doesn't delve as deeply and thoroughly into fashion as a historian or fashion-history expert would like but I am very happy with it, and the illustrations and photographs are gorgeous. As a lifelong reader of historical fiction and historical romance, I find it's a great way to peek at what the characters of these books were wearing at a given period of time. It's also fun to go to my birthdate and beyond to see how fashion has changed just in my lifetime.

This book is big and it's heavy. Possibly as I age I can also use it for arm exercises, in addition to using it as eye candy.

[April Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my "Merry Christmas To Me" gift over the holidays. I had been drooling over this book for the past couple years but the asking price was a bit rich for my budget. Thankfully, I was able to get this one on sale. I study fashion history as a hobby, and consider my money well-spent on this gorgeous book. Most of the emphasis is on European (especially French, English and German) and American design, with occasional forays into Japan. I can see some people questioning the lack of diversity in the fashions and the models. It's a fair point. But this book still covers a LOT of ground in its more than 400 pages, going from Ancient Egypt to about 2011. The book is mostly short articles and many, many pictures, with notes on specific items. There are several garments, including a few reconstructed pieces, that are highlighted in detail on two pages. What I really liked were the profiles on couture designers and on individuals who broke ground and set the standards for fashion. For a hobbyist like me, this was a wonderful introduction to terms, designers and history. The glossary of terms at the end is also well laid out and organized. I was startled how many words have a different meaning in the fashion sense. Then again, some words in fashion I suspect are the root for some words today, such as bombast. In fashion, bombast is the filler used in medieval times to "puff" up the sleeves and trouser area. Hmmm. This was definitely a worthwhile purchase.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much! Alot of reviews that I read said that it "didn't cover enough," but it goes through so many periods of time that obviously not everything could be included. It was very detailed and colorful, explanative but not overly so. I would definitely recommend it to people who are just getting into fashion history or designers looking for inspiration. Not so much for professionals who want to know how to actually MAKE the clothes.

[Jan Polep · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book must weigh 20 pounds and is chock-a-block full of fashions from early Egypt until now. I especially liked the 2 page spreads of original and/or reconstructed outfits with sidebars that described their construction and details. Rest it on a table to read it or it may fall on you and break something.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enormous coffee table book that was super fun to flip through. Not necessarily definitive, as the title implies, but really well illustrated with tons of photographs and reconstructed costumes/designs that showed how some outfits were constructed.

Great eye-candy; tons of photos.

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just gorgeous. Why, oh why was I born in the '80s? Being 20 in the 40s/50s would have been fashion heaven.

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. It was beautiful and fun to look at. This is so a keeper!!!!!!

[Melike Gugercinoglu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. You can find all the fashion movements

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This DK & Smithsonian tome is a great history of fashion with gorgeous pictures. In chronological order, it focuses on various eras of the history of what people wore, but the weight of presentation is on the last 200 years or so. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history or fashion, even guys. It doesn't cover just women. I plan to read it again sometime. Its main drawback is that it's large and heavy.
Chapters are: The Ancient World (prehistoric-600 C.E.); Medieval Romance & Trade (600-1400); Renaissance Splendor (1450-1624); Baroque and Rococo (1625-1789); From Revolution to Frivolity (1789-1900); La Belle Époque & the Jazz Age (1901-1928); From Glamor to Utility (1929-1946); Optimism and Youth (1947-1963); Swinging Sixties to Glam Rock (1964-1979); The Designer Decades (from 1980 onward). Reference appendixes include Women’s wear, Menswear, Women’s Shoes & Hats, Bags & Purses, Shaping the Body, and a lengthy & helpful glossary with some illustrations.
I've read some reviews that don't like the book for what it doesn't have, and I agree saying it's Definitive is a stretch, but it is a good book for what it does: show gorgeous pictures. Some are merely illustrations because that's what we have for earlier fashions, but there are quite a few actual historical garments show. Also shown are some modern reconstructions, which are interesting as well.

[Cecelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever!

I have always loved fashion - but reading this book in 2014 really sprouted my love even more. Especially historical fashion.

I could sit down and look through this book all day if I could! I love the visual pictures - they are so accurate and the captions to go with it along with the timeline format is so informative and fun!

It can't get more interesting and entertaining than this!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually sumptuous & totally absorbing!

[Kate Wilska · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and fairly comprehensive, and the abundance of images were a feast for the eyes and would be great for inspiration for sewing projects, historical illustrations, or the like, but the book skims over many periods of ancient history, focuses almost exclusively on high fashion and runway styles in the later eras, and leans back on tired misconceptions of dress when discussing many historical eras. A sufficient overview and a good visual resource, but not something that should be used for fashion history research

[Elli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Checked out this book hoping to learn more about Black and Latin American history of fashion, but was quite eurocentric. They have somethings included in the appendix that was more of what I was looking for, but disappointing it wasn’t included in the main part of the book. If you’re looking for a more eurocentric history and some history on the famous designer houses, then this could provide a brief overview.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing I don't like about this book is that I have to return it to the Library. A real must for lazy costumers. I love that Eleanor of Aquitaine is featured as a fashion innovator on top of everything else she got up to.

A rare example of a book with pretty pictures being this well written. Men's and women's fashions are well represented.

[Helga Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca confíen en ningún libro de historia de la indumentaria que sea "definitivo". A pesar de eso, es un buen libro de referencia para principiantes del tema que quieran tener un paneo general de la indumentaria de "occidente"

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fashion has changed over the centuries and will continue to adapt and change with the coming decades. This book has wonderful illustrations and descriptions of ladies and menswear from greece and rome to victorian and edwardian eras.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good general reference, although heavily weighted towards 20thc.

[Superfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like book, is very interesanting

[John Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title really says it all!

[Hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's so good and helpful and really i like it

[Cindy Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

URGH. I read the ebook and now I want the actual hardcopy.

The book is too pretty! Lots of high resolution photos. The texts were also well brought. It is a very good fashion history reference.

[Deoxyribonucleic Acid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to see some fun pictures would take forever to read the whole thing tho.

[Muyu]

@2015-09-02 01:17:35

[Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A handy reference book with everything broken down by an orderly timeline.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this is the biggest, bulkiest, heaviest book that I own. Working through it has been a fashion education for me, as I have learned all sorts of terms, trends, and techniques that go into making high fashion. I am definitely struck that fashion is and always has been something dictated by the rich and powerful, from Medieval royals to Victorian aristocrats to modern Hollywood stars. Yes, it trickles down to the rest of us, but most of the ingenuity happens up top. I can also see that in today's age there is a much greater variety in what is "in fashion," whereas in previous centuries everything down to sleeve shape was often consistent across the board.

Though I did read every word in this book, it is clearly designed as more of a "peruse at your leisure" type of work. The best parts are the pictures. Early illustrations draw largely from sculpture, then painting, and finally advertising copy. There are photographs of some beautiful early reconstructions, and approaching the 1700's many gorgeous antique garments. I was fascinated to see the changing shape of the woman's body as different types of undergarments sucked her in and thrust her out to fit the fashionable silhouette of each time period. It was also intriguing to see the huge changes in menswear, from the elaborately (even femininely) decorated doublets of the Renaissance and Rococo periods, to the ubiquitous three-piece suits of the last three centuries.

I am more interested in historical fashion than current-day trends, so the last 50 or so pages were my least favorite, but overall I'm giving Fashion: The Definitively History of Costume and Style 4.5 stars rounded up to a 5. This one is definitely recommended for anyone interested in the ways we have dressed!

[Anna Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, from my reviews on this blog (most of which center on YA fic and contemporary romance) most of you probably wouldn't guess that I have a freakishly obsessive passion for costuming and fashion design, especially the history of it's evolution over time. I have a favorite book about Hollywood costume design that I repeatedly check out of the library to drool over - Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design. This one will be joining it! This book has such lush illustrations that I couldn't put it down. I also was pleased by the fact that it went from ancient times (pre-history if you will) all the way up to the present. For the ancient times, it was mostly pictures of sculptures, artwork and hieroglyphics. But when it gets to the eastern styles, it shows clothes that were actually on real mummies of that period! It also talked about the dying process, the changes in production of clothing, couture versus mass-production, etc. Overall, it has some interesting factual tidbits (probably the Smithsonian influence, being a museum and all!) and lots of eye candy for lovers of fashion and history. Highly recommended for those who enjoy coffee table books, especially ones about fashion. My only real complaint is that there wasn't more actual text and information, but I suppose that defeats the purpose of what is essentially an adult picture book!

VERDICT: 4.5/5 Stars

**I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published on October 1st, 2012.**

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything complied by the Smithsonian, grabs my attention immediately. From prehistory (Egypt, Rome, ten Byzantine Empire, and Minoan Culture )all the way up to 1980 and onward this book has it all. The first illustrations depend mostly on sculptures, both stone, terra cotta, and wood. The Egyptian era depends mostly on the amazing art inside the tombs of the wealthy.
From the east the styles are represented by actual clothing from mummies and the pottery that has been found.
The book goes through the progression of adding color by certain types of dyes to the types of weave used in tunics.
The paintings and illustrations in this book are almost overwhelming.
Fashion didn't change in its early years like it does today. One century was pretty much like the previous one, with little to show progression. But as the years passed on, 500 years of fashion changed in 100 and then100 years of fashion changed in 50 and then in 25 and then in 10, snowballing out of control until now fashion changes almost 6 times a year, clothing becomes " disposable" and we don't hold onto clothing like people did in the past. We have become conspicuous consumers, using and discarding clothing like used Kleenex.
What ever happened to real style? It's all in this book, which shows that there is nothing really new in fashion, we just keep recycling ideas to fit the "moment". What a shame.

[Sarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has fascinating photos of clothing through the ages. The only thing I would have changed was that there were many, many close-ups and it would have been nice to have a few more full-length shots to go with the close-up. Otherwise, lots to drool over here. :)


Book Description:
Tracing the evolution of fashion — from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today — Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style is a stunningly illustrated guide to more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of clothing.

Containing everything you need to know about changing fashion and style — from ancient Egyptian dress to Space Age Fashion and Grunge — and information on icons like Marie Antoinette, Clara Bow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Alexander McQueen, Fashion catalogs the history of what people wear, revealing how Western fashion has been influenced by design from around the world and celebrating costume and haute couture.

Fashion will captivate anyone interested in style — whether it's the fashion-mad teen in Tokyo, the wannabe designer in college, or the fashionista intrigued by the violent origins of the stiletto and the birth of bling.

[Jaye Latts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is aptly-titled "Definitive"! The quality of the book, both content and format, are beyond compare! The images are beautiful, the descriptions are well-written, and the work by The Smithsonian Institute is of the highest standard.

In each section, a particular item of clothing is photographed to take over two pages and every detail of note is described, including if the item is a reproduction or if a piece is missing or altered.

The book also highlights societal shifts and how those influenced fashion of the time.

There is a glossary of fashions terms at the back, including a two-page layout of women's clothing through history, and a two-page layout for men's.

Anyone working with period clothing should buy this book. I know that I will refer to this book often when I work with our museum's clothing collection.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed looking at the history of fashion. It started with the LaRousse dictionary I received as a prize in Elementary School way back in the sixties in France. On the back end pages were drawing of clothing and fashion from the Gauls to the then current time. It fascinated me as I've always enjoyed learning about the different cultures that have peopled this earth from the very beginning. This is published by the Smithsonian and is absolutely riveting. This is a book which I enjoy most by sampling it at random. This would be one of the books on my coffee table if I had one and at the $50.00 price, could afford to buy. But that is what libraries are for. ;>