i enjoy these historical (or perhaps hysterical) perspectives on the past. Some of the clothing is patently ridiculous even with explanations. But the meanings behind each piece and each material and each accessory are important for the times they were popular, and if you lived then you knew what they signified. I particularly enjoy the costumes displayed in paintings i know, but one of them is a stark reminder of the class and economic inequality that reigned (so to speak)--the painting of St. Martin in the Fields.