The Chronicle of Western Costume From the Ancient World to the Late Twentieth Century

by John Peacock

Covering Western costume from Ancient Egypt to contemporary haute couture, this is a fully illustrated companion volume to John Peacock's "Fashion Sourcebooks". The last 4000 years has seen an astonishing variety of ways in which the human form can be dressed, from the relative simplicity of the ancient world, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance to the changing conventions of the 18th and 19th centuries and the birth of modern dress. The final section brings the story up to date, showing the vibrant diversity of 20th-century fashion. The range of meticulous colour drawings are based on extensive research. Organized in chronological order, they are accompanied by detailed descriptions of each figure, including the individual items shown and the many types of fabric, cut, pattern and colour that have been used over the centuries. The huge range of drawings reveals not only national characteristics but also social young and old, rich and poor, countryfolk and town dwellers, royalty and commoners, and provide a detailed reference for students and professionals alike.

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

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 1991

Reviews

[janai (hotandfunnyblackgirl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I HATE Victorian fashion

Despite the authors preface about simplifying terms for the modern audience, I picked up this book specifically because I was hoping the author would include the accurate terms for garments so I wouldn’t have to scour the internet and cross reference ancient texts for them. Regardless, it was nice to see the evolution of Western Fashion in the last 4,000 years. But again, I wish the descriptions were more thorough the historical instead of the casual “white shawl” which was a description that came up multiple times in the Ancient Greek and Rome sections and left me asking what the Ancient Greek and Roman equivalent of that was.

Needless to say, I wanted explanations. I wanted fashion terminology and outfits to be picked to pieces with each part of the garment prodded, and labeled for my learning pleasure. There was a short terminology at the end for 1700s fashion and onwards, but that’s only covering half the book and a fraction of the time periods covered in the book.

Disappointed to say the least, but I did enjoy the illustrations and the vivid fabrics. Also super glad I don’t have to look at Victorian fashion anymore so that’s a a huge win!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I bought on historical fashion in my teens when I first developed a lifelong interest in the subject, and so has some sentimental value. I used it to inspire attempts at painting women in period dress (having had no artistic training since middle school art class, my painting skills have, in the past, been described as “primitive” by a well-meaning artistic friend).

It’s best used as a visual overview to give a general idea of the style of various historical periods. There could be more variety in the models—all are Caucasian regardless of the culture or country, making them seem more like mannequins. And there could be more information on the clothing. But what it lacks in depth it makes up for in scope. I have some other excellent books with photos of actual period dress, but none have the breadth of this one as it traces what people wore from 2000 BC through 1980 AD. The figures appear in 2 rows of 5 in color illustrations per page with a note on country and year (I.e. Englishman c. 1385). The subsequent few pages show numbered outlines of the figures and a list of notable articles of clothing for that figure.

If you are looking to make period costumes or do in-depth research, you’ll want a more specifically-focused book (the Metropolitan Museum of Art also has numerous photos of period clothing in their on-line archives, and Pinterest is a great resource for research as well). However, if you just want to get a better understanding of the fashions of different periods, and be able to tell the difference between 1810s, 1860s, and 1890s fashion, this is a great place to start.

[Merrypaws · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not the most informative book on the history of fashion, this is a good starting point for those who are not well versed in the subject. Especially useful as an artist's quick reference guide for a general feel of period costumes.

[Igor G. S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una guía completa e ilustrada por la historia de la vestimenta en distintas partes del mundo. Si bien el enfoque es claramente "occidental" (y con esto me refiero a los países de la Europa occidental y a los Estados Unidos de América) y destaca más la moda de las clases pudientes (esta tendencia disminuye conforme nos acercamos al siglo XX), sí que es cierto que el trabajo de John Peacock es encomiable, agrupando por países, siglos y décadas los cambios de la moda a lo largo de las épocas, y presentados con ilustraciones a todo color. El libro presenta sus imágenes de forma ordenada, y las acompaña de descripciones que ayudan a clarificar qué elementos está viendo el lector. Al final de la obra encontramos un glosario de términos muy útil, y acompañado con más dibujos, estos algo más sencillos y sin color.

A pesar de que hay alguna incoherencia, estas son menores (una ilustración de una dama calificada como "típica de 1535" parece más apropiada para 1501; como decía, son pequeños detalles menores), y en general, creo que este libro es una manera muy visual de conocer los cambios que las sociedades del pasado vivieron en el tema de la vestimenta, y una referencia eficaz a la hora de consultar estos temas. Un auténtico tesoro, en conclusión.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is useful book for learning about costume in the past. the pictures are well drawn and clear with a little description about when and where they were worn. This I found to be very useful and it's in chronological order so it's possible to see how clothes changed within the a century. so I'd definitely recommend this book if you want a brief but accurate overview of the changing fashions over the last 2000 years.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth it. Inaccurate beyond belief.

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drawings with colour.

[Shio · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many mistakes.

[Gabriela Ruelas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it interesting how color began to change with the years. I hadn't really put much thought into that before.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8 stars. I found this guide to be very interesting, and filled with valuable insight on the history of clothes and their changing style.

[Alessandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Chronicle Of Western Costume: From The Ancient World To The Late Twentieth Century by John Peacock consists entirely of his drawings of modern fashion illustration figures wearing some simulacrum of historic costumes. There is almost no text, no source material, no explanation, no context, just modern drawings and dates. Every historic garment and fashion is warped onto a figure with modern fashion illustration ideals of shape and posture. There is no way to tell how things were made, or were seen, or were actually worn, or moved, or were thought of. Just row after row of modern paper dolls in oddments.

The world has far too many costume histories where someone who really loves costume cannot resist drawing lots and lots of pictures of people all dressed up. But such books are never useful, as even the best of them have subtle mishaps in the drawings, parts of the outfits that the copyist does not understand. The worst, such as this one, do not even try to make the garments appear as they originally did, but "interpret" them and change them to appeal to contemporary tastes.

It is not even good as a general historical overview of dress, since it gives a false impression of line, of silhouette, and of detail.

If someone is looking for a general overview of Western clothing from this time period, I would recommend instead 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. It may be slanted towards France, but at least all of its illustrations are original to the period and it includes explanatory text.

[M. P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice for quick reference in case you need to check the general style of a certain time period, but a poor choice for anything that requires deeper knowledge than that. Illustrations are all drawn - rather poorly. They may give an idea of the shapes, but not of details, construction, or materials. There is also very little text, making this one of the least informative fashion books I've seen to date (though to be fair, I have not read many). I think this might make for a fairly good reference book for artists who aren't too stuck on all around accuracy, but not for those seeking a feel of authenticity.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is catalogue of drawings of the fashions of the west. Given that it covers the whole of recorded human history, there is not a lot of variation in the outfits. Good for the costume designer or fashion student.

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this is good for a quick reference if you have no idea about historical costumes. But there is not much info about the actual clothing and the illustrations doesnt show a good enough cross section of the different styles.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ata and I went through the book together and we loved looking at all of the different styles. I found the book to be poorly layer out, pictures under drawn, and I did think it showed enough of the clothes for the different time frames.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best fashion resource, since the renderings are hand-drawn (artists' representation). It is useful for getting a general sense of styles, though.

[Riona]

Got this as an xmas gift - the renderings are great and it looks like it will be an excellent resource.

[Mauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to loooove these as a kid, with the endless parade of different clothes, organized by decade. The detail is very fine, pen and watercolor, I think.

Now, I can't help noticing that every single model from ancient Egypt to Persia to Spain to America is hella white. Yeah, I don't think so. Plus, after 1400 or so, 90% of the clothing is from England or France.