Fashion in the Time of William Shakespeare

by Sarah Jane Downing

This book explores fashion during Shakespeare's era, a time when clothing conveyed much more than a personal statement, but was an absolutely accurate indicator of the social status of the wearer, as witnessed in so many Shakespeare plays when character dress, disguise or cross-dressing played pivotal roles in changing plots.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, History, Fashion History, Shakespeare

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Considering I really liked Downing's Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen and loved her Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 book, this was slightly disappointing.

I found the organization a little vague outside the main chapter themes, and I feel like the writing could have been clearer and a little more polished. Also in hindsight, I wish we had gotten more material on stage costumes considering Shakespeare's name is in the title?

That said though, I did still enjoy this! The included photographs are stunning, and I loved some of the interesting stories and facts we got along the way - like, I have read so many classics and historical fiction books but I had never learned that the "milliners" got their names because the fashion accessories like ribbons and trimmings imported to England and sold there (which would be sold at milliners' shops) were originally from Milan.

It's a really quick and interesting read, so I definitely still recommend it if you have any interest in this time period or in fashion.

CW: References to: slavery, executions

[Unna · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Took me a while to finish this one due to the enormous back pile of to-read books!)

From farthingales to hose, I'm not sure what I enjoy better: this book or Shakespeare's prose? Okay I'll admit, I only said that for the clever rhyme. Sarah Jane Downing's "Fashion in the Time of Shakespeare" was a delightful Goodreads Giveaway win to read!

Such beautiful photos were accompanied throughput, and many styles of dress were talked about. I'm sure Sarah captured every last ruff in between these seventy pages! A good introduction to the fashion world a la Shakespeare. I will definitely love to see more from Sarah!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another book I acquired on my 3 week trip to England (motto: 'buy books as your souvenir!'). This one was bought at Shakespeare's birth museum in Stratford upon Avon and it was a quick read with lots of beautiful illustrations which are definitely needed since much of the clothing of that day is not familiar today. If you like history and costumes, you'll like this.

[Beth Yeary]

It was an okay read, but a bit dry.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

My main complaints about this are that it wasn't long enough and didn't fully describe all of the more obscure terms, and there should have been more example illustrations to demonstrate the concepts.

However, for the most part, I really liked it. I've read longer books on the subject that didn't impart as much information as this very short little book did. I probably learned more from this one source than I have from researching and looking at several others. Downing is very succinct, and that is likely how she was able to have such a short book include such a wealth of information. I think at times she was too succinct, but overall I feel that she created a very solid overview of late Elizabethan clothing.

I should probably add that the subject matter included is more oriented towards the people who would've been middle-class or higher up, but that's kind of what is more interesting (and more important to myself) so I had no issues with that at all myself.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Malvolio's stockings in Twelfth Night to the handkerchief in Othello, clothes played an important role in Shakespeare's plays.
As Shakespeare believed that "clothes maketh the man" , he always used clothes to complete the portrait of the characters he wrote, to explain their merits and motives, and to indicate their social status. A good example of this is Shylock's Jewish gabardine in the Merchant of Venice.

This book explores fashion in Elizabethan England. It goes into details about some of the styles adopted by Queen Elizabeth herself, and how they contributed to her image as "Gloriana the virgin Queen".

[Nereid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that you can finish in one day or bring with you during the transportation. Generally, it's not difficult to follow the content, though it's a little bit hard to concentrate when there aren't enough pictures to support some of the detailed descriptions on garments (or perhaps it's because I am not a native speaker).
But It is a good book for an overview of the fashion back in Shakespeare's time. The best thing of all is that this book, unlike most of the books that are introducing fashion, shows not only women's fashion but also men's.

[Matilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting, funny and bonus I learned loads of words.