The Costume History

by Auguste Racinet, Chris Miller (Translator)

Originally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet's Le Costume historique was the most wide-ranging and incisive study of clothing ever attempted. Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through to the end of the 19th century, the six volume work remains completely unique in its scope and detail.

TASCHEN's complete reprint presents Racinet's exquisitely precise and colored illustrations, as well as his delightful descriptions and often witty comments. Spanning everything from ancient Etruscan attire to French women's couture, material is arranged according to Racinet's original organization by culture and subject.

As expansive in its reach as it is passionate in its research and attention to detail, The Costume History is an invaluable reference for students, designers, artists, illustrators, and historians; and a rich source of inspiration for anyone with an interest in clothing and style.

Genres: Fashion, History, Nonfiction, Art, Fashion History, Reference, Coffee Table Books

749 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1888

About the author

Albert Charles Auguste Racinet (July 20, 1825 - Paris, October 29, 1893 - Montfort-l'Amaury) was a French costume scientist, illustrator, painter and author of several to this day repeatedly reprinted costume and ornament history works.

Reviews

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible for costume designers

[Sérgio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trata-se da reedição de uma das mais importantes obras dedicadas à história do vestuário, na verdade a primeira do seu género. Fruto de um trabalho de doze anos, entre 1876 e 1888, aproveitando a sua experiência como litógrafo em diversas publicações dedicadas à alta costura parisiense, Racinet embrenhou-se na codificação da evolução da moda desde os tempos mais remotos até à sua actualidade, com recurso a uma vasta pesquisa académica apresentada graficamente, sob a forma de placas litográficas. Assim sendo, The Costume History compreende o vestuário da Antiguidade egípcia, judaica e greco-romana, centrando-se depois no vestuário europeu desde a Alta Idade Média até ao século XIX. Contudo, a obra não se fina na Europa, contendo capítulos dedicados à indumentária dos vários povos e civilizações das Américas pré-colombianas, África, Médio Oriente, Oceânia e Polinésia. Adicionalmente, Racinet subordina um capítulo substancial, o último, aos trajes tradicionais das diversas nações europeias, incluindo Portugal, com particular incidência, no entanto, para a França.

Esta edição contém uma versão abreviada da original, expurgada de vários dos textos que acompanham a edição original, muitas das vezes com comentários datados, de uma certa índole racista e patologicamente europeísta, coincidindo com a época de expansão colonial em que foi produzida, assim como de algumas ilustrações referentes ao século XIX, levadas a cabo pela editora encarregue deste projecto, Françoise T'Tart-Vittu.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be very clear from the start, I want to draw a sharp distinction between the quality of the materials and the quality of the layout of the book.

The actual illustrations of the dress/costumes? Amazing. 5 stars, hands down. Likewise, the depth and breadth of what was included was incredible. Sure, I could nitpick that this or that wasn't included, but it's a great collection and a great resource.

With this particular book, though, I have serious issues with the layout. Most of the images are not captioned/labeled, and a lot of what is labeled is labeled vaguely. So, you won't know a one-to-one basis what all of the "things" are supposed to be ... which really reduced my enjoyment of it.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gorgeous Taschen book. All color illustrations of a history of people's fashion from Native American, Asian, African and Europe from Ancient times to the 19th Century.

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting illustrations , but lacking in complete historical scope. Some of the pictures are quite detailed , some not so much. However it is a decent reference book for a beginner, and one that can be used as a starting point. More information would be needed to be totally accurate, but it's fun to look through and imagine what it would be like to trudge around in all that material.

[denise]

Absolutely love how inclusive this book was and how a lot of different cultures' styles were represented throughout different centuries. It's a gorgeous book, I mean look at the freaking cover!! I'm not even into fashion like that but I love history so this was a winner overall.
*no rating because I usually don't rate non-fiction

[Vander Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a visit to an immense museum exhibition with an impressive collection of images that leaves one wondering how clothing became so tasteless.

[dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wszystko w tej książce jest idealne...
Ilustracje są przepiękne i drobiazgowe.
Ilość materiału to jest ogromny kawał wiedzy.
Jednak trzeba pamiętać, że napisał to francuz w XIX w., więc jest dosyć europocentryczne. Still, niezwykła robota.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the international section had been more extensive but I do appreciate that there were multiple sections dedicated to the non-Western world.

[Mary-jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο κόσμημα σε μια πάρα πολύ φροντισμένη έκδοση!Εξιστορεί μέσα από λιθογραφίες και λεζάντες τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά του ενδύματος και των εσωτερικών χώρων σε κάθε εποχή και σε όλο τον κόσμο, όχι μόνο στην Ευρώπη. Προτείνεται για τους λάτρεις της ιστορίας του ενδύματος, αλλά και όσοι ακόμη δεν έχουν ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον για αυτόν τον τομέα σίγουρα θα απολαύσουν τις υπέροχες εικόνες!

[Sagebrush · Rating 5 out of 5]

people need clothes, and not a few-

[Tiffany Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures are great for reference. I do wish there were more English fashions shown in the 19th century.

[Carson Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely gorgeous reproduction of the 1888 Le Costume Historique. It was originally published in 6 leatherbound volumes spanning a combined 3224 pages with over 500 plates, and a complete copy can set you back a couple grand. There are some excellent scans of the original work in the French here https://library.si.edu/digital-librar....

This reproduction is massive, with images 3 to 4 times bigger than in the original copy, and it is wonderful to look at. As it comes in at less than 700 pages, much attention has been placed on reproducing the plates, at the cost of sacrificing a huge amount of the original text. What space that is given to the text is done so in usual Tachen form, it English, German, and French, further reducing the available real estate.

I find the work rather suffers from this choice, as there are countless instances where I have been flipping through the plates, found a particularly interesting numbered figure, gone to read the description, only to find that it has been excluded for brevity.

The publishers themselves mention this lack, and I understand its reasons, but it is unfortunate. Truth be told, if they sold this in a version twice as long but twice as expensive, I probably would not have bought it.

However, there is one missing element that I find inexcusable, and which is the primary reason I could never countenance giving this Tachen edition 5 stars. The book completely lacks any reasonable table of contents or index. If you come to this masterpiece hoping to look up a particular country or time period, you will be sorely disappointed. Although the book is loosely organized by historical period, and segmented within by the region under discussion, actually finding the region you are interested in is nigh impossible. I have spent ages flipping through the pages looking for a plate I had lost or a time period I wanted to explore without success.

If you have an interest in clothing, art, world culture, or in late 1800s books, then this is an easy recommendation.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Começo por falar de um livro que me foi oferecido pelo Natal e que trata, de forma brilhante, toda a história da moda ao longo dos tempos, até ao século XIX, altura em que foi escrito. O autor recolhe as roupas utilizadas por todos os povos e culturas do mundo, com riquíssimas e muito detalhadas ilustrações, que vão desde as roupas propriamente ditas, a joalheria, armas e decoração do espaço.

Este é um livro de referência essencial para todos os que desejam aprofundar os seus conhecimentos sobre moda histórica, o que é o meu caso, pois gostei muito de fazer o meu cosplay de Milady, inspirado nas roupagens do século XVI.

Recomendo vivamente a todos os que tenham interesse neste tema.

[Lily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some weird stuff in the writing ... But absolutely beautiful and detailed illustration. I liked how the book not only looked at the wearable fashion but other things that involve aesthetic design, such as weapons, bedroom and furniture design, and practices involving the objects of the times. Mostly focuses on Europe, so if you want a better view of an actual complete history I would reach for a few other books as well as this one to learn about the whole worlds fashion.

[Mary Barrios · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are incredible, but the plate descriptions are poorly put together. Each item on the plates is numbered, but the description is one paragraph that reads something like “ladies shoes, crown, hair curled and dyed, etc.” with zero explanation of which describing phrase goes with which item.

[Jessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for the pleasure of the eyes and not for in-depth information. :) You will appreciate the beauty and effort that the author has put in to display knowledge of fashion from different ethnic groups.

[Max MeBo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please extend with Ukrainian national clothes, and do not use “The Ukraine”, it is not a territory, but a country and during the history was administered as one or few regions with common customs and traditions.

[Jimmiejack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racinet's work is truly a treasure for anyone interested in the evolution of fashion. The attention to detail and the breadth of cultures grinch costumes covered make it an invaluable resource for understanding historical clothing.

[Nine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leider schwer lesbar, da die Aufteilung ungünstig ist. Wenig Beispiele aus Europa, z. B. fehlt Irland.

[Juanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful edition.

[Maddelline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing read

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! ..

[eos.kunszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good start in the fashion history, but it is needed to read further new projects and investigations. It’s a good basis, but just that.

[Liselotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous. It's not necessarily a book you'll read to learn lots, but the images are a great edition to my fashion history collection.

[elen liya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous from the first page until the last. Didn’t get bored for a second due to the full color illustrations.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Taschen book with an embarrassingly bad English translation, but I'm here for the pictures and the overall quality of the book is solid enough.

[Josh Sobek · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a written work, its goal of collecting global fashions is dulled by some racist remarks; as a whole, worthwhile and welcome in my collection for its artistic and historic reference.

[Oana-Maria Uliu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-fiction can't meet all my criteria for 5 stars, but this comes close. It's amazing.

[parlandocondio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant say how much I love this book. It’s a bible for custom designers