What People Wore When: A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society

by Melissa Leventon

What People Wore When combines the studies of two classic nineteenth-century illustrators Auguste Racinet and Friedrich Hottenroth for the first time. Their works are presented first by chronology and then by subject, so that illustrators, historians, and students alike can choose to follow the path of fashion through the centuries, or study in detail the contrasting styles of individual clothing and accessories. Silhouettes reveal the shape of style through the ages, detailed cross-references draw attention to recurring motifs, and navigation bars help the researcher to travel the complex chronology of costume.

With authoritative narrative from leading experts in the history of costume, extraordinary contemporary quotes that reveal the impact of style in its day, detailed annotation, and an extensive glossary, the book provides a magnificent study of the rich vocabulary of style through the ages.

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

352 pages, Flexibound

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This illustrated history of costume through the nineteenth century uses illustrations from two older works. This is both a plus and a minus, since some aspects of costume are thus not illustrated. Still, it would be a great addition to a reference shelf, especially for theatrical types, but also for those of us who feel a need to look up places and artifacts in the fiction we read.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like this book and am considering purchasing it. It has wonderful, historical illustrations. My only hesitancy is that it is not as in depth as I would like. It only just touches on most areas outside of France, England and Asia.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meticulously researched and at times very funny. I had no idea that rich men used to walk around carrying great big muffs.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The drawings and some of the explanations are interesting, but they often get too technical. This, combined with wild overuse of the phrase, "passion for slashing", is why this book is only two stars. It looks like fun, but it really isn't.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay beginner's guide but keep in mind that this all information from the 19th century and therefore incomplete or even inaccurate. I'd rather read the two original sources that this book is taken from.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

cannot be presented as a "complete illustrated history of costume." book combines two 19thc sources. text notes source inaccuracies, but the images are not updated, even when the illustration is an incorrect rendering of an existing painting, tapestry, etc. Nothing is added to the 19thc sources to make up for deficiencies in non western costume history, even in cultures w extensive recorded history. Nor is there anything after 1840s for any part of the world. Plus some glaring inaccuraccies - panniers/side hoops referred to as bustles in the 18th c section?

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant for costume and character design. Full of interesting, useful, period- and location-specific details. Best for European historical dress, although other regions of the world are included.

I especially love the sidebar. The side bar lists the basic types of headgear, upper garments, etc. that were worn in the time period. Below that, it has an image of that era's silhouette. So useful for brainstorming character designs!

[Megs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. Detailed descriptions accompanied all of the sourced illustrations. I was disappointed at the limited section on Native people. Europe, Asia, and Africa were well represented. Im sure there is a lack of historical data for non-recording tribes all over the world. But it would have been nice for the American Native cultures to get more than 1 page in a book this big.

This is a history book and a fashion book. Loved it. 🩷

15hours, library paperback

[CharlotteReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

What People Wore When provides a concise, visual overview of outfits from different periods through out time. It offers several views of costumes and several paragraphs of information about the period or trend depicted. IT makes a nice overview, reference volume and starting point for designing and thinking about period images and costumes.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited for this book and I technically didn't read it, but I did flip through the areas I was interested in and read a bit of that. However, I was very sad that I only found Poland and Ukraine mentioned once (they were on the same page). This book focuses more on Western Europe and barely touches Central-Eastern Europe. To me this book was a disappointment.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just broad overview. If you want more detailed explanation you would be disappointed. It provided clothes from around the world, but the main focust was Europe, especially British and French.

[mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tagline "every level of society" is very unlikely to be true. Though a good and thorough book with great and numerous illustrations, it's only thorough for European dress. Latin America is particularly lacking. Nevertheless an invaluable source.

[Tasha Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book. Leaves a few styles out, but tries to be as accurate as possible.

[Kanea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful for costume making or character illustration reference.

[Mor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the field,very elegant and fun to read at the cost of a little bit of details ,but that's the price you pay to make it so good looking

[Anna Steinman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has managed to fit a vast amount of information into a single book, beautiful illustrations! Better as an into or overview than an in-depth study of any one place or period or social status

[Eshani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the book, but it’s not as in depth as I would like. Except, England, France and some other European regions rest has barely touched on.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fashionista, then this book is definitely for you! Do you want to know how fashion has evolved? Have you ever wondered why we dress the way we do? Have you ever wanted to know who started what fashion? Well then this book is perfect for you! Explore the multiple outfits worn throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and more time periods! The beautiful illustrations in this book help us see what kind of crazy-cool outfits were worn in each country during each time period!
This book is filled with not only wonderfully drawn illustrations, but also a mini-paragraph on who wore the outfit (the person's social status), as well as why it was worn. Because of the little descriptions written with each outfit, not only do you learn the history of fashion, but you also learn a bit more about the time period, which helps the reader understand a bit more about why the outfit was worn as well.
Melissa Leventon did an amazing job with including enough information about each outfit, but I would like to see her talk a little more about how each fashion during each time period influenced that time period. But in general, this book was pretty much flawless!
This book was truly amazing, and I think that Ms. Leventon did a really good job on this book! This book deserves an "ooo la la!"

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was heavy on illustrations depicting the fashions of ancient cultures around the world up to the 1800s-more focused on Europe and Asia. I read this book mainly to get a better picture in my head of the English, French and Italian clothing described in the historical fiction that I read and this book did just that. It provides examples of the women's hood styles, farthingales and sleeves. Also, it clarifies some armor terminology. A good overview and recommended for anyone with an interest in historical fashion.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE books like this. They fit my style of learning well.

This particular one was a little confusing, however, and stretches only to the beginning of the 19th century. Gorgeous illustrations. I think that the writers focused a little too much on the illustrators, rather than the time period & clothing.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference book for any costume designer, art director, director... pretty much anyone that needs to have some basic knowledge of clothing from different times. But one thing I would like to suggest next time when making a book like this that when you're laying out the text and images that the images be matched with the text so the reader has something to immediately refer to.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one book that I have been required for any of my college classes that I have truely loved. The illustrations are absolutly beautiful. Reading assignments only took minutes to read rather then the hours that other books. It was a huge help for projects, and was always a good starting point at least.

[Lindsay White · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by historical, geographical clothing choices. I just wish it wasn't so Eurocentric.

Update: Not recommended. What I really wanted to know about were the functional reasons behind historical clothing choices, but what I got were boring 19th century stylized illustrations.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's due back to the library and I just wasn't interested enough in it to try and get it back. Interesting idea, but just too general to make it more than a fleeting glimpse at each time/group, and the lack of depth meant it failed to catch me.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had fantastic information! The only thing that had me make the wtf face were these weird, backhanded comments at Racinet and the other contributers. And that's with some serious discussion of codpieces and how they grew larger as the centuries went on. :/

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific reference book for anyone who loves history. I bought this one after reading.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

wish it had more american clothing

[Kathy Davie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too generic

[Mazzou B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! Full of illustrations and detailed history.

[Isabel]

Definitely better than any other history of fashion books.