The second volume in Prestel's Whole story series is a lavish, nicely priced, and authoritative book tracing the complete evolution of fashion, from togas to Tory Burch.This enthralling book takes readers through every major era of fashion history: classical Greece and Rome; the court dress of the Tang Dynasty; the emergence of the Japanese kimono; early Native American and Pre-Colombian textiles; the Ottoman and Mughal Empires; Renaissance, Restoration, and Romantic costume; the Belle Epoque and Art Deco; sportswear, ready-to-wear, and haute couture; the British menswear revolution; Tokyo street fashion--and much, much more. Filled with indispensable information about every aspect of fashion from 500 BCE to now, this encyclopedic reference highlights in detail key pieces that epitomize certain styles. It profiles fashion icons to show how one designer or style influences another, explains the impact of cultural and historical events on daily wear, and demonstrates how technical innovation can take fashion in new directions. Engaging, all-encompassing, and overflowing with illustrations, this is an indispensable resource for anyone who loves fashion.
Marnie Fogg is a media consultant in all aspects of the fashion industry. She has a Master’s Degree in Art and Design Advanced practice and theory. She has lectured in Visual Studies and the Culture of Fashion and the University of Nottingham.
She is the author of over 25 books on fashion and related subjects including: The Dress: 100 Ideas that Changed Fashion Forever, Vintage Handbags: Collecting and Wearing Designer Classics, Vintage Weddings, Vintage Fashion Illustration from Harper’s Bazarr 1930 - 1970, and a series of books “Vintage Patterns” that cover the decades 1920’s thru 1980’s.
A deep and comprehensive look at what humans have worn throughout history, touching upon numerous different countries and cultures. The best part of reading this tome was discovering just how foppish the English have been throughout history, given how much they make fun of French people for that!
Foreword, Valerie Steele p.6 – Is it possible to tell “the whole story” of fashion? “Fashion” is such a complicated concept. It helps to remember that fashion is also a verb. To fashion something is to make it in a particular way. We fashion our appearance, not only through our choice of clothing, but also with particular hairstyles, body language, and behaviour. Even if we define “fashion” more narrowly, as the prevailing style of clothing, subject to change (i.e. fashionable dress), it may still be impossible to tell the whole story, because the subject involves such an enormous (and constantly expanding) body of information, involving new designers, new trends, and new ideas. Moreover, scholars cannot agree on when fashion began, and how it might be distinguished from other forms of dress and adornment. Histories of fashion often begin by surveying the clothing styles of ancient Greece and Rome (from about 500 BCE), although they might, with equal validity, begin with ancient China, Egypt, or India. People in different parts of the world developed different styles of dress and adornment, which usually remained relatively stable over long periods of time. The rise of capitalism in fourteenth-century Europe helped inaugurate a new emphasis on a regular pattern of sartorial change. This is often identified as the “beginning” of fashion. In recent years, however, scholars have emphasized that something like fashion also existed in a number of non-European countries. As early as the seventh century, in Tang-dynasty China, for example, there were already factories producing complex silk fabrics, which were made into a variety of elaborate styles of dress that changed significantly over time, and which differed form the styles of previous and subsequent dynasties. One of the central characteristics of fashion is change over time. But it is unclear how rapidly, regularly, and extensively change in dress must occur before we can call the phenomenon “fashion.” p.7 – Because of the history of European capitalism, imperialism, and colonialism, western fashions were eventually introduced around the globe. But styles have also moved in the other direction, and today the fashion system is a global phenomenon. The Birth of Modern Fashion p.94 – 1720 – The robe à la française becomes popular among the aristocracy 1753 – The British Museum is founded to house the many antiquities and curiosities collected from around the globe, largely by the scientist Hans Sloane. 1765 – Clive of India gains the lordship of Bengal for the East India Company. It strengthens trade links with India’s producers and controls Indian fabric markets. 1770 – Marie-Antoinette of Austria married Louis XVI of France and became the center of court fashion; Rose Bertin opens her boutique in Paris, attracting royal patronage across Europe 1774 – Bertin is named modiste (dressmaker) of Marie-Antoinette and designs her court and informal dresses
I didn't know what rating to give this book because it looks gorgeous, and the photos are amazing and I LOVE that it covers clothes from other cultures, but, the main text is in 10 point, which I rather optimistically thought I could manage for my favourite subject, but the captions and the shout out boxes are in 8 point font, which gave me a headache. I tried just looking at the pictures, but kept sucked in to reading just a little bit and BAM, headache again.