Last week I had a ticket for a talk at Bloomsbury publishers regarding How to Read a Dress by Lydia Edwards. The talk was given by the author and this book really grabbed my attention. Price of the ticket also included a copy of the book which I think is very generous. Anyway, booked my seat and then checked my diary (Note: always wise to do this first) and realised I had double booked myself. Livid. So had to cancel and those lovely peeps at Bloomsbury not only refunded my money, I did tell them not to worry about it, but they also send me a copy of the book for which I am immensely grateful.
And it is a gorgeous book. Simply gorgeous. Printed on that smooth expensive kind of paper that is so nice to stroke and turn over and full off wonderful pictures of glorious costumes. OK I know I am laying on the superlatives but this kind of book is right up my street. First up, I have always loved looking at books of designs and fashions of years ago, When I was a little girl I used to delight in those cut out dolly books with clothes that you hooked onto them. You had to cut them out and woe betide you if you accidentally clipped off one of the tabs, you were doomed. Do you remember those? My grandchildren now love the sticker books you can get and dress up Tudors, Stuarts, Kings and Queens and I admit to no shame when I say that I have also bought myself one or two and spent many a happy evening dressing up Victorian ladies and gentlemen etc.
Forgive this wittering but this is really just to emphasis just how much I am enjoying this book. The sub-title is A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th century and starts at 1550 and includes a picture of Elizabeth 1 wearing a dress that must have been excruciatingly uncomfortable. She is shown wearing the wheel or drum farthingale which seemed to have gone out of fashion remarkably quickly, probably because it must have been a killer to wear. It seems that the hoop was angled forward, resting on a bum roll worn tied around the waist underneath the gown to enable sitting down. Sounds appalling.
Impossible to detail every single illustration though I wish I could so I have created a collage of some of the dresses shown in the book so you can see just how sumptuous they all are. Every single photograph comes with a detailed breakdown of the garment, the collar, the sleeves, the trimmings etc and each section of the book has a introduction of the history of the time these were worn. This is the kind of history that I love – social history. I know political history is fascinating too and, as I have a historian daughter, I know this well, but I am more interested in the day to day life of people how they lived, how they worked and this book is sheer delight.
I always find it interesting how the change in women's clothes and the more freedom of movement the fashions show reflect their gradual emancipation. By the end of the book we are in the sixties and the mini-skirt and you cannot get freer than that.
A wonderful book and my thanks again to Bloomsbury for sending me this copy. As a book blogger I receive many books but I never ever take this largesse for granted and am always thrilled and humbled with everything I receive. This book is a real treat
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