Fashion in Detail: From the 17th and 18th Centuries by Avril Hart, Susan North

From the Publisher

This sumptuously illustrated book offers the first up-close view of the richness and variety of historical dress of the 17th and 18th centuries. Drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum's world-famous collection, these garments display skills that are now lost, yet continue to inspire today's leading designers.

Much of the finery seen here is too fragile to be on permanent display, or its detail too intricate to be captured in conventional photography. Jacobean blackwork, neoclassical tambour work, exquisite stitching, and knife-sharp pleats are pictured in stunning photographs, alongside such unusual techniques as stamping, pinking, and slashing--many of which are rarely employees in the modern world, as they require labor-intensive handwork impossible to replicate by machine.

With line drawings showing the construction of the complete garment and a text that sets each in the context of its time, this book is a visual feast for all fashion lovers, and an essential resource for curators, collectors, students, costumers and designers.

Threads - Celeste Sheets

Fashion in Detail makes the fragile, extravagant clothing of a lost age come alive and belongs in the sewing room of those aspiring to elegance and ingenuity in their sewing today.

Library Journal

Hart, a former assistant curator in the Department of Textiles and Dress at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and North, the deputy curator of the department, combine straightforward text describing some 160 rare garments from the Victoria and Albert collections with line drawings illustrating the construction of the garments. The magnificently detailed color photographs are what make this volume stand out from similar titles. Fabrics, colors, styles, and unusual sewing techniques long lost to the modern fashion industry are carefully documented. A brief glossary of terms proves helpful, although a few terms were not listed. This book is a treasure trove for fashion design students and costume designers alike--the garments discussed and illustrated here are frequently too fragile or too vulnerable to bright light ever to be displayed publicly. Recommended for larger academic and public libraries and collections specializing in fashion or costume design.--P. Steven Thomas, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents