Costume Books

A History of Jewelry - $35.00
Joan EvansSuperb sourcebook of extremely rare ornamentation. It provides a fascinating history of jewelry styles over a 700-year period. A detailed narrative enhances 400 photographs and illustrations of striking pieces: gilt bronze clasp (c. 1200); 13th-century reliquary pendant; diamond and topaz necklace (c.1760), much more. 448pp. Pb.

A Short History of Costume and Armour - $23.00
Francis M Kelly & Randolph Schwabe. More than 300 illustrations grace the highly readable pages of this magnificent fashion history, a stylistic panorama that ranges from the Norman conquest to the early nineteenth century, focusing chiefly on armor, from the Crusades to the seventeenth century; clothing of the English upper classes, both sexes, eleventh to nineteenth centuries; and accessories, including gloves, belts, corsets, shoes, and headgear. Virtually every page is illustrated with permission-free images gathered from museums and private collections, derived from illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, paintings, and other rare sources. Elaborate line drawings offer multiple perspectives on individual garments, with captions highlighting the more arcane aspects. Unabridged reprint of the classic 1931 edition. 342 black-and-white illustrations. 272pp. Pb.

Ancient European Costume and Fashion - $24.00
Herbert Norris. Scrupulously researched book by noted authority traces the development of European clothing styles from prehistory to the Norman Conquest in AD 1066. Over 160 illustrations, including 17 full-color plates, display draped robes of classical Greece, the jewel-encrusted apparel of a 10th-century Byzantine emperor, garments of peasants, as well as footwear, hairstyles, headdresses, and jewelry. Accompanying text chronologically traces origin and development of a garment and its relation to forerunners and successors. Immensely valuable reference for students, historians, artists and anyone intersted in costume history. 336pp. Pb.

Authentic Everyday Dress of the Renaissance: All 154 Plates from the "Trachtenbuch" - $26.00
Christoph Weiditz. Classic costume book of the 16th century depicts dress of Europeans (especially Spanish) of all classes. Special section on Aztec Indians brought to Spain by Cortes and sketched from life there by Weiditz. All 154 original plates have been meticulously reproduced, complete with English captions. Notes on plates. 144pp. Pb.

Byzantine Fashions - $8.00
Tom Tierney. 45 illustrations of authentic costumes, as depicted in ancient mosaics and sculpture, display attire of all classes--from simple tunics of early Christian commoners and body armor of Roman warriors to a pallium decorated with crosses, worn by a priest of the 10th century; and finely brocaded robe of a 12th-century Byzantine princess. Footwear, headgear, and hair styles are also presented in a collection sure to inspire and delight colorists and costume designers. Descriptive captions. 48pp. Pb.

Cavalier and Puritan Fashions - $8.00
Tom Tierney. Who were the Cavaliers and what elaborate hairstyles did they introduce? Did seventeenth-century Puritans wear only simple, unadorned black outfits? Coloring book fans find out with the help of this educational, accurately rendered fashion survey of the period. Notes. 45 black-and-white plates. 48pp. Pb.

Celtic Fashions - $8.00
Tom Tierney. Scores of carefully rendered illustrations depict more than 4,000 years of Celtic apparel--from cloaks worn by European Celts ca. 2000 b.c. to the plaid tunics of British-Celtic farm women (100 b.c.) and the elaborately embroidered costume of a 20th-century Irish step dancer. Fascinating, ready-to-color archive with detailed captions also includes illustrations of period headgear, footwear, and jewelry. 48pp. Pb.

Celtic Knots for Beaded Jewellery - $29.00
Susan Millodot. Learn how to make beautiful, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches and earrings using real, three-dimensional Celtic knots combined with beads and pendants. Eighteen stunning projects using clear step-by-step photographs show how to create original, stylish designs. 80pp. Pb.

Chinese Knots for Beaded Jewellery - $29.00
Susan Millodot. Learn how to make beautiful, original necklaces and bracelets using decorative Chinese knots, beads, pendants and semi-precious stones. Sixteen stunning projects using clear step-by-step photographs show how to create original, stylish designs. 80pp. Pb.

Cut My Cote - $15.00
Dorothy K Burnham. There are 27 of them -- all designed to be made from handwoven fabrics with not an inch of cloth wasted. They are based on clothing worn by peoples of different cultures from the 4th century Coptic to a 20th century Korean coat. All are ingeniously designed, attractive, and such things as ponchos, man's shirt, man's smock, a capote or blanket coat, and a woman's sleeveless dress are included. There is a drawing of the pattern and interesting and informative text for each. Illustrated. 35pp. Pb.

European Civil and Military Clothing - $35.00
Sir Frederick Stibbert. Peerless archive of historical fashions features 217 handsome plates depicting nearly 1,000 individual figures and accessories. Detailed illustrations, meticulously adapted from ancient documents, manuscripts, frescoes, paintings and other sources reveal a remarkable panorama of priestesses and warriors of ancient Britain; nobles and burghers of 16th-century Germany; elaborately coiffed ladies from the court of Versailles; knights in full regalia from many eras and countries, and much more. Informative captions included. 224pp. Pb.

The Evolution of Fashion: Pattern & Cut from 1066 to 1930 - $63.00
Margot Hamilton Hill & Peter A Bucknell. This book is an essential work for everyone concerned with design and costume for the stage, the screen and television. It traces the development of costume and cutting over a period of almost ten centuries. Each of the 56 periods has a full-page drawing of male and female dress in period setting, as well as a dressmakers pattern, (drawn to scale and supported by technical notes on making up), and comments on the general characteristics of the costume of each period and important observation on appropriate deportment for both men and women. Notes on the undergarments that played such an important part in determining the line of the costume, as well as on headdress and hairstyle, outer garments, shoes and accessories, will help complete the effect of period style. 224pp. Pb.

Hats: A History of Fashion in Headwear - $30.00
Hilda Amphlett. This comprehensive, profusely illustrated book--with over 800 illustrations--documents chronologically, by century, more than 2,000 years of head coverings--a subject that encompasses many eras and nationalities. Used as protection against the weather (or against an enemy's weapons), as a badge of office, or as something to enhance the wearer's self-esteem, headgear not only includes hats of all shapes and sizes but also comprises crowns, wigs, tiaras, and helmets. The author's own drawings, deriving from period paintings, sculptures, and illustrations, accurately depict varied forms of headdresses, among them, conical shaped leather caps worn by the Danish in 70 b.c.; metal Viking helmets with horns; Flemish berets (1410) enhanced with a large feather; petite straw hats adorned with a rosette and narrow ribbons (1870); handsome English top hats (1957); as well as ecclesiastical headdresses, traditional and national styles, and non-European hats and head-adornment. An invaluable reference for designers, art students, and costume historians, this entertaining and literate survey will delight anyone with a special interest in headgear. Unabridged republication of the edition published by Richard Sadler Ltd., Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, Great Britain, 1974. Over 800 black-and-white illustrations. Pb.

The History of Underclothes - $22.00
C Willett and P Cunnington. Fascinating survey of various undergarments worn by the English over six centuries. Well-documented, scholarly presentation enhanced with over 100 period illustrations depicting laced-up bodice of the 12th century, embroidered linen drawers (1500s), hooped petticoat support in bentwood (c. 1750), footed long drawers (1795), 19th-century bustles, early 19th-century corsets for men, Victorian "bust improvers," much more. The text includes information on materials, construction, and fastening. Text and photos come from poetry, literature and diaries as well as fashion journals, paintings and the actual garments themselves. Written in a delightful and entertaining style. 100 black & white photos and illustrations. 266pp. Pb.

The Illustrated Handbook of Western European Costume - $35.00
Iris Brooke. This valuable survey uses theatrical costumes as contemporary clues to the wearing apparel that was in vogue in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Flanders from 1260 to 1840. Enhanced with the author's charming, accurately rendered illustrations, the study meticulously describes more than 200 costumes. Immensely useful to costume and cultural historians, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the evolution of clothing styles. 304pp. Pb.

Juan de Alcega's Tailor's Pattern Book, 1589 - $81.00
Facsimile of the second edition, with translation by Jean Pain & Cecilia Bainton, introduction and notes by J L Nevinson. Reprinted from Ruth Bean’s 1978 edition of Libro de Geometria, Pratica y Traca, one of the earliest tailor’s books extant. This important book contains 135 tailoring patterns, covering 23 kinds of dress, male and female. It includes some clerical garb. Includes bibliography, glossary, and a table for converting fractions of ells (a period measurement) into centimeters. Although the patterns show piece layout, and give rough measurements of cloth width and hints on making optimum use of cloth, these patterns are not for the faint of heart, since they show neither seam addition, darts, notches, gathering points, nor any other guide marks. For the expert garment maker. Pb.

Make Your Own Medieval Clothing - Basic Garments for Men - $30.00
Wolf Zerkowski & Rolf Fuhrmann. To be dressed historically correct as a medieval re-enactor – it could not be simpler. The range of garments that those interested in the Middle Ages can now make themselves stretches from the High to Late Middle Ages (1200 to 1500), and from a common beggar to lower gentry. Panels with lifelike, coloured illustrations revive the different medieval classes through their clothing and accessories. Clear, easily understandable pictures lead you through all the processes. Starting with the sewing techniques used in the Middle Ages even the layman learns how to neaten fabric edges, attach sleeves and make cords with metal points. Pb.

Make Your Own Medieval Clothing - Basic Garments for Women - $30.00
Wolf Zerkowski & Rolf Fuhrmann. To be dressed historically correct as a medieval re-enactor – it could not be simpler: the range of garments that those interested in the Middle Ages can now make themselves stretches from the High to late Middle Ages (1200 to 1500), and from a simple maid to lower gentry. Panels with lifelike, coloured illustrations revive the different medieval classes through their clothing and accessories. Clear, easily understandable pictures lead you through all the processes. Starting with the sewing techniques used in the Middle Ages even the layman learns how to neaten fabric edges, attach sleeves and make cloth buttons. Pb.

Medieval and Renaissance Fashion - $27.00
Raphael Jacquemin. Taken from the Louvre and other museums, this incredible gallery of manuscript illustrations, reliefs, and effigies offers an intriguing look at fashions from 315 to 1815. Images include French soldiers, German knights, and figures such as the Duke of Normandy. Dover original selection from Iconographie Générale Méthodique du Costume du IV au XIX Siècle, L'Autheur, Paris, 1867. 96pp. Pb.

Medieval Costume and Fashion - $32.00
Herbert Norris. A superb panoramic study of clothing worn in the Middle Ages. A meticulously researched text is enhanced with nearly 700 illustrations depicting all manner of apparel — from fur-trimmed cloaks and brocaded robes of courtiers and the nobility to simpler mantles, tunics and trousers worn by merchants, huntsmen, and other commoners. 528pp. Pb.

The Medieval Tailor's Assistant - Making Common Garments 1200-1500 (UK Edition) - $79.00
Sara Thursfield. English edition of an excellent book with patterns for costumers' use. "Thursfield has done what no other book author has done--she has put the entire wardrobe of the Middle Ages out to be interpreted by costumers. Underwear, outerwear, headgear. It's all there." -- Mary Denise Smith, Costume & Dressmaker Press. 400 line drawings (including 121 patterns). 16 b&w, 4 color plates. 224pp. Pb.

Patterns For Theatrical Costume - $45.00
Katherine Holkeboer. Here is a collection of hundreds of ready-to-use patterns -- gowns, tunics, headdresses, jackets, robes, breeches -- historically accurate costume designs for periods spanning 3,000 years. There are patterns from the Egyptians through the Edwardians. A special section includes detailed step-by-step instructions to help you construct garments you may not have made before -- even corsets, hoop skirts, and hats. The patterns are multiple sized and easy to adapt. Profusely illustrated. 342pp. Pb.

Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c.1560-1620 - $55.00
Janet Arnold. What magnificent clothes were worn in this period! This book opens with 378 photographs of paintings and sculptures which show the clothing worn at the time. There are also close-ups of some of the items which have survived to this day. The rest of the book presents detailed descriptions of individual items of clothing, patterns and instructions for reproducing them. Costumers for the stage, movies and television will find here an extremely valuable book for their libraries. 128pp. Pb.

Renaissance Fashions - $8.00
Tom Tierney. A handsome collection of 45 finely detailed, ready-to color illustrations depict clothing styles from every social class of the 15th and 16th centuries. Includes portraits of an Italian peasant couple in wedding dress, children of a German royal family garbed in velvet and accompanied by a soberly dressed nanny, an English lord and lady in riding outfits, and much more. Informative captions accompany each illustration. 48pp. Pb.

Spanish and Moorish Fashions - $8.00
Tom Tierney. From the era of the Roman Empire through the rise of the Renaissance, this coloring book presents fifteen centuries of Spanish fashion. Its meticulous, accurate renderings focus particularly on the Arabic influences introduced by the Moors and depict Spain's dramatic variations in fashion: the Roman-styled clothing worn by a farm couple of the third century, the quilted tunic of a thirteenth-century Saracen warrior, the armor of a sixteenth-century conquistador, and lavish royal costumes from several eras, including the styles famously depicted by the court painter Diego Velázquez. 44 black-and-white illustrations. 48pp. Pb.

Tudor Costume & Fashion - $42.00
Herbert Norris. Monumental, profusely illustrated study of English fashions from 1485–1603. Highly authentic, detailed survey exuberantly describes clothing, headgear, hairstyles, jewelry, collars, footwear, more worn by royalty, nobility, middle and lower classes. Most illustrations from contemporary sources. 1,000 black-and-white figures. 920pp. Pb.

The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing 16th Century Dress - $48.00
Ninya Mikhaila & Jane Malcolm-Davies. Create stunning historically accurate Tudor costumes from hats to headdresses to doublets and hose. The book contains 80 historical illustrations, many in colour, and over 100 specially commissioned line drawings to give historical context and aid accuracy. Included are 36 patterns with full step-by-step instructions and photographs showing finished garments worn by real people. There are also four chapters of the social history of clothes in the 16th century, drawing on the latest research and primary sources such as ordinary people's wills and surviving royal records, along with a discussion of the materials used, people's financial and social relationships with their clothes, and the changes in dress from birth to death. There is as much emphasis on the clothes of ordinary people as there is on high fashion. There is also general advice on choosing materials, construction methods, and an insight into the Tudor tailor's sewing kit. 160pp. Pb.

Vercellio's Renaissance Costume Book - $21.00
Cesare Vercellio. All 500 woodcut illustrations from the famous 16th-century compendium: nobles, matrons, peasants, more. New English captions. 156pp. Pb.

Women's Hats, Headresses & Hairstyles - $24.00
Georgine de Courtais. More than 400 of the author's own drawings provide an authentic record of over 1,300 years of changing fashions in women's hairstyles and headwear in England. Finely detailed images -- rendered from vintage sources -- depict everything from wimples and crespines worn in Anglo-Saxon times, Tudor hoods and caps, and elaborate Georgian hats and hairstyles, to early Victorian bonnets and pillboxes of the mid-20th century. Detailed notes on styles, materials used, and methods of manufacture are included, as is a brief glossary. 192pp. Pb.