Costume Books

A History of Jewellery - $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 - $22.00
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.

British Costume from Earliest Times to 1820 - $28.00
Mrs Charles H Ashdowne. Hard-to-find classic drew on primary sources--actual costumes, illuminated manuscripts, effigies, etc.--to provide authentic detailed coverage of what people wore in Britain from the early Saxon period (ca. 460 a.d.) to the reign of King George III (1820). Clothing of commoners, royalty and ecclesiastics. 500pp. Pb.

Celtic Body Art Tattoos - $2.00
Anna Pomaska. Celtic designs are shown off in 12 easy-to-apply temporary tattoos in popular blue-black ink. Beautiful designs include mythical creatures, human figures in spirals and weaves, abstracts, and more. Children and adults alike will enjoy decorating arms and legs!

Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England - $46.00
Penelope Rogers. This archaeological study considers how textiles were made in the Early Anglo-Saxon settlements, how the cloth was fashioned into garments, and the nature of the clasps and jewellery with which the clothes were worn. It is both a practical guide to the manufacture of clothing and a review of the significance of textiles and costume within Anglo-Saxon society. It draws from a database of 3,800 finds, and includes a review of the primary evidence from 162 Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, where small fragments of the dead's clothes have been preserved with brooches, pins and necklaces. 250pp. Pb.

Clothes of the Common Woman: 1480-1580 Part 2: Making the Garments - $24.00
R Morris. This booklet is a reconstruction of the patterns for clothes worn by the ordinary woman during this period. The patterns include smock, petticoat/kirtle, waistcoat, loose gown/frock. There is also a discussion on sleeves, stockings, headwear, neckwear, and aprons. 30pp. Pb.

The Corset and the Crinoline - $19.00
W B Lord. An illustrated history. This profusely illustrated fashion history surveys the fascinating range of undergarments that whittled the female waist to its most slender proportions. Discover how the use of wood, whalebone, steel, hoops, and tight laces had gripping influences on shaping the figures of women from ancient Greece to 19th-century Vienna. 240pp. Pb.

Crafting Handmade Shoes - $55.00
Sharon Raymond. This excellent book on shoemaking is long Out of Print. However, this is too good a book to be unavailable, so this is the official photocopy from the author, bound as the original book, and including some large size patterns not available with the original book. The book covers the fundamentals of shoemaking, including pictures, sidebars with flair, and great instructions for techniques. Approximately 30 patterns are included — from an apple pie-color sandal to a Sante Fe-like desert sunrise moccasin. Includes templates. One copy only. 128pp. 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.

Dress Accessories c.1150-c.1450 (2nd Edition): Medieval Finds From Excavations in London - $65.00
Geoff Egan and Frances Pritchard. Catalogues, discusses, and illustrates over 1,780 medieval dress accessories recovered from excavations in London. Girdles, buckles, brooches, buttons, hair accessories, pins, beads, chains, pendants, rings, purses, cosmetic sets, and needlecases were among the wealth of well-preserved finds recovered from these excavations in the City of London, which provide an accurate framework within which to date the recovered items. This book presents the opportunity for statistical analysis of dress accessories based on the sheer abundance of detailed information. Catalog entries for all 1,784 finds. A treasure-trove of detailed historical information, it offers sociological insight into the clothing choices of the "ordinary man/woman" during the three hundred years from 1150 through 1450 AD. Fully illustrated: twelve colored plates, numerous black-and-white photos, hundreds of detailed line drawings. Notes, charts, extensive bibliography. 438 pp, Pb.

English Costume from the Early Middle Ages - $27.00
Iris Brooke. Comprehensive, profusely illustrated reference documents clothing styles of all classes - from loose-cut garments of 10th Century Anglo-Saxons to the splendid ermine-trimmed coronation outfit of Anne Boleyn in the 16th century, with special attention paid in all periods to such crucial details as footwear, cuffs, collars and hats. Includes important information about dress-making construction as well as notes on social customs of the period. 24 color plates. 296pp. Pb.

The Evolution of Fashion: Pattern & Cut from 1066 to 1930 - $68.00
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.

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Illustrated Handbook of Western European Costume - $26.00 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. 176 black-and-white illustrations. 304pp. Pb.

Make Your Own Medieval Clothing - Basic Garments for Men - $33.00
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. 64pp. 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. 64pp. Pb.

Make Your Own Medieval Clothing - Headwear for Men and Women - $33.00
Susanne and Frank Leuner. Veil, circlet, coife, bonnet, cap or hood? To give an authentic portrayal of a medieval character, the appropriate period headdress is needed. This carefully researched and richly illustrated book offers a wide variety of head coverings through the middle ages. All are presented with exemplary historical sources which form the foundation for their interpretations and also give advice on how to wear the headdresses. The book includes an introduction to the necessary working techniques. Throughout the book are clear and easily comprehensible instructions and pictures. A section on materials ensures that the right fabric and colours are chosen. 64pp. Pb.

Medieval Costume and Fashion - $35.00
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 - $56.00
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 Vol 3: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c.1560-1620 - $47.00
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.

Patterns of Fashion Vol 4: The Cut and Construction of Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear, Headwear, and Accessories for Men and Women c.1540-1660 - $60.00
Janet Arnold. Finally! The book that Janet Arnold had planned before her death. Finished by her last student, Jenny Tiramani, this book is dedicated to the linen clothes that covered the body from the skin out. There are full-color portraits and photographs of details of garments as well as 86 patterns for items of linen clothing. Anyone who has seen Ms Arnold's previous 3 books in this series will know what a treasure this one is. Includes colour illustrations. 128 pp. Pb.

Purses In Pieces - $67.00
Olaf Goubitz. This study is a bible of leather holders, especially money holders. Every purse that has been found in an archaeological context in the Netherlands is published in this book. All the techniques are discussed and many iconographical references are presented. Because leather objects from this period do not vary much in North Western Europe and North America, readers will find what they need to know about all the different manifestations of purses. 120pp. Pb.

The Samurai Undressed - $85.00
Jacqui Carey. Here is a rare Out-Of-Print treasure. This book elaborates on the functional role that Japanese braiding -- kumihimo -- plays in holding sections of Samurai armor together and the history of Samurai armor. The detailed descriptions recall the ritual and craftsmanship that mark much of Japanese life. The author examines the actual construction of the braids and armor beginning with the earliest (8 A.D.) evidence, through to the abolition of the Samurai class in 1868. Full color and black & white photos, plus line drawings, explain the details of assembling that hold the protective pieces together. 80pp. Pb.

Seventeenth Century Women's Dress Patterns - $85.00
Victoria & Albert Museum. This innovative and breathtakingly detailed book from the V&A presents dress patterns, construction details, embroidery, and making instructions (including a knitting pattern and lacemaking) for 15 garments and accessories from a 17th-century British woman's wardrobe. Step-by-step drawings of the construction sequence and scale patterns for each garment enable readers to accurately reconstruct them. There are scale diagrams for making linen and metal thread laces, silk braids, and embroidery designs. Multiple photographs, close-up construction details, and X-ray photography reveal the hidden elements of the clothes, the number of layers, and the stitches used inside. This first book in a new series takes the physical examination and study of historical clothing to a new depth and degree of detail, using the expertise of designers, tailors, and makers from London's Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. 160pp. Hb.

Shoes and Pattens c.1150-c.1450: Medieval Finds From Excavations in London - $48.00
Francis Grew and Margrethe de Neergaard. Since the 1970s and ’80s, more than 2,000 shoes have been found in waterlogged conditions along the north bank of the Thames. All are in well-dated archaeological contexts, making it possible to trace the development of shoe fashion between the 12th and 14th centuries. With 27 B&W photos of the finds and 91 line illustrations showing the shoes’ and pattens’ construction, this book is a treasure trove for recreationists and theatrical costumers, although it is equally of interest to archaeologists and scholars. The introduction to this, the 2nd edition, discusses more recent finds and addresses issues that received too little attention in the 1st edition: the practice of making new shoes from older parts and the use of inserts; corrections to the terminology. Also, European discoveries in the ’80s and ’90s now make it possible to place shoe fashion in a broader context. 152pp. Hb.

Six Centuries of Costume - $22.00
Victor Anderson. In the 1930's, California artist Victor Anderson set out to design a book on historic costume. That book was never finished, and for decades Victor's exquisite sketches sat in a box in the back of a closet. Now, more than 70 years later, Victor's granddaughter has assembled these sketches into an "artist's sketchbook" of historic costume -- a fascinating glimpse of costumes from historic paintings and from costume books of the 1920's. The book focuses primarily on British costume but also touches on several periods of European costume. Ideal for recreationists, SCA members, and writers researching historic costume details. 253pp. Pb.

Stepping Through Time - $117.00
Olaf Goubitz. Drawing on 25 years' experience as a conservator of archaeological leather, Goubitz presents a typological catalogue of footwear dating from 800-1800 AD. The study is based on Goubitz' analysis of an important assemblage of shoes recovered from excavations at Dordrecht in the Netherlands but the volume's aim is to offer guidance for the identification of shoes found on sites across north-western Europe. In addition, contributions by van Driel-Murray and Groenman-van Waateringe examine evidence for shoe types in prehistoric Europe and the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, periods which inevitably have left less evidence. The fully illustrated catalogue follows a comprehensive discussion of shoes styles and technology including height standards, iconography, material, patterns, stitches, soles, the identification and dating of fragments and conservation. The volume should prove a useful tool for Roman and, especially, medieval historians and archaeologists. 396pp. Pb.

Textiles and Clothing c.1150-c.1450: Medieval Finds From Excavations in London - $49.00
Crowfoot, Pritchard & Staniland. Newly reissued. Finds include knitting, tapestries, silk hair-nets, and elaborately patterned oriental, Islamic, and Italian fabrics. These objects reveal considerable information on the cut and construction of clothing as well. This highly readable account provides a wealth of new insights on fashions, clothing, and textile industries of medieval England and Europe. 32 color illus, 132 b/w illus, 91 line drawings. 250pp. Pb.

The King's Servants: Men's Dress at the Accession of Henry VIII - $59.00
Caroline Johnson & Editors Jane Malcolm-Davies & Ninya Mikhaila. Here is provided a vivid picture of Henry’s early court using evidence from royal warrants and account books in The National Archive. Caroline Johnson’s transcriptions and translations of more than two hundred hand-written pages of the original 16th century Latin and English documents have revealed a wealth of fascinating facts about expenditure on garments for servants at the Tudor court. The typical clothes worn by middling men during the decades between the battles of Bosworth (1485) and Flodden (1513) are described and reconstructed in this beautifully illustrated book. Previously unpublished documents, including bundles of orders for clothes, and parchment books recording payments to such people as mercers, drapers, tailors, cordwainers and silkwomen, are carefully analysed to provide details of the usual allocation of dress to different ranks of servants at the royal court. The book focuses on the middle-ranking men who were clerks, messengers and huntsmen. There is also information on trends in men’s fashion at the turn of the century as the documents investigated demonstrate Henry VII’s expenditure as well as his son’s. A noteworthy inclusion is an early livery issued to Henry VII’s newly-founded Yeomen of the Guard, who were resplendent in green and white damask coats embellished with lavish gold embroidery. The book offers a survey of relevant pictorial sources such as effigies, brasses and stained glass plus rare glimpses of archaeological artefacts from the late 15th and early 16th century. These, together with the archival information, have provided sufficient evidence for reconstructions of the typical royal servant’s every day wardrobe to be made, and these are illustrated in high-quality colour photographs. The book also features comprehensive patterns for a man’s complete costume during the early Tudor period. These were devised by Ninya Mikhaila with other experienced costumiers, including Sarah Thursfield (The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant) and Jane Huggett (Clothes of the Common Woman, 1480-1580). Pb.

The Mode in Costume - $27.00
R Turner Wilcox. The pursuit of style has prompted centuries of dramatic change in fashion — and the author has researched and documented it thoroughly. A lifelong student of history, costume, and design, she observed decades of fashion innovations from major cities all over the world and served as fashion editor of Women's Wear Daily from 1910 to 1915. Her remarkable Mode series is a definitive reference for anyone with a passion for fashion. From the togas of ancient Rome to the gorgeous gowns of Dior, this lavishly illustrated, thoroughly researched treasury examines men's, women's, and children's clothing — plus accessories — from 3000 B.C. to 1958. Based on medals, coins, sculpture, and decorations of various periods, the images include ancient Egyptian tunics, Chinese silks, Greek sandals, Roman bridal gowns, Persian parasols and fans, Victorian top hats and cravats, Renaissance lace, Venetian breeches, crinolines and bustles, fedoras and homburgs, as well as perfumes, hairstyles, and handbags. A gathering of some of the most distinctive and dramatic styles through the ages, this book is an essential handbook for illustrators, costume designers, and theater students — and compulsory reading for fashionistas. 512pp. Pb.

The Mode in Footwear - $18.00
R Turner Wilcox. What shoes were the height of fashion in Paris at the turn of the century? What did Tutankhamen's burial sandals look like? The answers lie in this illustrated compendium covering centuries of footwear, from Egyptian sandals, to Chinese silk wedges used for binding feet, to American saddle oxfords. Reprint of the Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1948 edition 208pp. Pb.

The Mode in Hats and Headress - $22.00
R Turner Wilcox. This extraordinary handbook covers the worldwide evolution of almost five thousand years of hats, hairstyles, and headdress for both sexes. Since ancient times, men and women have used hats and headgear for everything from adornment and protection to establishing their rank in society. With hundreds of illustrations and fascinating text, this comprehensive survey extends from 3000 B.C. to mid-twentieth century. The showcase depicts an astonishing range of women's styles — Egyptian headdresses, Spanish mantillas, French straw sailor hats, buckle-trimmed tam-o-shanters, wedding veils, bonnets, snoods, and jeweled crowns. Men's headwear includes feather-trimmed turbans, soldiers' helmets, cowboy hats and top hats, derbies and boaters, berets, sombreros, and Homburgs. Hairstyles run the gamut as well: ringlets, topknots, and spit curls, ponytails, pageboys, and poodle cuts, as well as pompadours, mutton chops, and crew cuts. With delightful details on jewelry, cosmetics, and beauty treatments, this is a unique reference that fashion designers, stylists, and historians will treasure. 368pp. Pb.

Tribal Body Art Tattoos - $3.00
Anna Pomaska. Twelve eye-catching designs in fashionable blue-black ink: stylized creatures of land, sea and air, star-shaped, and spherical objects, and more.

Tudor Costume & Fashion - $53.00
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 - $39.00
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.

Viking Clothing - $33.00
Thor Ewing. This book looks at the aspects of cloth production - raw materials, production tools and techniques for woven and non-woven textiles, dyeing, decorative textiles and embroidery. It includes a detailed consideration of both male and female outfits and a new interpretation of the suspended dress. It also shows how much can be reconstructed from the discoveries of archaeological excavation. 176pp. 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.

Woven Into the Earth - $75.00
Else Ostergaard. In 1921 dozens of medieval garments were recovered from a graveyard in the Norse settlement of Herjolfsnaes, Greenland. Preserved intact for centuries by the permafrost, these mediaeval garments display remarkable similarities to western European costumes of the time. The Greenland finds provided a close look at how ordinary Europeans dressed in the Middle Ages. Many of the bodies were found swaddled in multiple layers of cast off clothing. Crowberry and dwarf willow roots grew through coffins, clothing and corpses alike, binding them together in a vast network of thin fibers - as if the finds had been literally sewn in the earth. Woven into the Earth recounts the excavation in the context of other Norse textile finds in Greenland. It then describes what the finds tell us about the materials and methods used in making the clothes. The weaving and sewing techniques detailed here are surprisingly sophisticated, especially considering the harsh conditions. 256pp Hb.