A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion - The Cultural Histories Series

Covering this amount of ground is ambitious, but the effort is largely successful ... [The] diversity of voices and approaches strengthens the discussion. One finds intriguing, surprising, and thought-provoking essays covering many cultural layers of dress history. * CHOICE *
This is a sumptuous series, as rich in ideas as it is in its descriptions of silks and satins, cashmeres and furs. * Times Literary Supplement *
This six volume reappraisal of fashion history provides readers with essays by established scholars and newcomers to the discipline from America, Australasia and Europe; their combined expertise demonstrates that studying dress and fashion is essential to the understanding of history and material culture from antiquity to the modern era. -- Valerie Cumming, Editor of Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society
A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion is a valuable addition to the expanding literature on the place of clothing in the development of society in Europe and America. In volumes ranging from Antiquity to the present, scholars have addressed connecting themes with skill and care. Their work captures key developments in the evolution and meaning of fashion across time and space and is informed by the latest research. Handsome and authoritative, A Cultural History will enhance any library. -- Christopher Breward, President of the Edinburgh College of Art, UK
The history of dress has always demanded interdisciplinarity. Few if any garments can stand apart from their context and retain meaning. To truly understand dress and fashion it is necessary to probe the social and aesthetic forces from which it is derived. This series demonstrates the deep value of considering these forces, and the result is a much deeper appreciation and understanding of how the fashion of any given period came to be. -- Reviewer: Jean Druesedow, Kent State University, USA