Costume: 1066 to the Present (Third Edition) [Paperback]

John Peacock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2006

This expanded and updated edition of John Peacock’s unrivaled collection of drawings ranges over eleven centuries of English historical costume.

More than a thousand illustrations, based on surviving garments and contemporary paintings and photographs, demonstrate the astonishing changes in men’s and women’s clothing over the centuries—from the simple tunics and gowns of the eleventh century to the petticoat breeches and ostrich-plumed hats of Charles II’s reign to the T-shirts and shorts of today.

Clear and detailed drawings, plus notes that pinpoint specific features such as fabric, decoration, accessories and cut, make each costume immediately comprehensible.

Completely up to date, and with a new chart showing the main changes in fashion through the centuries, this is an essential reference for students of theatrical design and fashion, drama groups and anyone interested in the history of costume. Over 1100 illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

An indispensable aid to all designers. -- The Stage

Valuable as an overview of fashion garments, trims, and accessories within each period. -- Choice

About the Author

John Peacock was Senior Costume Designer for BBC Television for many years. His many books include The Complete Fashion Sourcebook; Costume: 1066 to the Present; The Chronicle of Western Costume; Twentieth-Century Fashion; Fashion Since 1900; Fashion Accessories; Shoes; Men's Fashion; Twentieth-Century Jewelry; and many others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Third Edition edition (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500286027
• ISBN-13: 978-0500286029
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good guide for period costume, November 5, 2006

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Costume: 1066 to the Present (Third Edition) (Paperback)

Peacock puts together a book that focuses itself on British fashion of the royalty from 1066 through 2005. Pages are filled with designs that the royalty as well as the wealthy would have worn during this time period. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, and this book contains over 1000 pictures to demonstrate the changes in fashion over the years.

The book has very little text in it. Each page is filled with 8 different designs, typically 4 are male fashion designs, and 4 are for women. What I do like about these designs is that each one has notes about trim, how garmets were fastened, hair styles, and information regarding proper head dress is also given. I feel if you are trying to recreate one of these designs this book would be helpful in getting the small details correct.

While short on words, this book has many sketches, and much information is contained on each sketch. There is very little text, or any form of long dry reading here. You may even wished he spent more time going over the design changes in text. I feel this book does an excellent job of giving someone a feel for what clothing looked like in the time periods covered in this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for costumers, April 26, 2008

By 

Zuzana Kraemerova (Czech Republic) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Costume: 1066 to the Present (Third Edition) (Paperback)

This sort of book might have been very helpful if you could rely on the pictures. It gives relatively many drawings for each period (though too few if you want to focus on one exact date), but I could never find out where the pictures came from, what were they based on, as I found so many obvious mistakes and fantasy elements that for a serious costumer, this would be an absolutely terrible and useless book. Besides, the pictures are not very well drawn, the illustrator wasn't as skilled as another painter of untrustworthy costumes, A.Racinet.

This could be only help for people who want to have a general "overview" of the fashion history and its changes through decades, but I must add that the dresses depicted aren't always very typical for the period, which can spoil the general impression.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Pictures, September 16, 2011

By 

Kaedy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Costume: 1066 to the Present (Third Edition) (Paperback)

I often sew historical costumes for friends and clients. This book has helped me turn terminology that they don't understand into pictures they can point at! Unfortunately it's upper classes only. No Merchant class or lower class. Still an excellent resource though.