The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900 [Hardcover]

Norah Waugh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0878300252 | ISBN-13: 978-0878300259 | Publication Date: January 7, 1987 | Edition: 1

This book traces the evolution of the style of men's dress through a sequence of diagrams accurately scaled down from patterns of actual garments, many of them rare museum specimens. The plates have been selected with the same purpose. Some are photographs of suits for which diagrams have also been given; others, reproduced from paintings and old prints, show the costume complete with its accessories. Quotations from contemporary sources--from diaries, travelers' accounts and tailors' bills--supplement Norah Waugh's text with comments on fashion and lively eyewitness descriptions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a practical book that gives complete plans for executing and tailoring a costume (there are 27 patterns). An invaluable aid to the student of costume design and execution.
–Choice: Books for College Libraries

Most works dealing with costumes discuss the actual styles of dress and. . . the basic cut and shape--the real foundation of any costume--is not always considered. This book does much to remedy this deficiency . . . The great importance of this work is in the many detailed cutting diagrams and tailors' patterns . . . There is also a list of artists, engraves, and illustrators for costume reference. A definitive work in its field, this is required on reference shelves of art museums, large public libraries, and art schools.
–Library Journal

About the Author

Norah Waugh lectured and supervised practical work on historic costume in the Theatre Department of the Central School of Art and Design in London. In the late 1930s she was in charge of costume at the London Theatre Studio run by Michel Saint-Denis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Arts Books; 1 edition (January 7, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878300252
• ISBN-13: 978-0878300259
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Source for Men's Clothing, December 20, 1999

By 

dvons "Cookbook Junkie" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900 (Hardcover)

I was a little surprised when I recieved this book that it is not quite as beefy as Norah Waugh's _Cut of Women's_ clothes. I was however very pleased with it's cotent. About half of the patterns seem to be taken from pre-1780s and the other half from 1840 on. This was a little disappointing as I was looking for some good Regency Jackets for my husband. There are how ever several frock coats that I can easily ajust the cut to to get the look I want. This is a great book as far as I can tell but I am still undecided as to whether it is worth the steep price tag.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Resource for Historical Costuming, February 23, 2001

By 

Paul Willoughby (Leonardtown, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900 (Hardcover)

I never thought I would ever sew. However, my brother and I got the grandiose idea that we would make ourselves leather buff coats to wear during re-enactments with our 17th century living history group. We needed a pattern and started with research at the local college library and found this book. Although neither one of us had ever sewn before, we were able to take the coat pattern from this book, adapt it to fit our bodies and sew a coat for ourselves out of buff leather. There is a whole chapter on 17th century clothing which has patterns for breeches, doublets, cassacks and sword hangars. It also has photos of actual museum pieces. If I could use the patterns in the book, than anyone with any skill will have no problems. This book is an good resource for those wishing to sew their own period clothing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A rare resource, but not for beginners., December 12, 2007

By 

Cytheria Creations (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900 (Hardcover)

This book is the only one I've found that gives decent cutting diagrams for men's garments. I love it and have successfully made a few of the garments in it.

This book is not for beginners. Don't expect to be able to just scale up one of the patterns and get sewing. Waugh assumes you know how to sew, make and alter patterns. The only techniques mentioned are ones we don't use commonly in modern sewing and those are really only touched on out of curiosity's sake.

The only real downside is the lack of back views of many garments. Some of the coats have back views, but many of the breeches and other garments are forgotten--possibly because they're not normally fancy--but for someone who is trying to get the fit right on a pair of breeches it would be very helpful!

I recommend it to historical costumers who are interested in accurate recreation and also to theatre costumers as a visual reference for a stage interpretation. Not for someone who wants a quick costume for the weekend or for a novice sewer.