Customer Reviews

Dress in the Age of Elizabeth I

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Those who know the Jane Ashelford did The Sixteenth Century (A Visual History of Costume) may be wondering how this differs. They are alike in that both rely on reproductions of contemporary illustrations, mostly in black-and-white.

As the title suggests, this focuses on the years 1558-1603. The first two chapters are somewhat similar to those years in her other book, being costumes of women and costumes of men, although of course these are covered in more depth. Ashelford has chosen to put the descriptions in the text, rather than in the standardized format of the Visual History series.

In this book, Ashelford goes considerably more in depth in the social significance of the clothing (see ProductWiki for Table of Contents). She considers its relationship to social status, examines the widespread use of allegory, looks at festive costumes and the fashion trade.

I am glad to say that she has not used any of her color pictures on representations of Elizabeth I, whose portraits are so widely reproduced, but has presented less familiar portraits. Some of the pictures have not reproduced well at all - the faces are rather ghostly.

I would say that for a person who is interested solely in Elizabethan fashion, the Visual History book would not add much to this. The person with a more general interest in Tudor fashion may want both.

Includes notes, a glossary, a select bibliography and an index.