Customer Reviews

Everyday Dress, 1650-1900 (Costume Reference Series)

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As Elizabeth Ewing herself notes, the dress of common people tended to be worn out since clothing was relatively expensive. Few examples survive. The book has numerous illustrations, and Ewing discusses related issues such as the changing availability of fashion, the difficulties of washing, the booming second hand trade. Ewing also tells us that some fashionable clothing, like the simple Regency dresses, adapted well for all classes, but more elaborate fashions were only for the upper class. She traces the rise of the man's suit.

The book is illustrated with reproductions of period representations of clothing. There are also what look like some modern photos of authentic clothing. These are usually pretty good, although the arrangement is sometimes a little random. Unfortunately, there are no references in the text to specific illustrations. There are certain garments, such as the frock coat and bed-gown which do not seem to be represented. Since these were apparently important garments in their time, if there were no useful pictures, I think an artist's sketch would be in order.

The book is sometimes better for book reports than for getting a very specific notion of what clothing looked like. We are told, in scattered bits appearing here and there in the book, that the "bed-gown" (apparently never worn in bed) was a very loose gown that wrapped in the front; one is described as coming down to the hips. It is described as the usual working gear. If there were any pictures of bed-gown, I didn't see the notation: if this was indeed the common woman's usual garment, I think this a great lack. Was it like a house dress? Was it always short? Was it something that a woman could wear alone in and about her house (at least in the country)? Did she usually put it with a petticoat for more public appearances? Was it also worn in town? Did middle-class women wear it? [I later found a definition and picture in Wikipedia, see ProductWiki]

The book includes an index and a fairly lengthy "select bibliography". References are given by title in the text, without page numbers.