Customer Reviews

Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had been looking for a good history of beards and unfortunately the only two titles I could find specifically on this topic were unsatisfactory in historical breadth and research value. Thanks to Amazon.com reviews I was alerted to this title which covers the entire history of hair (face and head) throughout the centuries. There are literally hundreds of illustrations of beards and hairstyles from ancient Egypt to the present and highly detailed and entertaining chapters on the social, historical and religious elements that influenced something as "trivial" as hairstyle. If you're looking for a good book on the history of hairstyles this is it and if you're looking for a good, solid history of beards this is definitely the book to buy...perhaps the only one. If one could possibly have any quibble it would be that it focuses primarily on North America and Europe with much less comprehensive coverage of Asian or Middle Eastern societies. The book was first published in the 1960's and has been updated every few years since. I'm certain that the only reason it's less known than it should be is because of the price which appears to be aiming the title toward the professional stage and film artisan rather than the "lay" reader who would find the text an unmitigated pleasure.

This is a wonderfull book that details hair fashions for the past five thousand years. A must for anyone doing stage productions. Lots of well done drawings with both front and rear views. For the stage hair stylist this book will be the one you turn to over and over again.

This book has been an invaluable resource for our period play productions as well as a wonderful reference for the general public who want that "period" look for presentations, skits, and parties

This book truly is a bible (no offence).It covers every period and every hairstyle that appeared somewhere in this period. It covers everything from different countries, for men, women and children. It even covers facial hair!

It is a very valuable source of info and works best together with 'fashions in make-up' also by Corson.

Not to go without!!!!!!!!

If you're a hair-designer (or a costumer) for the theatre, this is an invaluable resource. There's nothing else like it... and that's why it costs what it does. The truth is- it's worth it:

As a "quick reference" it's faster, easier, more specific, and much more reliable than searching the INTERNET (and that's saying a LOT)...

While, as an "in-depth reference" it's also a great resource- with articles explaining the history -and significance- of developments in Men's AND Women's hairstyles.

Note: This book is amazing for historical research and inspiration -however- It does NOT claim to teach you HOW to recreate these hair styles... you need to do that on your own!

Corson's famous reference for historical hairstyles contains thousands of sketches of hairstyles ranging across the entirety of Western costume history. Unfortunately, the individual sketches contain very little source information, making the book useless for historical research. However, Corson's target audience is theatrical and film costumers, and for this purpose the book is a godsend, since it gives dozens of usable styles for every period, and the text often contains at least some information as to how they were achieved.

My daughter attends the UNC School of the Arts and this has been invaluable for her. As a Design and Production major with Wig and Makeup as her major she has found this book to be a necessity for making sure that the hair reflects the period in which the production is based. A "must have" for anyone who works in film or theater and needs to understand what the styles of the time are!

it is a great source of insperation for stylists to get ideas for photo work and new hair designs.

This is a one-of-a kind title with in depth information on hairstyles through the ages. If you are a costume designer or student of cultures, or hairdresser for film and television, it's an irreplaceable reference.
The author also wrote a book on makeup through the ages.
However, here in the USA there are a number of booksellers who obviously think that shoppers are dumber than a bag of rocks, and now have decided to triple the price. The titles sell for sixty-five sterling-pound in the UK at shops like guardianbookshop, so it is too bad AmazonUK didn't pop-up in the g**gle search for the same title with the right price.

Corson's hair book (as well as his stage makeup books) are an extremely detailed and concise refernce book on classical hairstyles. The book contains thousands of precise drawings of hairstyles, hair pieces, and hair ornaments from basically the beginning of time through the 1970s. There are also hundreds of pages of text, many which reference historical publications, that explain everything from tools, to techniques used in the actual periods, as well as social and political context of hairstyles and facial hair. In the industry (theatrical hairdressing) we call this the "Hair Bible" Often it is the first source to turn to when beginning to design hair or wigs for a proper period production. This is a MUST HAVE for any theatrical hairstylist or makeup artist, as well as costume designers. This book is "out of print" so it is very rare to find any copies used, and occasionally they will print a few new ones. The book is extremely expensive. I paid about 100 dollars for mine in college and had it special ordered. It is triple that now which is the only downpoint. The information contained is gold and there is a ton of it. (The book is easily as large as a large metropolitan phone book)However if you plan to have a career in this field, it is a must have.