Survey of Historic Costume (Hardcover)

by Phyliss G. Tortora (Author), Keith Eubank (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In the Preface of the 5th Edition of Survey of Historic Costume, Tortora and Eubank conclude
with the following: In the history of dress at the beginning of the 21st century,
costume might be compared to a constantly moving river. This river divides into many narrower
channels that separate, cross, come together, and separate again, and yet that river
continually moves on. Building on the previous editions, the authors update their analysis
of Western dress to 2008. With each new edition some elements of the title change. And
those changes provide an opportunity to focus on some aspect that adds to the usefulness
of this best seller. Survey of Historic Costume has, from its beginnings, taken seriously the
need to accompany the text with appropriate illustrations and the major change in the 5th
Edition is the move to full color throughout the book to enrich the text and the concepts.
Perfect for anyone interested in historic costume, fashion, textiles, drama, and design, this
beautifully illustrated book is full of interesting facts and commentary.

About the Author
Phyllis G. Tortora is professor emerita at Queens College, where she was department chair for 17 years, teaching historic costume and furnishings, and textiles. She has also served as a consultant to the Historic Costume Collection of the Huntington Historical Society. Her professional memberships include the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) and the Costume Society of America. She has been awarded Fellow Membership in ITAA.

Keith Eubank is a Professor Emeritus of history at Queens College, CUNY. He had previously been the chairman of the History Department and was also part of the doctoral faculty in History at CUNY. Eubank maintains scholarly affiliations with the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Fairchild Pubns; 5 edition (February 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563678063
• ISBN-13: 978-1563678066
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with a few drawbacks, August 30, 2008

By	ajul - See all my reviews

This review is from: Survey Of Historic Costume: A History Of Western Dress (Hardcover)

This book is often used as a textbook in costume history courses. As far as textbooks go, it is definitely one of the best. The text is quite dense, since it covers a lot of material in a limited space. Despite this, it is never dull. The authors are always careful to cite their sources, as well as explain why they support one point of view over others in those instances where several conflicting opinions exist. The text has several very useful features: extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter, as well as at the end of the book, are an excellent resource guide for more in-depth study; the visual summary tables at the end of each chapter review the basic progression of the silhouette within a period; and every chapter includes a section titled "Contemporary comments", which shows what the people who actually wore these garments thought about them. The careful attention the authors pay to the general historical, cultural, and political backgrounds of each period present fashion history as part of the greater framework of the history of Western society, which makes for an engaging read.

I stopped short of giving this text a 5-star rating for the following reasons:
1. Illustrations in the body of the text, primary research as well as drawings, are black and white. Color illustrations are confined to separate pages inserted in the middle of the book. The plates are too few and too small, and the color fidelity doesn't seem to be of exceptional quality. It seems that in an effort to keep costs down, the publisher sacrificed a vital part of the book. After all, when it comes to clothes, a picture often is worth a thousand words.
2. Whoever was in charge of making sure that the illustration and page numbers correspond to the ones cited, did an extremely poor job. What I mean is, when authors describe a particular garment, they'll refer to an illustration in parenthesis (see figure 8.10, page 182). Well, this illustration may or may not be on the page named, as well as the illustration may or may not be an example of what the authors are talking about. The correct illustration is never far (usually on the same page or the next page), and I have not yet encountered an instance where a cited illustration is absent entirely, but this discrepancy has occurred once or twice in almost every chapter. I place the full responsibility on the publishers, and would ask them in the future to be more careful when proofreading an expensive and otherwise admirable text.

Bottom line: buy this book if you intend to read it. If you are looking for a quick and clear visual reference of costumes through the ages, your money will be better spent elsewhere. Try The Complete History of Costume & Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day

4.0 out of 5 stars No frills text book, September 29, 2008

By	Cindy Millar "Fashion Kid" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Survey Of Historic Costume: A History Of Western Dress (Hardcover)

If you are looking for great illustrations and colorful examples of historical costume, don't bother. If you can look past that, it is a great text book to learn clothing in history.

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent textbook, lacking in pics, September 21, 2008

By	Tia Marie "fashion student/costume enthusiast" (columbus, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Survey Of Historic Costume: A History Of Western Dress (Hardcover)

This is a textbook that I was required to purchase for a history class. The reading is full of info and seems to be laid out well. However, there are not very many pics to show what the text is explaining. There are some pics, but alot of the time you are left trying to imagine what the text is describing, and they are vague in their descriptions sometimes. I am learning a background of the history though.