Customer Reviews

Vecellio's Renaissance Costume Book (Dover Pictorial Archives)

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While this book is fascinating as a means of seeing how dress was perceived, and as a primary resource (as the woodcuts are not modern), the costumer should keep in mind that these drawings are not always accurate, esp. regarding details. Many of the woodcuts have minor mistakes, some are gross misrepresentations of costumes Vecellio had no knowledge of. An interesting resource for the historian, but don't use this for costuming ideas unless you either don't care for accuracy or know enough to sift the false from the true.

I bought this book with the expectation that it would cover all of Renaissance Europe and not just the usual area of focus for this subject (i.e. Elizabethan England). However, to my disappointment at least half the book concentrated on Italian costuming, which in retrospect is to be expected, since the author was Italian! The author definitely focuses on middle to upper-class clothing and will not be helpful to someone who may be looking for lower class clothing.

However, in general, the woodcuts are exquisite and the organization is very easy to use. It is certainly a 'must have' for anyone looking for historical pictures of Renaissance period clothing, written by someone who was a contemporary of the time.

I had heard of the Vecellio book and had even seen excerpts from it here and there. As a member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), with a persona in the Italian Renaissance, I was most anxious to see this book. It was all I expected! The first third of the book is Italian fashions from most ancient times to Vecellio's own period, which is the period of my persona. In no time at all, I'd found several costumes I want to recreate. The only drawback is the lack of color, but the drawings show considerable details.

Despite what some may tell you, this is actually a VERY good source for late 16th century Venetian, and to a lesser extent Italian, costume, especially if studied in conjuction with a study of the portraits of the period. Vecellio was a Venetian born and bred, and also had first hand knowledge of Italian fashions outside of Venice. However, any costume depiction in this book that is of costume outside of Venice or Italy should be taken with a grain of salt.