Customer Reviews

Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898 (Dover Fashion and Costumes)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Extensive and detailed illustrations, with good captions (including dates), divided into four style periods (1867-1874, 1875-1882, 1883-1890, 1891-1898). Narrative introduction to each period gives the general style trends. Very useful: includes hairstyles, shoes, parasols, aprons, decorative details, children's clothing, etc.

This book is an excellent source reference for the Bustle and Fine De Siecle time periods of fashion and costume wear. It has excellent illustrations of all types of daily and evening womens fashion in the various period silouettes.

this is such a beautifully illustrated work of the fashions of the period from 1867-1898. Fans of Victoriana must have this in their library. Excellent resource for antiques lovers, jewelry designers, artists, costume designers etc.

What would romance writers do without Dover and their marvelous historical books? These books and even era paper dolls are inexpensive, and yet, thorough works that really can put you into the period. This book is stunning.

Victorian Fashion from Harper's Bazaar 1867-1898 is definitive book on Victorian fashions, however, while is stunning work, you should buy Full-Color Victorian Fashions from Dover Publishing as well. Together they are everything you need. This book goes in rich detail, just not the dresses but down to hair and accessories. It's broken down into four sections: 1) Bustles and Puff (1867-1874) 2) Natural Forma and Cuirass Body (1875-1882) 3) Return of the Bustle (1883-1890) and 4) Hourglass Figure (1891-1898). The drawings are detailed and cover every aspect of fashion of this era.

An absolute must for romance writers of this period. High recommended.

Victorian Fashions and Costumes is eye candy for anyone interested in fashion history.

The arrangement of the book in chronological order by year makes it very easy to find historically correct garments, accessories, and hair styles. A brief overview of characteristics specific to the era is included in each section. Most pictures have captions that identify the type of garment and often the fabrics and colors used in a garment.

I used information in this book to create a bodice and bustle representative of the period for a skirt Mary Todd Lincoln wore in 1872 in England.

With all the historical patterns available in the major pattern books, the costumer or reenactor can find a basic pattern and add the correct construction details and embellishments. I enjoy browsing the book and wondering what life was like for the women who wore these clothes. If you are looking for information about the clothing worn by the common woman, you won't find it here. After all, this is from Harper's Bazar, the Vogue of the 19th Century.

Becky

The book was filled with page after page of clothing and accessories, from swim suits to formal wear. The detail of how women adorned themselves and their outfits was very informative. I know that it catered to the upper-class, but it would have been nice to see more for women of a lower class. Also, there was barely anything for men of any class.

If you're like me and can't afford to purchase thirty one years worth of original Harpers Bazaar publications, this will fill the void. I actually own two, one to cut up and photocopy, so I can play with coloring a dress before I make it. It covers all the minutia of Haute Couture. Gowns for different occasions, times of day, traveling, dressing gowns, nightwear and undergarments. It also has plates for accessories, shoes, jewelry, gloves, stockings, hats. There are hair combs, ornaments, extensions, and a couple styling techniques. Children's clothing is also included. The major fashion plates have fairly detailed descriptions of the garment features.

There is also a good glossary of terms and colors in the back of the book. Which is a great help for some of the more obscure descriptions.

Too bad there's no color plates.....leaves more for the imagination to fill in I suppose. And BOY will this book keep you dreaming!

Dover Publications are the go-to people for books on 19th-century fashion, and Stella Blum's "Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898" is at the top of the list. Like the companion volume by Joanne Olian, "Victorian and Edwardian Fashions from 'La Mode Illustree'" (another book on this topic that I've given 5 stars), this book comprehensively shows, in splendid black-and-white illustrations taken directly from the old "Harper's Bazar" (note the spelling!) the changing feminine fashions of the Victorian and Edwardian periods over the 31-year period from 1867 to 1898. Every illustration is at least full-page (there are some breathtaking double-page spreads) and accompanied by brief descriptive text. I would definitely put it on the list of books that every student of 19th-century costume must own.

This one takes the cake! I have all the Dover historic fashion publications, and this is one of the most extensive and impressive. The illustration plates are wonderfully clear, all are black and white, true to the original copperplate etchings. This publication has two covers, both with the same contents. I have posted some photos of the illustrations for those who have not seen this book.
Books such as this cause one to wonder what has happened to the fashion world: Where is the attention to detail, grace, and femininity? Does being "modern" require casting aside all vestiges of elegance and art? I think not. Remember - The fashions shown in this book persisted for 3 decades, crossed the millennial boundary between the 1800s and 1900s. This says a lot.
While it is true that the clothing and accessories in this collection were not the ordinary everyday dress of most women in Victorian times, and were certainly NOT affordable for working class or poor women, what we are looking at here is haute-couture. So, comparing these garments to the haute-couture of today's major fashion houses, modern women surely deserve better dress-up, better textile, and more well-fitting garments for their money.
Sound cranky? Time after time my own high-fashion purchases have been very quickly donated to the hospital charity auctions. Western women - and American women in particular - have become taciturn about the uninteresting, thrown together, flimsy, and often outright immodest attire tossed out at high prices by the big fashion houses.
I have wondered for decades whether there are any smart, bold women out there who can find the compromise and give us clothing we can treasure again.

This is, quite possibly, the most used book for research of Victorian clothes I have in my library. As a member of the Victoriana Society in South Australia, I've turned to it many times to help design and construct clothing of the period for our events. My copy has been falling to pieces for several years now and the one I just purchased is for the woman who works for me as she is into the clothing as much as I am and kept using mine!!! Note to self, buy a new copy for me.