Ancient European Costume and Fashion (Paperback)

by Herbert Norris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Scrupulously researched book by noted authority traces the development of European clothing styles from prehistory to the Norman Conquest in a.d. 1066. Over 160 illustrations, including 17 full-color plates, display draped robes of classical Greece, the jewel-encrusted apparel of a 10th-century Byzantine emperor, garments of peasants, as well as footwear, hairstyles, headdresses, and jewelry. Accompanying text chronologically traces origin and development of a garment and its relation to forerunners and successors. Immensely valuable reference for students, historians, artists and anyone intersted in costume history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486407233
• ISBN-13: 978-0486407234
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #880,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Outmoded and Often Inaccurate, July 20, 2000

By	Catherine Raymond (Malvern, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Of all the Herbert Norris books I have read, this one suffers the most from his preconceptions and inaccuracies. It is also the one that has suffered most from the passage of time, as subsequent archaeological research has revealed errors in what was, in Norris's day, "factual" information about costume. The best thing about his book, in my opinion, is the meticulous line drawings of brooches and other items of period jewelry, but again, more recently published works contain excellent, full-color photographs of the same or similar specimens. Read this book if you enjoy Norris's style, but do not accept anything in it blindly as much of it is plain wrong.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference on an obscure subject, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

There are hundreds of books on Costume history, ranging from the Egyptians through to this century. Almost all of them ignore the period known of as the Dark Ages. Not only does this book go into detail on the costumes worn by the Celts, the Gauls, and the Goths, it also tells some of their history. The book is mostly text supported by mainly black and white illustrations. I personally found it very informative.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile addition to other texts, August 23, 2002

By	"daniel0302" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Now dated, this 1926 publication is still worth using in conjunction with other texts. Granted some of this work has since been shown to be inaccurate by more recent scholarship. Furthermore his attitudes and observations are not only dated and politically incorrect, in the context of the 21st Century could also be considered racist. That said, Norris' body of work deserves our respect as being equaled by few of his generation (and surpassed by none). He has also proved to be a stepping-stone for future costumes historians - just check out the bibliographies of some important costume history texts and see how many reference Norris.

Many of Norris' statements are a little questionable. The stone-age chapter is almost charming in its dated naiveté, and is by no means a reliable reference. The Greek chapter is also filled with questionable statements, and in other places one gets the impression that Norris is putting forth conjecture as truth. However, many of his observations are of great use. For instance, the account of the evolution of the pallium - its journey from the voluminous philosophers cloak in Greece, through Roman and Byzantine usage, to a finally a narrow band of fabric used as a Christian vestment even today - is clearer than in any other publication I have ever seen.

As with all his books, all the illustrations are redrawn by Norris himself and no primary source material is illustrated. This is typical of most costume texts published prior to the 1960s and is not a further reflection on Norris' scholarship.