Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
most amusing fashion read I've ever found, March 21, 2000
Too many authors of fashion/costume history get really stuffy, even pedantic in their published expertise. This is not that kind of author - she presents in a conversational format historical facts, quotes, a general timeline, and many reprinted photos, drawings and paintings showing fashion or something interesting to do with our favorite topic. Since it's written more like Vogue than any textbook, it's easier to digest and remember, and wholly entertaining at the same time. After all, what is fashion history but a record of the everyday clothes people wore during their lifetime, the same way we look at our bluejeans. This source of endless fashion trivia was a surprise gift from a friend and has become one of my favorite rainy day reads. And there's something for everyone: clothing colors of Egypt - the popular and the magical (p. 50), a medieval recipe for toothpaste (p. 138), a credit for the first owner of black satin sheets in the 1570's (p.177), Madame de Pompadour's deathbed act of cosmetic vanity (p. 227), the origin of men's trouser cuffs (p. 273), several references to fashions inspired by the silver screen (p. 348), the Edwardian revival of the early 1970's (p. 392), and a zillion more bits of tid. You'll find yourself saying "hmmm! never knew that!" pretty darn often. This book provides justification for saying "everything old becomes new again" and a fun perspective on constantly changing fashion through the ages. Especially appropriate for younger readers who couldn't make it through a textbook approach to clothing, or for those of us who like to read in bed without dozing off. Keep an eye out for this volume and snap up as many copies as you ever find.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is extremely humorous, and yet informative., September 1, 1997
40,000 Years of Fashion: Let There Be Clothes is one of the most humorous costuming books it has been my pleasure to read. It is a campy romp through the history of fashion from the prehistoric fur bikini to the hottest and hippest of the retro 90's. 40,000 years is not to be used as a serious research book, but it's fantastic for the vintage fashion enthusiast that is looking for the short take on a long subject. Fashion tips and social quips relevant to each century gives this book its charm
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun look at the history of fashion and beauty, January 22, 2006
This is it; The Book, the one that made me fall in love with the history of clothing and fashion. You have to take everything with a grain of salt, but the easy-to-approach format with the pages divided into `articles' sort of like a newsletter, the fun graphics, and interesting historical tie-ins make this one of my favorite fashion history books. If you're looking for an in-depth historical study this is NOT for you. However, if you are looking for a fun, irreverent frolic through the togas, doublets, and surplices of times past pick up a copy of this when you find it, it's well worth it.
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