Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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111 of 113 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A work of art, January 31, 2000
Any artist or draughtsman would agree that this book - which is composed of hundreds of line drawings - is an incredible achievement. Nancy Bradfield's tireless research and shining talent with a pencil have produced one of the most incredible and singular costume reference textbooks in a long time. Original costumes and accessories have been taken by this artist, studied inside and out, measured methodically and every seam and mark noted - and then drawn down. Some of the costumes are far too fragile, or too soiled and damaged ever to be mounted for photography, and will probably never be available to the general public. But in Nancy Bradfield's drawings, they become fresh, vivid and whole once more, three-dimensional garments. The annotations to the drawings themselves are very informative - colour notes accompanying a silk pattern, the measurement of the waists and shoulders, observations upon the styling or similarities between this and another item. My increasingly well-worn and well-read copy saw me through my A Levels in Costume and Fashion History (I got a grade A pass), and it will, hopefully, see me through my secondary degree in the History of Dress. I would not dare to go away to study 18th or 19th century costume without taking this book with me or being able to put my hand upon a copy.Some of these costumes can be seen in full colour in photographs in "The Art of Dress", and most of the 19th century dresses from the M.J.King and "Personal Collection" are now in the Killerton House costume collection in Devon, UK. (This is also featured in Jane Ashelford's Art of Dress.) Buy this book and your studies of costume - be it construction queries (Janet Arnold and Nancy Bradfield coincidentally illustrated some of the same dresses - Arnold's books give you the pattern but Nancy Bradfield's book will show you how it was put together and how it should look inside and out.) or just to study the subject - it will all become so much easier. Tragically, this author lost her sight in later years, and her recent death (as well as that of Janet Arnold's) has robbed the world of two of its greatest and most talented costume researchers. Fortunately their names will never be forgotten as long as their books continue to be published and to remain, literally, compulsory reading for the costume student.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best costume books I've ever read to date!, August 23, 2002
This book remains my favorite costume book, even 10 years after I first checked it out of the library. I find myself coming back to this book time after time, either to study a particular point of fashion or just to browse the fabulous drawings.Nancy Bradfield has done a great service to all who enjoy studying vintage clothing and their construction. Each item includes 2 to 4 full-page, detailed drawings so the reader can see every detail of the original garment -- inside AND out. Many of them include measurements, so if you're a very talented seamstress/tailor, you can recreate the garments and scale them to fit a modern body. Some books seem to just throw pictures or drawings together in no particular order, which makes it difficult to fully understand the fashion changes that took place. Nancy Bradfield has arranged the drawings in chronological order, which I find much easier to follow. She also has rather detailed comments along the bottom of each 2-page spread which explains particular details of the item or the fashion changes that were occuring at the time the dress was made. Those comments are in addition to the description found on the top left side of the left page, which is specific to the dress in question. This is the Bible for any costumer or vintage clothing collector! The only thing that would be better is examining the clothes in person...And unlike seeing the clothes in person, you can keep going back to the drawings again and again.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wealth of detail in black and white, May 26, 1999
It's surprising that this book, which is entirely illustrated with pen and ink drawings of surviving garments, conveys so much information about period costume. I learned a lot from this book, and enjoyed it greatly. The only thing I wish Ms. Bradfield had done differently is to include a color photograph of each garment in addition to the detailed sketches she provides.
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