List Price: $18.95 Details

Save: $6.66 (35%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Thursday, Aug 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Fastest delivery: Tuesday, Aug 10
Order within 18 hrs and 17 mins Details

Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).

$$12.29 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from	Amazon.com
Sold by	Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: This item is returnable

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Thursday, Aug 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Fastest delivery: Wednesday, Aug 11
Order within 18 hrs and 17 mins Details

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by Major Comeback Books

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share

Other Sellers on Amazon

$12.28
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: WhyPayMoreOnline

$10.78
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: PB Sales

$13.87
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Sandy Dunes Surplus

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Douglas W. Gorsline

What People Wore: 1,800 Illustrations from Ancient Times to the Early Twentieth Century (Dover Fashion and Costumes) Paperback – August 22, 1994

by Douglas Gorsline (Author)

31 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Paperback

"Please retry"

$12.29

$10.78

$1.95

Paperback
$12.29

50 Used from $1.95 14 New from $10.78 1 Collectible from $9.99

Save $1.84 at checkout. Details

"The book is an invaluable guide to all things fashion." — Collectors' Corner
Spanning nearly 5,000 years of clothing styles, this splendid sourcebook presents a fascinating panorama of wearing apparel, beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing through the early decades of the twentieth century.
Over 1,800 drawings — meticulously researched and accurately rendered by the author — depict garments ranging from diaphanous gowns of Egyptian royalty, ornate robes of Byzantine dignitaries, and elegant dresses worn by eighteenth-century Parisians, to picturesque outfits of American frontiersmen and the revolutionary 1930s wardrobe of the American flapper.
Here also are informal portraits of Byzantine commoners and religious figures, Elizabethans in lace collars and ruffs, upper-class Venetians, English dandies, and French gentlemen of the mid-eighteenth century as well as detailed illustrations of nineteenth-century New York farmers, western fur trappers, cowboys, mountain men, and lumberjacks, Klondike prospectors, Mississippi rivermen, and many more. A brief historical survey precedes the chronologically grouped illustrations of each period, and an overall list supplies the source for each drawing. A comprehensive reference for artists, designers, and social historians, this invaluable treasury will also intrigue anyone interested in the evolution of wearing apparel.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dover Publications
Publication date

August 22, 1994
Dimensions

9.09 x 0.78 x 11.98 inches
ISBN-10

0486281620
ISBN-13

978-0486281629
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Douglas Gorsline Paperback
$12.29
Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.
by Albert Kretschmer Paperback
$17.95
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.
by Carl Kohler Paperback
$17.95
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Albert Kretschmer
68
Paperback
42 offers from $11.32
Melissa Leventon
194
Flexibound
45 offers from $3.20
Françoise Tétart-Vittu
318
Hardcover
37 offers from $15.00
Carl Kohler
49
Paperback
107 offers from $1.54
Mary Brooks Picken
52
Paperback
58 offers from $1.70
C. Willett Cunnington
247
Paperback
65 offers from $5.00

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Carl Kohler
49
Paperback
107 offers from $1.54
Albert Kretschmer
68
Paperback
42 offers from $11.32
C. Willett Cunnington
247
Paperback
65 offers from $5.00
Melissa Leventon
194
Flexibound
45 offers from $3.20
Erhard Klepper
41
Paperback
26 offers from $3.51
Mary Brooks Picken
52
Paperback
58 offers from $1.70

Special offers and product promotions

Save $1.84 at checkout. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Almost two thousand black and white illustrations outline the changing world of people's clothing from ancient times to the early 20th century. This is a fine survey of clothing styles and history, packed with plate after plate of style examples for both men and women. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Back Cover

Spanning nearly 5,000 years of clothing styles, this splendid sourcebook presents a fascinating panorama of wearing apparel, beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing through the early decades of the twentieth century.
Over 1,800 drawings — meticulously researched and accurately rendered by the author — depict garments ranging from diaphanous gowns of Egyptian royalty, ornate robes of Byzantine dignitaries, and elegant dresses worn by eighteenth-century Parisians, to picturesque outfits of American frontiersmen and the revolutionary 1930s wardrobe of the American flapper.
Here also are informal portraits of Byzantine commoners and religious figures, Elizabethans in lace collars and ruffs, upper-class Venetians, English dandies, and French gentlemen of the mid-eighteenth century as well as detailed illustrations of nineteenth-century New York farmers, western fur trappers, cowboys, mountain men, and lumberjacks, Klondike prospectors, Mississippi rivermen, and many more. A brief historical survey precedes the chronologically grouped illustrations of each period, and an overall list supplies the source for each drawing. A comprehensive reference for artists, designers, and social historians, this invaluable treasury will also intrigue anyone interested in the evolution of wearing apparel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; Reprint edition (August 22, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486281620
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486281629
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.09 x 0.78 x 11.98 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #764,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #220 in Antique & Collectible Textiles & Costumes
- #763 in Fashion History
- #1,827 in Fashion Design

Customer Reviews:
31 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		22%
3 star		8%
2 star		5%
1 star		7%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

P. Woelk

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

Not what I thought, based on cover and did not have inside views. Bought it anyway since Dover books are usually clean line art. CONS: These are sketchy, dotty small (for the most part) ink drawings done by one artist from paintings. Not useful at all by my husband who incorporates line art into his paintings. Not useful to me as a fashion reference either. PROS: This is one illustrator's tour de force as he spend days, weeks, months sketching from reference material. Truly not worth the money.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Iris Ahn

good

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

Pretty good condition but a bit worn
Size is pretty good and i love the interesting silhouette of each time period and design

Helpful

M Lords

Finally after all of these years!

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2015

Verified Purchase

I have been looking for this costume book forever. I used to check it out when I was in high school every few weeks. It has so many drawings from so many times. My only caution is for parents: there are a few women's costumes that, though I believe are accurate, are also bare chested. Other than that, after years of looking I am thrilled to have my best costuming friend back in my life. The wide period range has been fabulous for costuming!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christine Doyle

Mixed bag

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2003

Verified Purchase

This book is the culmination of research done by Mr. Gorsline. He has recreated the illustrations based upon research done primarily in the New York Library system. Many of his drawings have a reference... but that reference isn't formatted in such a way you could actually find out anything useful. For that reason it's not a particularly good choice for serious "historical" costumers. But if you're willing to accept that limitation, it is a nice reference, particularly the collected drawings of hair and head coverings.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Zuzana Kraemerova

Poor pictures, no use for costumers

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2008

Verified Purchase

I really don't believe the good reviews on this book. When I received the book, I thought it couldn't be true. There are lots of pictures, actually only pictures, yes, but they're drawn in such a way that even if they were all accurate re-drawings from primary sources, you cannot figure out how the garment looked. The drawings look like a very poorly done line drawings, with nothing clear - lots of lines that give a flat picture with no details. Besides, as the book covers such a large era, it gives only few pictures for each period and the pictures given are often not very typical for that time. Even Peacock is better than this. In the back, however, is a list of sources the pictures were re-drawn from, so you could actually go and check the accuracy. I do not recommend this book to anyone unless someone who has absolutely no clue about costume history and does not care about watching at nice pictures and seeing details.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Graymalkin

Not Recommended

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2010

Verified Purchase

For general interest or as an aid to artists, who merely need to know what a given article or style looked like this book is acceptable.
But for researchers and writers, I would highly recommend Fashion in Costume 1200-2000, Revised by Joan Nunn. Not only excellent illustrations, but detailed information regarding what particulars were called, but their use and evolution.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

gh383

Great reference!

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

Great reference for costumer or sketches of period clothing. I checked it out from the library and loved it and had to buy myself a copy to keep.

Helpful

khan.stone

Where's the rest of the world?

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book focuses almost completely on European styles, with an exception for ancient Egypt. I was really hoping to use this for some 15th-century Incan / Mesoamerican reference, but this book doesn't even include anything close.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: history costumes, vintage sewing, ancient greek art, ancient greek, pattern drafting, sewing clothing

Buy new: $12.29 FREE delivery: Thursday, Aug 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used: $7.93

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

What People Wore: 1,800 Illustrations from Ancient Times to the Early Twentieth Century (Dover Fashion and Costumes) Paperback – August 22, 1994

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Customers who bought this item also bought

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the Back Cover

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Buy new:

$12.29

FREE delivery: Thursday, Aug 12 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used:

$7.93