by Susan Brown, DK Publishing
Contents:
CHAPTER 1
PREHISTORY– 600CE
THE ANCIENT
WORLD
Time line
From Function to Identity
Ancient Egypt
Profile: Queen Nefertiti
Minoan Culture
Ladies in Blue
Classical Greece
Fluid Drapery
Prowess and Protection
Style in the East
Etruscans
Roman Empire
Byzantine Style
Dyes and Pigments
In Detail: Short Tunic and Peplos
Style
CHAPTER 2
600 –1449
MEDIEVAL
ROMANCE
AND TRADE
Time line
The Age of Migrations
The Early Middle Ages
Trends in Tunics
Courtly Love and Crusades
Profile: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Priests and the People
The East in the West
Social Statements
In Detail: Cote-hardie
Fitting to the Body
Trailing Elegance
Knights in Armor
In Detail: Doublet and Hose
Regional Flair
Novelty and Luxury
CHAPTER 3
1450 –1624
RENAISSANCE
SPLENDOR
Time line
The Fashion Split
Rich Panoply
Renaissance Men
From Drape to Shape
New Men in a New World
In Detail: Saxony Ensemble
Custom-made Armor
Elegant Formality
Profile: Elizabeth I
Female Geometry
A New Suit
Frivolity at Court
Male Extravagance
Trading in Treasures
Symbolism and Fantasy
Practical Clothing
Ottoman Finery
CHAPTER 4
1625 –1789
BAROQUE AND
ROCOCO
Time line
Men in Lace
Softer Silhouettes
Doublet and Breeches
Taffeta and Lace
Profile: Henrietta Maria
Puritan Influence
Opulence Restored
Boned Bodice to Mantua
Fashion Restored
Toward the Suit
Mantuas and Petticoats
In Detail: Embroidered Mantua
Mantuas and Open Robes
In Detail: Sack Back Dress
French à la Mode
Profile: Marie-Antoinette
Baroque to Neoclassical
Macaroni to Dandy
In Detail: Streamlined Court Suit
Simpler Styling
Masquerade
Turkish Delight
Sports Dress
Time line
Neoclassicism
Empire Lines
Regency Society
Regency Belles
In Detail: Regency Pelisse
Delighting in the Detail
The Evening Hourglass
Profile: Beau Brummell
The Rise of the Dandy
Regency Sportswear
Prints and Patterns
Turbans and Tight Lacing
Demure Day Dresses
Imperial Opulence
Crinolines
Profile: Charles Worth
Soft Bustles and Fishtails
In Detail: Bustle Skirt
The Rise and Fall of the Bustle
High Ruffs and Wasp Waists
In Detail: Reception Dress
Formal Wear for Men
Cult of Beauty
Sportswear for the New Woman
Men of Action
Themed Costumes
Time line
Suits for City Gentlemen
Sport and Country
Simpler Silhouettes
Women in Action
Evening and Tea Gowns
A Life of Leisure
Antifashion
Wartime Women
Toward the New Woman
Profile: Paul Poiret
Orientalism
Robes de Style
Profile: Coco Chanel
The New Knitwear
Rising Hems
Into the Jazz Age
Roaring Twenties
In Detail: Dance Dress
At the Beach
Setting Standards
Suits for All
Modernism
Time line
Austere Times
Shimmering Gowns
Classicism
Living Sculptures
Pared Down and Sporty
Relaxing the Rules
In Detail: Plus Fours Suit
Profile: Edward VIII
The Elegant Male
Berliner Chic
Romantic Nostalgia
Dream Dresses
Profile: Schiaparelli
Women in Wartime
In Detail: Women’s Legion
Menswear on Civvy Street
Fashion on Ration
Styled by Hollywood
American Ready-to-Wear
Competitive Couture
Time line
The New Look
Profile: Christian Dior
In Detail: Wedding Dress
The Cocktail Hour
Postwar Perfection
Couture Gowns
Profile: Balenciaga
Feminine Form
A Good Coat
Wives and Mothers
Resort Wear
Casual and Polished
Hipsters and Teddy Boys
The Youth Revolution
Birth of the Teenager
Sports Style
Time line
Mini Magic
Profile: Twiggy
Mini Coats and Skirts
Anything Goes
Into the Space Age
Evening Selection
Profile: Biba
Menswear Goes Pop
The New Dandies
Profile: Yves Saint Laurent
Women Wear the Pants
Flower Power
Long Printed Dresses
In Detail: Jean Muir Classic
Stylish Casuals
Stage, Dance, and Party
Time line
Fitness in Fashion
Profile: Vivienne Westwood
Must-have Labels
Profile: Jean Paul Gaultier
A Powerful Message
In Detail: Power Suit
Japanese Style
Profile: Comme des Garçons
Street Style
Dance Culture and Club
Runway Superstars
Minimal and Conceptual
Boho Chic and Vintage
Global Impact
Red Carpet Gowns
Profile: Alexander McQueen
A New Generation
Women’s Wear
Menswear
Women’s Shoes
Women’s Hats
Bags and Purses
Shaping the Body
Illustrated Glossary
Index and Acknowledgments
THE ANCIENT WORLD PREHISTORY–600 CE
The ancient world is a jigsaw of images and objects that historians are trying to piece together. Paintings, sculpture, artifacts, and scraps of clothing and jewelry all provide clues as to how people lived and dressed. Many of the early civilizations reached impressive levels of development. Sophisticated technologies and craft skills coexisted in different corners of the world, as they still do today, and influenced each other as cultures met through war, exploration, and commercial exchange. Clothing and accessories—including protective armor and talismanic jewelry—were often produced to extremely high standards.
Fine linen was woven on the banks of the Nile in Egypt; sericulture from China supplied the wider world with exquisite silks; the Greeks and Romans created fantastic wool tapestries; and the Etruscans crafted ornate, tooled metalwork.
Starting points
Many shapes and styles in dress date back thousands of years, having necessity, function, and the materials available as their starting points. For example, connecting two pieces of material to form a garment may once have meant no more than using a simple fastening such as a pin or a few basic stitches, but from such crude beginnings wonderful pieces of embroidery evolved, providing decoration and reinforcement at the same time. Embroidery on traditional dress from, say, eastern Europe or southwest China is often concentrated around the neck, hem, shoulders, and wrist—the areas that are most visible and most subject to wear and tear.
Cycle of fashion
If the clothes people wore in the distant past often look remarkably modern and familiar, this is because of the way styles are continually revived and reinterpreted through cycles of history and waves of fashion. Modern designers have borrowed again and again from the styles—and style icons—of the past. Numerous examples can be listed of fashions that have had their day and gone, only to reappear with a new spin: the elegant draperies of classical Greek and Roman goddesses; Ancient Egypt’s massive jewelry and the kohl-eyed, black-bobbed “Cleopatra look”; Chinese and Japanese silks and sashes; exotic Middle Eastern asymmetry and A-line cut garments; colorful, patterned textiles from India and southern Asia; and dynamic geometric, anthropomorphic patterns from pre-Columbian civilizations. From couture house to main-street store, the modern fashion world owes much to the past.