These are reviews of recommended books on Medieval and Renaissance Costume from Puffs and Slashes the annotated bibliography edited by Mistress Caterina di Monticello and myself. As of January 2003 these books are listed as as having either new or used copies available at Amazon.com. Links for ordering from Amazon and ISBNs for ordering from other booksellers have been included.
At the moment I still have a few remaining copies of the Third edition of Puffs and Slashes. Email Mistress Audelindis for more information.
Books are alphabetical by author's last name. All reviews are by Mistress Audelindis or Mistress Caterina unless otherwise noted.
de Alcega, Juan. Tailor's Pattern Book, 1598. Translation Jean Pain and Cecilia Bainton. Carlton, 1979. Robin and Russ: 1981.
Scope: Patterns, late 16th century.
Illustrations: tailor's cutting and layout diagrams.
Facsimile and translation of a tailor's cutting guide printed in Spain in the late 16th century, which gives the basic cut and layout for all garments made by the tailor: doublets, jerkins, cloaks, gowns, basques, farthingales, etc. Even a war banner and horse trappings are included. To use this book you need some knowledge of period or at least elementary clothing construction to help identify pieces and figure out how they go together.
ISBN: 0896762343Tailor's Pattern Book 1589
Anderson, Ruth M. Hispanic Costume, 1480-1530. Hispanic Society of America, 1979.
Notes. Bibliography.
Scope: as title.
Illustrations: Black and white and some color reproductions of primary sources.
The numerous illustrations are close-ups of specific details of costumes. The dating is very close and the text very full and detailed. This is the best English language source on this subject.
ISBN: 0875351263Hispanic Costume: 1480 - 1530
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion: The Art of Construction of Clothes for Men and Women, 1560-1620. Drama Books. New York: 1985.
128 pp. Bibliography.
Scope: As title.
Illustrations: Black and white illustrations of primary sources, photographs of existing garments, line drawings by the author, scaled patterns.
This book is one of the most practical and informative works available for the late period costumer. The author takes more than 50 garments still extant and shows you how they were patterned, as well as showing other details of their manufacture in closeup photographs.
ISBN: 0896760839
Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and...
Arnold, Janet. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd. Maney. Leeds:1988.
376 pp. Indicies.
Scope: The Great Wardrobe of Elizabeth I.
Illustrations: Black and white and color reproductions of primary sources and photographs of extant garments all cited with accession numbers.
The subtitle of this book is: "The Inventories of the Wardrobe of Robes prepared in July 1600 edited from Stowe MS 557 in the British Library, MS LR 2/121 in the Public Record Office, London, and MS V. V.72 in the Folger Shakespear Library, Washington DC". Arnold uses these wardrobe accounts as a springboard for a detailed study of Elizabeth's clothing in her portraits and written descriptions and by inference the wardrobe of the contemporary nobility. It is a very important resource for the serious student of Elizabethan costume. ISBN: 0901286206 Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd: The...
Boucher, Francois. 20,000 Years of Fashion. Abrams: 1966; 1985. French edition: Historie de Costume; Flamarion: 1965. English Edition A History of Costume in the West.
Scope: Antiquity to modern; mostly Europe and the Americas.
Illustrations: 1,888 Black and white and color reproductions of primary sources.
Lovely pictures with dates. It attempts to be universal in coverage of Europe, but is in fact rather spotty--weak on the 13th and 14th century, the early 16th and the whole early medieval period. French bias, which is not surprising since it was originally written in French. This is one of the three books we recommend that any serious costumer own if possible; the other two being Payne, and Davenport.
ISBN: 081091693220,000 Years of Fashion: The History of...
Burnham, Dorothy. Cut my Cote. Royal Museum of Ontario.
Scope: Historical and ethnic cut of clothing.
Illustrations: Photos of garments ad sketches and layout diagrams.
Very interesting book on the influence of the loom used as the cut of clothing. Several good diagrams of period shirts. ISBN: 0888540469Cut My Cote
Crowfoot, Elisabeth. Medieval Finds from Excavations in London 4: Textiles and Clothing C.1150-c.1450. / Elisabeth Crowfoot, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland ; photography by Edwin Baker ; illustrations by Christina Unwin. HMSO London : c 1992.
223 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm.
Scope: As Title.
Illustrations: Black and white and color photographs of surving pieces, line drawings interpreting the finds, diagrams.
All the books in this series are excellent and this one is an important resource for period covered. The finds include whole garments, parts of garments, trims, and even surviving hairnets. Some of the garments might be fromt the Great Wardrobe which was located near one of the excavation sites. (See also Grew, Francis Medieval finds from Excavations in London 2: Shoes and Pattens.)
ISBN: 0851158404Medieval Finds from Excavations in London 4: Textiles and Clothing
Cunnington, C. Willet and Phillis. A History of Underclothes. Faber and Faber. London: 1951, 1981. [ISBN 0-571-1117473].
Scope: Middle ages to modern period. Mostly England, but some coverage of other parts of Europe.
Illustrations: Black and white photographs of extant garments as well as reproductions of primary sources.
As well done as anything else written by the Cunningtons, with their usual meticulous documentation. This is a refreshing book since most on the subject are either silly or "naughty" or only cover women's underclothes.
ISBN: 0486271242The History of Underclothes
Davenport, Milia. The Book of Costume. Crown Publishers. New York:1948, 1970, et. Al. [ISBN 0-517-03716-5].
Scope: Europe, from antiquity to mid-nineteenth century.
Illustrations: Black and white reproductions of primary sources. (The earlier 2 volume collection has some color plates.)
Index and bibliography.
This book consists of thousands of reproductions with comments by the author. Unfortunately, since the value of the book rests entirely on these reproductions, they are often poor, too small, or too fuzzy to be of use. The commentary is occasionally wrong or not to the point (she gossips about the artist or the subject as often as she discusses the clothing.) Despite these failings it is a valuable resource--especially as a springboard for further research. The book covers areas and time usually neglected by other books. All the reproductions have a listed source so that, if Davenport's reproduction is not clear enough, it s usually possible to look it up somewhere else. This one of the three books, along with Boucher and Payne, that serious costume researchers should have in their libraries.
ISBN: 0517037165Book of Costume
Dunlevy, Mairead. Dress in Ireland. Holmes & Meier. New York: 1989.
192 pp. Bibliography. Index. Applendix: Irish National Costume. Notes and Source References. Select Glossary.
Scope: Prehistory to 1910.
Illustrations: Color and Black and white reproductions of primary sources.
Uses archaeological, written, and pictorial sources. Chapters divide into pre-1300, 1300-1500, Sixteenth century, and so on. After 1170 she discusses costuming both within and beyond the Pale, and costume of the rich and the poor.
ISBN: 1898256845Dress in Ireland
Egan, Geoff and Frances Pritchard. Dress Accessories c. 1150-c.1450: Medieval Finds from the Excavations in London 3. HMSO London:1991. [ISBN 0-11-290444-0]
410 pp. Bibliography.
Scope: As title.
Illustrations: Color and black and white photographs of objects, reproductions of primary sources.
This third book in a very useful and informative series is the best source we have seen on the neglected area of Dress Accessories. It is well organized and since it is as much a catalog of the artifacts as it is commentary gives over 1700 examples of period accessories. Over half of the items shown are belt buckles, but there are a plentitude of other objects as well. Each object type is covered in its own chapters. Covered are: girdles, buckles, mounts (including rivets, decorative fittings, etc.) Brooches, buttons, lace-chapes, hair accessories, pins, beads, chains, pendants, finger rigns, bells, purses, cased mirrors, combs, cosmetic sets, and needlecases. There is also discusscussion on the metallurgy.
This isn't an easy book, dating is only given in the text in reference to the pottery finds associated with it. The introductory chapters are absolutely necessary to explain the listings for each object and to desciribe the various sites at which objects were found. This book is, however, more than worth your time and effort.
ISBN: 0851158390Medieval Finds From the Excavations in London 3: Dress Accessories C.1150-C.1450:...
Grew, Francis and Neergaard, Margrethe. Medieval Finds From Excavations in London 2: Shoes and Pattens. Her Majesties Stationery Office. London: 1988. PB.
145 pp. Glossary. List of Figures and Concordance. Appendices (The Excavations; Conservation). Bibliography. Summaries in French and German.
Scope: Shoes from 1100 AD to c. 1450.
Illustrations: Photographs of specimen shoes; reproductions of primary sources; diagrams and other charts.
Shoes and Pattens has none of these problems; it is the book SCA cobblers have been needing. In Medieval London the population reclaimed land by dumping domestic rubbish along the Thames. The subsequent anaerobic conditions allowed the preservation of nearly two thousand shoes which were excavated in the last 20 years. This is the largest collection period shoes known, and one of the first to be thoroughly studied and cataloged.
The chapters are: "Shoes from London sites, 1100-1450"; "Shoemaking and cobbling"; "Pattens"; "Sizes and wear patterns: social inferences"; "Shoes in art and literature". The overview on cobbling is very useful; as are all the diagrams, which give seam types--defined in the glossary. Closeup photographs of the details of some of the shoes are included.
ISBN: 0851158382Medieval Finds from Excavations in London 2: Shoes and Pattens
Hansen, H. H. Costumes and Styles. Dutton: 1956.
Scope: Europe from Antiquity to modern times.
Illustrations: Color reproductions of primary sources.
The figures are cut-outs from primary sources grouped roughly (and sometimes hilariously) by place and period. An excellent source for color documentation since the illustrations are usually accurately shown. (Mistress Caterina's copy depicts the colors as being a little darker than the originals.) The author includes a few allegorical costumes that would not actually have been worn in real life. Since the original sources are not cited you have to know the original to see the problem. A very general text follows the pictures. On the whole it is a nice picture book to show beginners. However, it only covers the mainline of development--Italy only during the early Renaissance, etc. etc.
ISBN: 0525086749Costumes and Styles.
Houston, Mary Galway. Medieval Costume in England and France. Black: 1931. Reprint of the 1939 edition by B&N Imports. Dover. New York:1996. [ISBN 0-486-29060-3]
Scope: 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.
Glossary. Bibliography.
Scope: 13th-15th centuries.
Illustrations: Eight color plates and 350 drawings in Black and white by author.
This book covers textiles, metal work, and armor as well as costume. The illustrations are all redrawn from stated primary sources and diagrams of cut of garments as well. Drawings are all clear and neutral. The text is broke down by centuries and, where appropriate by parts of centuries. Separate chapters for each type of dress listed.
ISBN: 0486290603Medieval Costume in England and France
Linthicum, M. Channing. Costume in the Age of Shakespear and His Contemporaries. Clarendon Press. Oxford:1936.
Scope: Costume as referred to in late 16th and early 17th century drama. Covers clothing, colors textiles, trimming and individual garments.
Illustrations: Black and white photographs of extant garments and reproductions of primary sources.
Although this book is designed for use by students, editors and producers of late SCA period English drama, it suffers from few of the usual failings of strictly theater oriented books, such as Barton. It is a detailed, thorough study of Elizabethan and Jacobean costume. The author attempts to give a complete description of all subjects pertaining to costume mentioned in the period. Most interesting are her sections on colors, dyes and textiles, which cover the history of the various topics. Weakest is the section on costume, which does not include the evolution of the pieces she discusses.
ISBN: 0878171088Costume in the drama of Shakespeare and...
Newton, Stella Mary. Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince. Woodbridge-Boyndall Press, Rowman, Littlefield:1980.
Scope: England and France, 1330-1380.
Illustrations: Reproductions from contemporary sources.
If you are seriously interested in the ever-popular 14th century, this is undoubtedly the best book available. However, we must emphasize the word "seriously" because this is not a book for someone who just wants to run up a cotehardie for this weekend. It is an in-depth scholarly work based on the English and French Royal Accounts. Among other things you may discover that neither a corset nor a cotehardi are quite what you thought they were. ISBN: 085115767XFashion in the Age of the Black Prince
Scarce, Jennifer. Women's Costume of the Near and Middle East. Unwin Hyman Ltd.
192pp. List of Illustrations. List of diagrams. Notes. Select Bibliography.
Scope: As title.
Illustrations: Black and white reproductions of primary sources
The main type of Middle Eastern clothing discussed is Ottoman Turkish from the thirteenth century on. However, the author devotes the first three chapters to a brief history of the Ottoman inheritance, which includes examples of Byzantium and Central Asian fashion. From chapter four on, each chapter deals with a different area of the ottoman Empire. Approximately half of the book deals with the time period of the Society.
There are several fine examples of paintings or single figures from traveler's handbooks of the fifteenth, sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. There are also direct quotes from traveller's logs describing fabric and costume. The book also deals in a running discussion of fabrics, patterns, colors, make-up, hairstyles and accessories. [Thais Banu of Illiton--cut for length.]ISBN: 0700715606Women's Costume of the Near and Middle East
Weiditz, Chrisoph. Authentic Everyday Dress of The Renaissance: All 154 Plates from the "Trachtenbuch". Dover. New York: 1994.
Scope: Sketch book from ca. 1530.
Illustrations: reproductions of primary sources
Despite its somewhat pedestrian title this is a very useful book. It reprints the entirety of Das Trachtenbuch des Christoph Weiditz von seinen Reisen nach Spanien (1529) und den Niederlanded (1531/32). Most of the sketches are of Spanish dress. ISBN: 0486279758Authentic Everyday Dress of the Renaissance
copyright 2003 Linda Reames Fox and Carol Joyce Cottrell
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