Costume and Fashion

A concise account of the history of fashion and costume from prehistoric times through to today.

From the momentus invention of the needle some 40,000 years ago to the development of blue denim, from Neolithic weavers to the biggest names in the fashion industry today – this classic guide covers the landmarks of costume history, the forms and materials used through the ages, the underlying motives of fashion and the ways in which clothes have been used to protect, to express identity, and to attract or to influence others. This sixth edition features a new foreword and concluding chapter by Amy de la Haye. The book is brought right up to date with a discussion about the major political shifts within the fashion industry, highlighting how it has responded to issues surrounding racism and sexism; LGBTQI rights; mental health awareness; body and age diversity and global sustainability.

Contents List:

Foreword • 1. How it all began • 2. Greeks and Romans • 3. Early Europe • 4. The Renaissance and the sixteenth century • 5. The seventeenth century • 6. The eighteenth century • 7. From 1800 to 1850 • 8. From 1850 to 1900 • 9. From 1900 to 1939 • 10. Rationed fashion to pluralistic style • 11. At the turn of the millennium • 12. Fashion since 2010

About the Authors:

James Laver, the 20th century’s leading authority in Britain on the history of costume and fashion, was Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings and of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, from 1938 until 1959. Amy de la Haye is Rootstein Hopkins Chair of Dress History & Curatorship at London College of Fashion. She was formerly Curator of Twentieth-Century Dress at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Andrew Tucker is a fashion journalist and author of The London Fashion Book; Dries Van Noten; and Fashion: A Crash Course.