Survey Of Historic Costume: A History Of Western Dress 5th Edition

Another class, another textbook. This book is a heavy, thick hardcover that is more of a chore to lug around than my laptop. Another book published by Fairchild Publications, the New York publishers who own WWD and W magazine. This is the text chosen by the current professor teaching History of Costume at my college. Background - this class is considered a "multi-cultural" course which is transferable for university credit. So it must cover social and historical aspects of the different epochs of Western Costume that are covered in this text. Having said that, there is a lot of social/political history between these covers, and surprisingly, not as many images as I'd hoped for in a book of this density.I have a pretty extensive collection of books on clothing/costuming from different time periods, and this text pretty much skims the surface. The good is that they use artifacts from the different time periods, so you can see how people of that culture saw themselves in their clothing. The author has also included diagrams in some of the early sections, showing how different scholars have hypothesized how earlier cultures draped their garments around the human body. So that is also interesting. The bibliographies at the end of each chapter are pretty good, and I noticed some books referenced here that I already have in my collection. But really, for the amount of money charged for this oversized doorstop, I'm really disappointed in the number of images included.Considering the constraints for the multicultural requirement, I suppose this book was created with that end purpose in mind. For instance I would have rather have seen some photographs of extant Georgean garments in good condition than contemporary engravings of what slaves wore in the period. Sorry. It's like People magazine - I want to see what Sandra Bullock wears to the Oscars - not what Jane Doe wears when she goes shopping at Wal-Mart. I also found it amusing that the authors deemed it necessary to create categories for "fashion tribes" when they reached the contemporary chapter. See if that inclusion doesn't date this book sooner than necessary.As I said, I found this text to be a disappointment overall. Would I buy it if the professor didn't require it? Nope. There are much better history of fashion books out there (a lot of different Dover or Tacshen publications for example) that are better value and have more images for the serious student of fashion/costume design.

I got the earlier version but my instructor has this version. Both are beautifully illustrated. It has examples of pictures related to each chapter. In some timelines, the instructor preferred the earlier version but the new one has the same pictures only presented a little different in some cases.

I gave it four stars because it seems as though the book really covers the history of costume. I would definitely recommend it as it has lots of information. The study guide is an added bonus. I bought it for a class I'm taking but I'm sure I'll be keeping it for a while.

This book came in great condition. I am using it for my costume history class and I love it. This is a book that I will continue to reference for my costume making purposes for a long time. This book is super detailed.

Originally a school required book but stayed relevant and helpful into adult life.

I am so glad that I bought this book and didn't rent it for my class. It is great! It goes through every time period up until today. The book itself is organizes amazingly! The whole book is in color which is great because you can finally see the costumes in color (the last edition was in black and white).

This book was a text book of my fashion history class. It had lots of information and was very interesting.

Bought it for a fashion class, and used it to study. The reason I purchased the book instead of renting it was because it's so beautiful and would make a great coffee table book. It would be a great housewarming gift for a fashionista.

great book and great quality very happy with this product

Book for college. Can't go wrong I guess.Print and paper quality is great.

Great book for Fashion Designers seeking for a deeper concept

This book is wonderful. Totally worth it

Great book! Provides a great historical account of fashion evolution. A must for any history buff!