Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (World of Art)

Costume and Fashion starts its exploration of fashion in the years of mighty kingdoms (Babylonians, Romans, Egyptians, etc.), and follows the trends through our modern-day fashion shows of 2019. The author explores the evolution of fashion from its origin as a necessity to how we view it today as a statement. This book seems lengthy in appearance, however the text is accompanied by a number of pictures. The illustrations are gorgeous and show realistically how the fashions have changed over the decades and even millenniums. It is evident through the details and mass of information that what is present has been lovingly and thoroughly researched for the readers’ knowledge and pleasure.

Costume and Fashion is a knowledgable book that could have a dual purpose of both leisure and work; for some readers, they may only find it one way or the other. For being a more scholarly book, I was pleasantly surprised that the text is understandable for the layman and does not need a prerequisite to read. Since fashion styles have changed so much and so drastically over the years, it’s nice to look back on how things used to be to judge if our current style has been for the better or worse.