Table of Contents

1900-1913; 1914-1929; 1930-1938; 1939-1945; 1946-1956; 1957-1967; 1968-1975; 1976-1988; 1989-1998.

About the Author

Amy de la Haye is an expert dress historian. She is the Rootstein Hopkins chair of dress history & curatorship at London College of Fashion. Valerie Mendes was Head of the Textiles and Dress Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Reviews

An excellent condensed guide covering major fashion developments created by important designers and couturiers for men and women trendsetters. -- Beverly Chico

This compact chronicle of fashion traces trends in women's and men's fashions from the British perspective, though continental and American fashions are treated too. Fashion changes accelerated more and more rapidly during the last century, from the conservative Belle Epoque styles to the "anything goes" vortex of the 1990s. In between, social and economic forces created dramatic or subtle changes, and these are well described here with the aid of 280 illustrations. Intriguing details like prewar Nazi fashion ideals of womanhood or the origins the Carnaby Street look of the 1960s keep one's interest--if the eyes can take it. The type face of the text is so small that some readers may have trouble reading it for any length of time. That's too bad, because there is much good information contained in the text. Still, this well-priced fashion history by two experienced curators of the Victoria and Albert Museum is recommended for all fashion and costume collections. -- Therese Duzinkiewicz Baker