Elizabeth J. Lewandowski is professor of Theatre in Costume Design at Midwestern State University (Wichita Falls, Texas).
To understand better the terms used in an 18th-century family
diary, Lewandowski, a professor of theater in costume design
(Midwestern State Univ., TX), began collecting words on note cards
15 years ago. The end result is this massive collection of more
than 20,000 fashion and costume definitions. Appendixes arrange
terms by garment types (280 kinds of lace, 118 terms for sleeves),
by era from ancient Egyptian sheath dresses to 1960s hot pants, and
by country. Covering items from an aile de pigeon, a wig worn
by French men in the 1750s, to a Zylinder, a German top hat,
this is a welcome resource for costume departments and social
historians alike.
*Library Journal (Reference)*
Lewandowski (Midwestern State Univ., Wichita Falls, TX) provides a
comprehensive overview of costume terminology from early to modern
times. This dictionary is a welcome addition to standard
dictionaries of clothing such as Ruth R. Wilcox's Dictionary of
Costume (CH, Jul'71) and C. M. Calasibetta's Fairchild's Dictionary
of Fashion (3rd ed., 2003; 2nd ed., CH, Oct'88, 26-0662). The
dictionary is a compendium of more than 20,000 terms that include
clothing, fabrics, accessories, fibers, and jewelry--just to
mention a few. Each entry includes a time period, country of
origin, and brief description. More than 300 black-and-white
illustrations are included, and the bibliography is extensive.
Appendixes list terminology in three ways: by country of origin, by
type of word, and by time period of origin. This volume's global
coverage--encompassing all countries and all centuries from ancient
times to the present day--makes it unique....It deserves a place in
all costume, design, museum, and theater collections. Summing Up:
Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general
readers.
*CHOICE*
Lewandowski (theater costume design, Midwestern State Univ.) has
designed costumes for more than 100 productions and served on many
boards related to the theater industry. As well as relying on her
experience, this title draws from costume history texts, journal
articles, biographies, and historical and contemporary works,
forming a comprehensive guide to terms in costuming regardless of
time period or locality. The book’s more than 20,000
cross-referenced fashion and costume terms are accompanied by more
than 300 color illustrations. Information on relevant time periods
and nationalities are included as appropriate. Following the
entries is a 32-page section featuring color photos of various
items, which is cross-referenced with the dictionary entries.
Following that are appendixes covering garments by type, country,
and era, plus a selected bibliography. BOTTOM LINE This work’s
thorough scope, covering all time periods and locations, makes it
stand out among other works on fashion and costuming. Its short,
practical descriptions and inclusion of illustrations and
appendixes make it a worthwhile resource for costume designers,
theater departments, and collections supporting dramatic arts.
*Library Journal*
The Complete Costume Dictionary is a culturally and
chronologically comprehensive collection of 20,000 terms collected
by Lewandowski, a professor of costume design. In addition to
garments, Lewandowski defines materials (Bakelite, Zebra
feathers); dyes (Madder, Cochineal); colors (Alice
blue, Loden green); hairstyles (Badger whiskers, Flying
Saucer); jewelry (Friendship bracelet, Swamy jewelry); and
myriad accessories, such as Dragon’s blood cane (a cane
made from the Malay dragon palm), Downy calves (“false
pads worn by men in appropriate places in tights to produce more
attractive legs”), and Giraffe comb (a high tortoiseshell
hair comb). Slang terms abound, including the
evocative Bum-freezer (a man’s short coat) and Dead
Spaniard (an Elizabethan term for a pale grayish-tan
color). Appendixes list terms by type of item, era, and
country. Items include 750 varieties of lace
(Barlycorns, Holly point) and 280 undergarments (Merry
widow, False hips, and Amazon corset). India, France, and
the UK are best represented among the 130 countries included, but
there are also 300 Vietnamese and 200 Palestinian terms. Chronology
extends from ancient Egypt to the mid-1980s. Entries are one word
to one paragraph long. Most include the era and country, followed
by a definition. Some are simply translations, such
as Ardilla(Spanish for “squirrel”) or Argent (French
for “silver”). Others are very brief, such as that for Labret,
a lip-plug described as “Mayan” without mentioning its use in other
cultures. The volume includes 250 black-and-white illustrations, 50
color plates, and an eight-page bibliography. The Complete Costume
Dictionary is recommended for academic and public libraries
supporting theater departments or art programs.
*Booklist*
The Complete Costume Dictionary by Elizabeth Lewandowski is an
impressive reference book. The main 325-page dictionary defines
terms from ancient to modern time periods and from cultures and
geographic areas worldwide. Nearly 200 additional pages organize
the terms in three appendixes: ‘Garment Types,’ ‘Garment by
Country,’ and ‘Garment Types by Era.’ A selected bibliography and
author and illustrator notes complete the volume. The author’s
stated intent was to share the hundreds of costume terms she has
collected throughout the years of her research. This she admirably
does with definitions ranging from one word to a few sentences.
*American Reference Books Annual*
This dictionary will be welcomed by dress and fashion historians,
textile conservators, period re-enactors, history and theatre
scholars as well as theatre and film professionals.
*Costume*
A dictionary so comprehensive, that any academic or scholar
interested in or teaching the history of costume should ensure that
it finds a place on their shelves. It is also a useful single
volume for historians, period re-enactors, professionals and
preservationists in many settings. This is a globe-spanning
resource taking records of fashion from the earliest times to the
twenty-first century. It contains over 20,000 costume and fashion
terms, over 250 black and white illustrations in the text and 50
grouped colour images. The dictionary does not limit its coverage
to costume in the Western world but is completely global, crossing
borders and continents as well as historical time periods in all
respects
What this dictionary does best is simplicity. It is quick and easy
to use and the appendices allow for cross-referencing or act as a
helpful overview of contents grouped by country, period and
type.
The dictionary is a fantastic historical and cultural resource as
well as an indispensable reference guide to global and historical
costume terminology. I can envisage scholars and students of
history finding it as useful as those for whom it is intended and I
would recommend that it finds a place on the shelves of the
reference section in every academic library where these subjects
are taught. Accessible, interesting and well researched, this is a
resource for everyone that also belongs in the public library and
the home library.
*s*
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