The Art of Dress: Clothes and Society 1500-1914 (THE NATIONAL TR) - Softcover

Ashelford, Jane; Einsiedel, Andreas Von

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0707803365 ISBN 13: 9780707803364

Publisher: Antique Collectors' Club, 2000

Synopsis

The clothing worn in the past affords an invaluable insight into lifestyles that have disappeared forever. Choice of dress has always been affected by numerous influences - social and economic, artistic and technical - and, of course, the vagaries of individual taste. In this delightfully illustrated book, a unique account is offered of the history of dress over four centuries.
Drawing on the rich resources of Britain's National Trust properties, which include numerous costume and textile collections, revealing painted portraits, and extensive documentation in the form of family correspondence, diaries, and household papers, Jane Ashelford goes beyond a mere chronicle of cut, shape, and decoration. She looks at the social aspects of dress - how styles were conveyed, how and where materials and clothing were purchased, and what people wore at all levels of society and at all ages, from swaddling bands to widow's weeds.
Many remarkable ensembles are seen here, often for the first time, in spectacular photographs specially commissioned from Andreas von Einsiedel. Men's, women's, children's, and servant's attire and accessories provide vital information about the taste, preoccupations, and aspirations of the individuals who wore them, and the world in which they lived.

About this title

About the Author

Jane Ashelford is also the author of The Care of Clothes.

From Booklist

It is perhaps indicative of our uncertainty about and schizophrenic regard for fashion that we understand all too well photographer Cecil Beaton's annoyance at being labeled a "propagandist for frivolity." Drawing from three major costume collections owned by Britain's National Trust, as well as that country's vast scholarly resources, lecturer Ashelford, with the assistance of Andreas von Einsiedel's camera work, draws wondrous word pictures of four centuries of British clothing, mind-sets, and society. What emerges from the scrutiny of 400 years is the historical recognition that clothes no longer make the man; by 1914, master and servant, mistress and maid, could be mistaken by appearances alone. That progression is also documented by literary and artistic currents; analysis of Shakespearean dramas and Holbein portraits, for example, show in a glance various dressing rites and rituals. Fascinating facts will allure readers, as will the incredibly wide range of subjects--children's apparel, the retail trade, wigs, and servant dress, among others. Barbara Jacobs

About this edition

• Publisher: Antique Collectors' Club
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0707803365
• ISBN 13: 9780707803364
• Binding: Paperback