Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail

by Lucy Johnston

Genres: Fashion, History, Non-fiction
Pages: 144
Series: Fashion in Detail
Rating:

Synopsis:

From the delicate embroidery on ballgowns to the vibrant synthetic colors of crinolines, the major themes of 19th-century fashion are explored as never before in this exquisite book. Featuring specially commissioned color photographs of garments from the V&A's superb collection and many close-up details, alongside accurate line drawings of each garment's underlying structure, the book's 150 pieces capture the opulence and variety of this fascinating era.

Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail is very much what it says on the tin, discussing the fashions of the nineteenth century through the V&A’s collection, in a series of themed chapters that discuss different trends in fashion.

As usual with this series, the photography is great and there are line sketches of the garments as well to help you envision how they look as a whole — but quite often the whole garment is not pictured, only parts of it, which can be more than a little frustrating (especially to someone who can’t visualise things well).

There are some lovely choices, and I always enjoy when they point out the specifics of the garment in question too (e.g. that you can see traces of unpicking where a gown has been remodelled to suit a new fashion), rather than just discussing generalities.

It’s a nice volume, but again, I just have that little niggle about not showing the full garments!

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)