100 Best Costume Books of All Time
We've researched and ranked the best costume books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more
Pictures, descriptions and patterns of men and women's clothing from--1560-1620. While you can make the clothing, using the patterns given, be prepared for it to take a while. less
Includes descriptions, line drawings and reproductions of historic magazines and books. The patterns for selected garments have been updated for the modern silhouette. less
Includes line drawings, reproductions of historic magazines and books, descriptions of the fabrics used to make the chosen garments and, finally patterns to make the garments that have been updated to fit the modern silhouette. less
Much of the finery seen here is too fragile to be on permanent display, or its detail too intricate to be captured in conventional photography. Jacobean blackwork, neoclassical tambour work, exquisite stitching, and knife-sharp pleats are pictured in stunning photographs,... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
This guide gives... more
Spend less time struggling to draw proportional figures and more time designing gorgeous looks: The Fashion Sketchpad is the ultimate fashion sketchbook for the aspiring designers who love to sketch clothes but don't have the skills (or the patience!) to draw proportional figures. This fashion design book is more than just a sketchpad. It has many additional features, including:
• 420 figure templates in 20 fashion-forward poses to inspire and motivate... more
Channel the magic of the Harry Potter films from the screen to your needles with the ultimate knitter’s guide to the Wizarding World. Featuring over 25 magical knits pictured in gorgeous full-color photography, this book includes patterns for clothing, home projects, and keepsakes pulled straight from the movies—and even includes a few iconic costume pieces as seen on-screen. With yarn suggestions based on the true colors used in the... more
No one can unravel couture garment construction the way Shaeffer can, from the art of hand sewing to mastering edge finishes,... more
Harry Potter: The Character Vault offers fans a deeper look at the creative development of the characters introduced in the books and brought to life in the theatrical series. Jody Revenson brings you closer to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the students and faculty at Hogwarts, the bureaucrats... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
In "The Art of manipulating Fabric," Colette Wolff has set herself just this task, and she succeeds brilliantly. Working from the simplest possible form - a flat piece of cloth and a threaded needle - she categorizes all major dimensional techniques, show how they are related, and give examples of variations both traditional and modern. The result is...
No one interested in the history of dress, from art historians to stage designers, from museum curators to teachers of fashion and costume, can function effectively without Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion" series, published by Macmillan since 1964.
Since her untimely death in 1998, admirers of her work have been waiting, with increasing impatience, for the promised volume devoted... more
The projects include: The English Gown, The Sacque, The Italian Gown and... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Containing everything you need to know about changing fashion and style — from ancient Egyptian dress to Space Age Fashion and Grunge — and information on icons like Marie Antoinette, Clara Bow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Alexander McQueen, Fashion catalogs the history of what... more
Charles James, often considered to be America’s first couturier, was renowned in the 1940s and 1950s as a master at sculpting fabric for the female form and creating fashions that defined mid-century glamour. Although James had no formal training as a dressmaker, he created strikingly original and complex designs, including intricate ball gowns worn by members of high society in New York and Europe. This lavishly illustrated book offers a comprehensive study of James’ life and work, highlighting his... more
Grand in its design and package, Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films: Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Beyond offers an unprecedented look at the creative process that transformed the magical locations of the wizarding world from the page to the big screen. Inside, readers will... more
As well as being historically accurate, Jean Hunnisett's patterns have been adapted so that they can be readily made up using today's fabrics and sewing methods, and to fit the modern female figure.
The book includes scaled patterns for each costume as well as step-by-step instructions and detailed working drawings.
Patterns are also included for all the correctly shaped corsets, crinolines, bustles and petticoats which... more
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) was undoubtedly the most influential fashion designer of the 20th century. Her clothes and accessories have remained perennially chic, and her legendary fashion house continues to exert a powerful sway over today's designers. Jérôme Gautier tells the story of Chanel's iconic style through hundreds of images, many taken by the leading lights of fashion photography, including Richard Avedon, Gilles Bensimon,... more
No matter what size or shape you are, wearing garments that fit perfectly makes you look and feel better. Rather than making commonly accepted changes to a commercial pattern, the method presented in this guide focuses on the way a test garment fits the body. The fabric is manipulated to improve the fit, and then those specific changes are made to the pattern. The result: patterns that fit perfectly!
With... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
-From the preface by John Galliano
The creation of eighteenth and nineteenth century fashion moved at a much slower tempo than the lightning-speed pace of contemporary fashion, so great attention was paid to the smallest detail. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915 celebrates... more
The Beyonder's Battleworld might seem a strange place to get new threads, but it's Spider-Man who becomes unraveled when his shape-changing costume attempts to darken his life as well as his fashion sense! But ridding himself of his riotous raiment proves an even greater mistake when its alien enmity bonds with mortal madness to form our hero's most dedicated decimator!... more
Cosplay—a portmanteau combining "costume" and "play"—has become one of the hottest trends in fandom . . . and Yaya Han is its shining superstar. In this guide to cosplaying, Han narrates her 20-year journey from newbie fan to entrepreneur with a household name in geekdom, revealing her self-taught methods for embodying a character and her experiences in the community. Each chapter is information-packed... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
"Highly recommended" by Library Journal, this volume offers step-by-step... more
Stylish and beautiful, vintage costume jewelry ignites the passions of collectors and fashionistas alike. Originally created as an inexpensive accessory to be worn and then discarded, costume jewelry is now considered an art form worth many times its original purchase price!
Warman's Costume Jewelry sparkles with wearable art creating during the past 100 years, spanning the Victorian era through the early part of the 21st century. Dazzling jewelry images, histories, profiles, and current market values are presented... more
"The perfect handbook for fashion students everywhere, Fabric for Fashion: The Swatch Book 2e, presents over 120 swatches of fabrics so that one can not only appreciate their aesthetic appeal, but also familiarise themselves with each one's structure, feel and weight. The book also details information on fibers, basic construction of fabrics, weights, construction, and weave comparison, so you'll be a textile expert in no time!" HungerTV
This easily navigable resource provides 125 swatches of... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Paintings of upper-class men and women tell an important part of the history of costumes, but surviving garments themselves reveal even more. Every crease, stitch, and stain in a piece of clothing supplies information about its wearer and its era. This stunning book features 18th- and early-19th-century garments from the premier collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, including many details and back views, the book treats not only elegant, high-style clothing in colonial America but also garments for everyday and work, the...
moreIn this book, master prop maker Shawn Thorsson uses his unique blend of humor and insight to turn years of painful experience into detailed... more
Elizabeth Zimmerman once wrote, "So please bear with me, and put up with my opinionated, nay, sometimes cantankerous attitude. I feel strongly about knitting." Perhaps her passionate opinions, as well as her love of wool craft and her delightful style, hark back to her English upbringing or long residence in the Wisconsin woods; in any case, the "Busy Knitter," as she calls herself, is one of the most charming and informative, as well as "un"ventive (her word)... more
This book contains all the information a beginner will need to get started - including tips on dyeing in small spaces and a guide to all the health and safety considerations - but is also packed with innovative techniques and inspiring designs that will appeal to the experienced textile artist too.
The book is broken into three sections. The first shows... more
Linda Sparks' The Basics of Corset Building: A Handbook for Beginners is a comprehensive guide to building your first corset, including:
Section One: Tools and Materials for Corset Building
Discusses the tools you'll need, plus types of steel, plastic, and textiles.
Section Two: Building a Corset
Everything you need to know about working with bones and busks, setting grommets and eyelets, and creating a beautifully finished corset.
Section Three: Construction Techniques
Covers all the steps,... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Patterns of India is a visual experience that offers intimate insights into the diverse and richly hued Western Indian culture. Color is the thread that binds the vast country together, defining every aspect of life from religion and politics to food and dress. Organized by the five dominant colors royal blue, sandstone, marigold, ivory, and rose, this book explores how deeply... more
All textiles begin with a twist. From colourful 30,000-year old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to what the linen wrappings of Tutankhamun's mummy actually meant; from the Silk Roads to the woollen sails that helped the Vikings reach America 700 years before Columbus; from the lace ruffs that infuriated the puritans to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution, our continuing reinvention of cloth tells fascinating stories of human ingenuity.
When we talk of lives hanging by a thread, being interwoven, or part of the social fabric, we are...
moreFrom the extravagance of Ancient Egypt, through the legendary houses of Chanel and Dior, to today's catwalk sensations, this gorgeous, carefully curated collection shows how fashion reflects people and places, and captures the times in which they lived.
Packed with a dazzling combination of original fashion plates, archive images, and commissioned photography, Fashion takes you on a fabulous... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Pattern is the strongest element in any room. In Living with Pattern, Rebecca Atwood demystifies how to use that element, a design concept that often confounds and confuses, demonstrating how to seamlessly mix and layer prints throughout a house. She covers pattern usage you probably already have, such as on your duvet cover or in the living room rug, and she also reveals the unexpected places you might not have thought to add it: bathroom tiles, an... more
Based on Caroline Johnson’s transcriptions and translations of more than 200 hand-written pages of the original Latin and English documents dating from 1485 to 1520, the book reveals a wealth of... more
I share my methods with you, step-by-step. The pages are bursting with photos of the dyeing process as well as photos of fabric and yarn samples from lots of different plants.
Perhaps you already dye with plants using conventional mordants such as alum and would... more
Underwear — practical garments with a utilitarian function or body coverings that serve an erotic purpose? As this fascinating and intelligently written study shows, the role played by underclothing over the last several centuries has been a varied one.
In a well-documented, profusely illustrated volume combining impressive scholarship with an entertaining, often humorous style, two distinguished clothing historians consider... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Fashion designer and expert sewist Lynda Maynard tackles each professional technique with clear instructions in simple step-by-step stages. Once these skills are understood, sewists will embrace their dressmaking projects with more confidence and the ability to create chic, refined looks. The Dressmaker’s... more
Tailoring presents sewing methods used in the European ateliers of Paris, Rome, and London. Via the DVD, Shaeffer will instruct readers in essential techniques such as making a bound buttonhole, converting darts to ease, creating a patch pocket, interfacing a hem, hand-stitching a fly zipper, and fitting sleeves. Where there is a trick or... more
Assouline s completely updated trilogy unfolds the spirit and heritage of the house of Chanel, from Coco s revolutionary... more
exquisitely precise and colored illustrations, as well as his delightful descriptions and often witty... more
Over 120 large-format pages have been carefully reprinted on high-quality glossy stock. They reveal in sharp detail the broad range of clothing fashions available during a period when wartime gasoline rationing made... more
Don't have time to read the top Costume books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.