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World of Art
The Concise History of Costume and Fashion
Costume and fashion
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
81 people are currently reading
1585 people want to read
About the author
James Laver
205 books6 followersJames Laver, CBE, FRSA was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was also an important and pioneering fashion historian described as "the man in England who made the study of costume respectable".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 23, 2013
This is perfectly fine as far as it goes - you can't cover the history of fashion in great depth in under 300 pages. This edition ends with the early 1980s, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. The ancient world is briefly covered, and then France and Britain get the bulk of attention from the medieval era to the mid-20th century, when finally American fashion makes an appearance as European haute couture begins to die out, and wartime restrictions in Europe allow American manufacturing and design to rise in stature. Of course, upper class fashions are given the bulk of the attention. For much of history, "lower class fashion" would have been an oxymoron - or, at least, the historical record of the outfits of the hoi polloi is not as complete.
The paper is glossy and there are lots of black and white and color plates.
May 13, 2024
Ay ha estado genial 🥺 pero tal vez me lo compré en fisico porque mirar las fotos en el ebook rests mucho de la experiencia
May 2, 2015
Chapter one:says, " how it all began." It's mostly by draping something over your naked body. Whether it be an animal skin or a woven grouping of leaves, that's how it all started. Men and women kept warm and or modestly covered in basic ways.
When the threads were woven into cloth, the Greeks and Romans draped cloth, then the needle was invented and seams were the way to go. Belts became the rage, and fashion exploded from that point on.
One can only wonder at the invention of pants, plantations, sleeves, laces, and boots. As the centuries marched on fashion changed at a " glacial pace" until the invention of the sewing machine..
At that point fashion actually became a business,and trends started changing at a rate that seemed to multiply exponentially.. This book leads us through the ages with illustrations, drawings, paintings and photos, through jerkins and breeches, doublets and waistcoats, morning dresses , riding costumes, bustles, hobble skirts, zoot suits, miniskirts, and all the way up to grunge.
When clothing became easily manufactured, change was by the decade, then by 5 year leaps, then yearly, the by the month, then season by season,led by designers that told us what we should wear( think " The Devil Wears Prada") now it's by whomever is popular, or famous. But is that really fashion or is that just a fad, a costume?
You be the judge.
When the threads were woven into cloth, the Greeks and Romans draped cloth, then the needle was invented and seams were the way to go. Belts became the rage, and fashion exploded from that point on.
One can only wonder at the invention of pants, plantations, sleeves, laces, and boots. As the centuries marched on fashion changed at a " glacial pace" until the invention of the sewing machine..
At that point fashion actually became a business,and trends started changing at a rate that seemed to multiply exponentially.. This book leads us through the ages with illustrations, drawings, paintings and photos, through jerkins and breeches, doublets and waistcoats, morning dresses , riding costumes, bustles, hobble skirts, zoot suits, miniskirts, and all the way up to grunge.
When clothing became easily manufactured, change was by the decade, then by 5 year leaps, then yearly, the by the month, then season by season,led by designers that told us what we should wear( think " The Devil Wears Prada") now it's by whomever is popular, or famous. But is that really fashion or is that just a fad, a costume?
You be the judge.
July 28, 2017
I've definitely read this book in a previous edition, many years ago. My Mum must have had a copy. This later edition was a present from a friend and proved a lovely reminder of Western European fashion history, a subject I find fascinating. There were some great tidbits that I’d forgotten, for example the original rise of handbags when women’s dresses briefly became so flimsy in the first decade of the 19th century that they could no longer support pockets. The illustrations are excellent - I remembered encountering the book before thanks to the pictures rather than the narrative. The account of evolving styles of clothing is clear and involving. Tonal shifts are obvious in the final chapters, as the 1969 first edition has seen additions in 1982, 1995, 2002, and 2012 by two other authors. The whole nonetheless coheres nicely, providing an enjoyable synthesis.
Two things occurred to me while reading. Firstly, that using newspaper accounts that mock outrageous new trends as evidence of what women wore daily seems dangerously like deducing today’s fashion from the Daily Mail’s relentless critique of female celebrities. There must inevitably be a somewhat skewed focus based on such sources. I wonder what the equivalent of today’s ‘shapeless viscose t-shirt and skinny jeans’ default outfit was two hundred years ago? Linen blouse, shawl, and ill-fitting wool skirt perhaps? Secondly, it was chastening to realise from the final chapters that I’m now old enough to have experienced ‘fashion history’ first hand. The rise of combat trousers and branded sportswear in the late 1990s coincided with my teenage years; they looked terrible on me and basically everyone. (I soon moved onto wearing much more flattering vintage styles.) This was followed by the so-called boho trend of long tiered skirts, embroidered blouse-ish things, and those low-slung woven belts. That look outstayed its welcome too. The 1990s really were a particularly dark time for clothing. Attempts to bring 90s styles back are deeply alarming.
‘Costume and Fashion: A Concise History’ concludes with a reference to fast fashion’s inherent wastefulness, which I appreciated. Even though it’s definitely not a theme of the book, the social and environmental impact of fashion has rightly become a defining issue for the sector. That’s something I intend to read around further.
Two things occurred to me while reading. Firstly, that using newspaper accounts that mock outrageous new trends as evidence of what women wore daily seems dangerously like deducing today’s fashion from the Daily Mail’s relentless critique of female celebrities. There must inevitably be a somewhat skewed focus based on such sources. I wonder what the equivalent of today’s ‘shapeless viscose t-shirt and skinny jeans’ default outfit was two hundred years ago? Linen blouse, shawl, and ill-fitting wool skirt perhaps? Secondly, it was chastening to realise from the final chapters that I’m now old enough to have experienced ‘fashion history’ first hand. The rise of combat trousers and branded sportswear in the late 1990s coincided with my teenage years; they looked terrible on me and basically everyone. (I soon moved onto wearing much more flattering vintage styles.) This was followed by the so-called boho trend of long tiered skirts, embroidered blouse-ish things, and those low-slung woven belts. That look outstayed its welcome too. The 1990s really were a particularly dark time for clothing. Attempts to bring 90s styles back are deeply alarming.
‘Costume and Fashion: A Concise History’ concludes with a reference to fast fashion’s inherent wastefulness, which I appreciated. Even though it’s definitely not a theme of the book, the social and environmental impact of fashion has rightly become a defining issue for the sector. That’s something I intend to read around further.
April 3, 2023
A light gloss over fashion trends since Ancient Greece and Rome to mid 2010s. A sole focus on couture in the later chapters and dressing of the wealthy in the formative ones. The 300 pages was not enough to cover anything in detail and I was especially critical of the 90s - present were several things I felt went unmentioned.
October 16, 2025
not always easy to read, definitely anglo-centred written but still a good historic overview, felt like reading a novel. Missed some clear overviews sometimes, everything flowed a bit too much sometimes. Still liked to read it! Loved the visuals, loads of pictures that helped create a representive image of fashion.
August 4, 2021
Pretty good reference source, but ultimately incomplete.
January 9, 2020
Chapter 7 – From 1800 to 1850
p.156 – Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt had induced in his compatriots a new wave of Orientalism which made turbans fashionable, and these were worn in England as well. Otherwise the outline aimed at a “classical” effect, with the emphasis on vertical line; but the Oriental influences contributed to modify this ideal, and the classical style only lasted from about 1800 to 1803.
p.158 -Snug fitting was the very essence of dandyism, and George Brummell prided himself on the fact that his clothes did not show a single wrinkle and that his breeches fitted his legs like a natural skin.
p.160 – The dandy was shown not only by the cut of his clothes and the snugness of his breeches, but by the elaboration of his neckwear.
p.162 – The waist, which had been high for a quarter of a century, now resumed its normal position, and when this happens it inevitably becomes tighter and tighter. As a result, the corset once more became an essential element of female dress, even for small girls.
p.163 – The Romantic movement was by now in full swing, the novels of Walter Scott found innumerable readers and every young woman seems to have wanted to look like Amy Robsart or another of his heroines. There was even a vogue for dresses made of Scotch plaid.
p.172 – the 1840s was a decade of quite extraordinary innovation and upheaval. It saw the introduction of railways; it also witnessed a series of social upheavals culminating in 1848, the Year of Revolutions.
p.174 – Skirts were made to stand out by lining, and sometimes there was an additional woollen interlining added to the upper part of the skirt at the back. Many petticoats were worn, and what might be described as the tea-cozy effect was further emphasized by the use of a small bustle made of horsehair.
Chapter 8 – From 1850 to 1900
p.178 – When the crinoline was first invented, it must have seemed to women an instrument of liberation. No longer hampered by multiple layers of petticoat, they could, inside their steel cage, move their limbs freely.
p.179 – it seems to be one of the principles of fashion that once an exaggeration has been decided on it becomes ever more exaggerated. Thus, by the end of the decade, the crinoline-supported skirts were truly prodigious, until it was impossible for two women to enter the room together or sit on the same sofa, for the frills of one dress took up all available space.
p.180 – Mrs. Bloomer came to England in 1851 to try induce women to adopt her sensible and certainly not unfeminine costume. This consisted of a simplified version of the bodice and a fairly ample skirt which reached well below the knee. Underneath it, however, were to be seen baggy trousers reaching to the ankle, usually with a lace frill at the bottom. This very modest attempt to reform female dress provoked an almost unbelievable outburst of excitement and ridicule.
p.183 – Mrs. Bloomer had to wait for almost fifty years before the adoption of “bloomers” for cycling.
p.184 – The crinoline was a symbol of the supposed unapproachability of women. The expanded skirt seemed to say: “You cannot come near enough to me even to kiss my hand.” […] But it was also an instrument of seduction.
p.185 – There certainly seems to have been a symbolic relationship between the crinoline and the Second Empire, with its material prosperity, its extravagance, its expansionist tendencies – and its hypocrisy. And the Queen of the Crinoline was the Empress Eugénie herself.
Chapter 9 – From 1900 to 1939
p.220 – The period has been defined as “the last good time of the upper classes,” and even the colours of clothes reflected the sunny optimism of those that had money to spend. It was all pastel shades of pink, pale blue or mauve, or black with small sequins sewn all over it.
Another feature of this period is the importance of tailor-mades. A considerable number of young women of the middle classes were now beginning to earn their living as governesses, typists and shop assistants, and it would have been impossible for them to pursue their occupations in the elaborate garden-party dresses. Even rich women wore tailor-mades in the country or when traveling, and the English tailors, rightly reputed to be the best in the world, reaped a rich harvest.
p.224 – And then, in 1910, there was a fundamental change in female dress. There has been much argument as to what brought this about, but it was plain that the Russian Ballet had something to do with it, and so had Paul Poiret. […] There was a wave of Orientalism following the production of Schéhérazade, the costumes for which were designed by Leon Bakst.
p.274 – What the fashion people found so shocking about Coco Chanel was her introduction of “good working-class clothes” into polite society.
Chapter 10 – Rationed Fashion and Pluralistic Style
p.252 – In Britain, the rationing system was introduced in the summer of 1941, regulating the quantity of clothing which could be purchased. The following year, the British Board of Trade introduced the Utility Clothing Scheme, a system of controls on the amount of fabric and number of trimmings used in clothing.
p.254 – Because silk was needed to make parachutes, there was a ban on its use for hosiery and clothing. Nylon, introduced by Du Pont in America in 1939, was not yet widely available, so manufacturers offered stockings in rayon, cotton and wool. When these materials also became difficult to obtain, women took to wearing ankle socks in the summer months or, when all else failed, staining their legs and drawing a mock seam down the back of the calf. The stockings shortage helped to increase the popularity of trousers, which were enthusiastically adopted by many younger women working in factories and on the land.
A government campaign known as “Make-do and Mend” encouraged women accustomed to discarding worn or outmoded clothing to re-make and update it.
p.255 – Although restrictions in America affected many aspects of dress – the cut of men’s suits, width of women’s skirts, heights of heels, colour of shoe leather, etc. – they were not as stringent as those in effect in Britain. Moreover, they did not last so long: restrictions came to an end in the U.S. in 1946, but rationing dragged on in Britain until 1948.
By the end of the war, British and American designers had a much sharper international profile. In both countries, too, significant developments had been made in the area of ready-to-wear clothing. Mass-market manufacturers had improved their skills – often in the mass production of uniforms.
p.256 – During the war years, Balmain, Balenciaga and Dior were to emerge as the most eminent of Parisian designers.
The New Look was in fact not new at all, but simply an exaggeration of late 1930s and Occupation styles, yet it was the very antithesis of the clothing produced in both the UK and the U.S. during the war.
To much of the war-weary population, the New Look symbolized hopes for a more prosperous future. Others saw it as reckless waste at a time when fabric was still in short supply. Some women feared that its anachronistic, prewar shape – its out-and-out femininity – heralded a return by women to a less active role in society. But despite the mixed response, it was eventually to win general support and would dominate the design of women’s clothing until 1954.
Throughout the 1950s, women wanted to appear mature, elegant and sophisticated. High fashion remained formal, with etiquette demanding special clothes and accessories for every occasion.
p.258 – The bikini was introduced in France as early as 1946 and became popular there in the following decade, it was not commonly seen in the U.S. until the mid-sixties.
Hollywood film stars James Dean and Marlon Brando popularized jeans and the motorbike jacket and also transformed the T-shirt into a fashionable item of clothing.
p.261 – The 1960s can be split into two distinct periods. The first embraces the years 1960 to 1967 (“the swinging sixties”), when fashion focused almost entirely on youth. […] The boutique became the dominant retail fashion outlet, providing and enticing combination of small runs of up-to-the minute clothing, young, fashionably dressed assistants, loud pop music, and gimmicky interiors. The chief fashion story of the period was the miniskirt. Hemlines rose just above the knee in 1961 and had reached the upper thighs by 1966. Stockings and suspenders were replaced by brightly coloured tights, and underwear was reduced to brief, unstructured bras and pants.
It was a style best suited to a skinny, pre-pubescent physique – epitomized by the schoolgirl model Lesley Hornby, known as Twiggy. And despite the much-publicized sexual revolution, young women of this period often looked like children, in baby-doll dresses with puffed sleeves, schoolgirl pinafores and gymslips, knickerbockers and the ubiquitous miniskirt.
p.264 – Yves Saint Laurent, who had designed at Dior, started under his own name in 1962, and became an iconoclast of 1960s style, reflecting Left-Bank influences and contemporary art movements. Copies of his 1965 “Mondrian” dress, composed of bold blocks of colour, appeared in high street shops within days.
p.265 – Fashion was also becoming increasingly unisex, reflecting a gradual breaking down of long-established traditions of gender dressing. For the first time men and women shopped at the same boutique for jeans, trousers, jackets, sweaters and shirts. In Paris, in 1966 Yves Saint Laurent launched his famous “smoking” jacket for women, followed in 1967 by his knickerbocker suit, a year later by culottes and in 1969 by his trouser suit.
p.274 – Milan had been established as Italy’s fashion capital by the mid-1970s and Italian designers continued to be acknowledged for their specialist use of textiles. In 1982 Gianni Versace worked with a modernistic, pliant metallic mesh and in the same year Giorgio Armani created an international vogue for crumpled suit and dress fabrics, particularly linen.
p.282 – Designers were now often perceived a stylists, able to reinterpret classic ideas for a more and more diverse market, one controlled as much by marketing and advertising budgets as by creativity.
p.156 – Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt had induced in his compatriots a new wave of Orientalism which made turbans fashionable, and these were worn in England as well. Otherwise the outline aimed at a “classical” effect, with the emphasis on vertical line; but the Oriental influences contributed to modify this ideal, and the classical style only lasted from about 1800 to 1803.
p.158 -Snug fitting was the very essence of dandyism, and George Brummell prided himself on the fact that his clothes did not show a single wrinkle and that his breeches fitted his legs like a natural skin.
p.160 – The dandy was shown not only by the cut of his clothes and the snugness of his breeches, but by the elaboration of his neckwear.
p.162 – The waist, which had been high for a quarter of a century, now resumed its normal position, and when this happens it inevitably becomes tighter and tighter. As a result, the corset once more became an essential element of female dress, even for small girls.
p.163 – The Romantic movement was by now in full swing, the novels of Walter Scott found innumerable readers and every young woman seems to have wanted to look like Amy Robsart or another of his heroines. There was even a vogue for dresses made of Scotch plaid.
p.172 – the 1840s was a decade of quite extraordinary innovation and upheaval. It saw the introduction of railways; it also witnessed a series of social upheavals culminating in 1848, the Year of Revolutions.
p.174 – Skirts were made to stand out by lining, and sometimes there was an additional woollen interlining added to the upper part of the skirt at the back. Many petticoats were worn, and what might be described as the tea-cozy effect was further emphasized by the use of a small bustle made of horsehair.
Chapter 8 – From 1850 to 1900
p.178 – When the crinoline was first invented, it must have seemed to women an instrument of liberation. No longer hampered by multiple layers of petticoat, they could, inside their steel cage, move their limbs freely.
p.179 – it seems to be one of the principles of fashion that once an exaggeration has been decided on it becomes ever more exaggerated. Thus, by the end of the decade, the crinoline-supported skirts were truly prodigious, until it was impossible for two women to enter the room together or sit on the same sofa, for the frills of one dress took up all available space.
p.180 – Mrs. Bloomer came to England in 1851 to try induce women to adopt her sensible and certainly not unfeminine costume. This consisted of a simplified version of the bodice and a fairly ample skirt which reached well below the knee. Underneath it, however, were to be seen baggy trousers reaching to the ankle, usually with a lace frill at the bottom. This very modest attempt to reform female dress provoked an almost unbelievable outburst of excitement and ridicule.
p.183 – Mrs. Bloomer had to wait for almost fifty years before the adoption of “bloomers” for cycling.
p.184 – The crinoline was a symbol of the supposed unapproachability of women. The expanded skirt seemed to say: “You cannot come near enough to me even to kiss my hand.” […] But it was also an instrument of seduction.
p.185 – There certainly seems to have been a symbolic relationship between the crinoline and the Second Empire, with its material prosperity, its extravagance, its expansionist tendencies – and its hypocrisy. And the Queen of the Crinoline was the Empress Eugénie herself.
Chapter 9 – From 1900 to 1939
p.220 – The period has been defined as “the last good time of the upper classes,” and even the colours of clothes reflected the sunny optimism of those that had money to spend. It was all pastel shades of pink, pale blue or mauve, or black with small sequins sewn all over it.
Another feature of this period is the importance of tailor-mades. A considerable number of young women of the middle classes were now beginning to earn their living as governesses, typists and shop assistants, and it would have been impossible for them to pursue their occupations in the elaborate garden-party dresses. Even rich women wore tailor-mades in the country or when traveling, and the English tailors, rightly reputed to be the best in the world, reaped a rich harvest.
p.224 – And then, in 1910, there was a fundamental change in female dress. There has been much argument as to what brought this about, but it was plain that the Russian Ballet had something to do with it, and so had Paul Poiret. […] There was a wave of Orientalism following the production of Schéhérazade, the costumes for which were designed by Leon Bakst.
p.274 – What the fashion people found so shocking about Coco Chanel was her introduction of “good working-class clothes” into polite society.
Chapter 10 – Rationed Fashion and Pluralistic Style
p.252 – In Britain, the rationing system was introduced in the summer of 1941, regulating the quantity of clothing which could be purchased. The following year, the British Board of Trade introduced the Utility Clothing Scheme, a system of controls on the amount of fabric and number of trimmings used in clothing.
p.254 – Because silk was needed to make parachutes, there was a ban on its use for hosiery and clothing. Nylon, introduced by Du Pont in America in 1939, was not yet widely available, so manufacturers offered stockings in rayon, cotton and wool. When these materials also became difficult to obtain, women took to wearing ankle socks in the summer months or, when all else failed, staining their legs and drawing a mock seam down the back of the calf. The stockings shortage helped to increase the popularity of trousers, which were enthusiastically adopted by many younger women working in factories and on the land.
A government campaign known as “Make-do and Mend” encouraged women accustomed to discarding worn or outmoded clothing to re-make and update it.
p.255 – Although restrictions in America affected many aspects of dress – the cut of men’s suits, width of women’s skirts, heights of heels, colour of shoe leather, etc. – they were not as stringent as those in effect in Britain. Moreover, they did not last so long: restrictions came to an end in the U.S. in 1946, but rationing dragged on in Britain until 1948.
By the end of the war, British and American designers had a much sharper international profile. In both countries, too, significant developments had been made in the area of ready-to-wear clothing. Mass-market manufacturers had improved their skills – often in the mass production of uniforms.
p.256 – During the war years, Balmain, Balenciaga and Dior were to emerge as the most eminent of Parisian designers.
The New Look was in fact not new at all, but simply an exaggeration of late 1930s and Occupation styles, yet it was the very antithesis of the clothing produced in both the UK and the U.S. during the war.
To much of the war-weary population, the New Look symbolized hopes for a more prosperous future. Others saw it as reckless waste at a time when fabric was still in short supply. Some women feared that its anachronistic, prewar shape – its out-and-out femininity – heralded a return by women to a less active role in society. But despite the mixed response, it was eventually to win general support and would dominate the design of women’s clothing until 1954.
Throughout the 1950s, women wanted to appear mature, elegant and sophisticated. High fashion remained formal, with etiquette demanding special clothes and accessories for every occasion.
p.258 – The bikini was introduced in France as early as 1946 and became popular there in the following decade, it was not commonly seen in the U.S. until the mid-sixties.
Hollywood film stars James Dean and Marlon Brando popularized jeans and the motorbike jacket and also transformed the T-shirt into a fashionable item of clothing.
p.261 – The 1960s can be split into two distinct periods. The first embraces the years 1960 to 1967 (“the swinging sixties”), when fashion focused almost entirely on youth. […] The boutique became the dominant retail fashion outlet, providing and enticing combination of small runs of up-to-the minute clothing, young, fashionably dressed assistants, loud pop music, and gimmicky interiors. The chief fashion story of the period was the miniskirt. Hemlines rose just above the knee in 1961 and had reached the upper thighs by 1966. Stockings and suspenders were replaced by brightly coloured tights, and underwear was reduced to brief, unstructured bras and pants.
It was a style best suited to a skinny, pre-pubescent physique – epitomized by the schoolgirl model Lesley Hornby, known as Twiggy. And despite the much-publicized sexual revolution, young women of this period often looked like children, in baby-doll dresses with puffed sleeves, schoolgirl pinafores and gymslips, knickerbockers and the ubiquitous miniskirt.
p.264 – Yves Saint Laurent, who had designed at Dior, started under his own name in 1962, and became an iconoclast of 1960s style, reflecting Left-Bank influences and contemporary art movements. Copies of his 1965 “Mondrian” dress, composed of bold blocks of colour, appeared in high street shops within days.
p.265 – Fashion was also becoming increasingly unisex, reflecting a gradual breaking down of long-established traditions of gender dressing. For the first time men and women shopped at the same boutique for jeans, trousers, jackets, sweaters and shirts. In Paris, in 1966 Yves Saint Laurent launched his famous “smoking” jacket for women, followed in 1967 by his knickerbocker suit, a year later by culottes and in 1969 by his trouser suit.
p.274 – Milan had been established as Italy’s fashion capital by the mid-1970s and Italian designers continued to be acknowledged for their specialist use of textiles. In 1982 Gianni Versace worked with a modernistic, pliant metallic mesh and in the same year Giorgio Armani created an international vogue for crumpled suit and dress fabrics, particularly linen.
p.282 – Designers were now often perceived a stylists, able to reinterpret classic ideas for a more and more diverse market, one controlled as much by marketing and advertising budgets as by creativity.
December 20, 2023
I read the sixth edition with another updated chapter bringing the history up to the present day (ish). I do acknowledge that the fashion world's recent moves to recognize the importance of diversity, inclusion, sustainability and other key issues is a good thing. My beef is with the tone shift between the original text by Laver and all of the updated chapters. Perhaps it's due to an underlying shift in the way that fashion and clothing operates in that time period (its capitalism ruining things again, isn't it). But also I enjoyed the historical and storytelling tone of Laver's sections, connecting trends in dress with broader issues, explaining in a clear way how this period is different from that and why. The more recent chapters are full of name dropping and less descriptive of the fundamental physical aspects of the clothes.
Anyways, valuable work. Highly enjoy all the historical paintings and drawings and even statues used to illustrate fashion history (which was Laver's original motivation, using clues from costume to help date images in the V&A museum). Would recommend to people interested in (Western) history of (wealthy people's) clothing. Could take or leave the up-to-date additions.
Anyways, valuable work. Highly enjoy all the historical paintings and drawings and even statues used to illustrate fashion history (which was Laver's original motivation, using clues from costume to help date images in the V&A museum). Would recommend to people interested in (Western) history of (wealthy people's) clothing. Could take or leave the up-to-date additions.
April 28, 2013
Any book that spans large periods of history over just a few hundred pages can't promise detail. However, it can promise to provide good overview which this books does to a certain extent. However, I had the distinct impression that the author liked certain fashion periods more than others (and so spent more time on them). I found it amusing but irritating when he interjected his opinions on the attractiveness of various styles, good or bad. I wasn't looking for his opinion but a history. He also included multiple terms that he never defined so if you're new to fashion history in the Western world, I would choose another book. I also wish Laver had not included any chapter about pre-14th century Western fashion because the century-spanning/jumping descriptions were so cursory as to be inane. And it gave the impression (with references to Babylonia and Egypt) that this book might be about cultures other than Western Europe and the States and it most certainly was not!
July 10, 2017
While the title claims this book to be “a concise history” I can’t help but disagree. The majority of its context completely ignores Asia, Africa and the Americas prior to being colonized. This book is more of a concise history of fashion according to England (which is mentioned the most), with a nod to French and Italian costumes when they were viewed as mode. Not until the 20th century does this book acknowledge the influences other culture’s fashions started to have on, well, England. There is also very limited mention about what people wore that couldn’t afford what was mode at the time. And while it was a very good history lesson, the title just comes across to me as rather ignorant.
September 23, 2009
"Concise" is fucking right.
June 6, 2025
A really fascinating book about fashion that is giving me a lot of thoughts on human behavior.
Humans behave in herds for a very practical reason: we will never be experts in everything. Thus, most of what we do is driven by assumptions. We walk a certain way, we eat a certain way, and we dance a certain way not because we inherently believe that is the optimal way to do something, but rather because of our innate tendency to source things from other "experts" so we can focus on what matters to us in our own day-to-day lives. In sum, we assume certain things must be true. We choose them because we assume them to be, rather than through an inherent, complicated, logical decision-making process.
This applies to the world of fashion as well: we decide to wear what we wear not out of a feeling of optimization, but rather out of a feeling of assumption. Throughout recent history, as the author noted, clothing has become increasingly loose, less structured, and less hierarchical. The old days of wearing something containing multiple layers, heavily structured with corsets and elaborate hairdos, have largely become a thing of the past. Yet, the fundamental reason driving this change is not the optimization of our lives, but rather a trend. When the "cool cats" begin behaving a certain way confidently, with their loose wardrobes, soon people behave in herds and adapt.
This insight is rather helpful for me right now as I'm trying to explain many things that cannot be explained through an optimization lens. People do a certain thing, even though it is obviously no longer the optimized (or the right) way, not due to the simple fact that they have a different opinion than I do, but rather for a very simple reason: they're doing it because it has worked for them in the past. People will only shift when something that worked in the past stops doing so (and then they will do a reverse, which is often not the optimized choice either). Thus, when making decisions, seek as many opposing opinions as possible, but also take close note that the herd is often not driven by logic but rather by past inertia.
Humans behave in herds for a very practical reason: we will never be experts in everything. Thus, most of what we do is driven by assumptions. We walk a certain way, we eat a certain way, and we dance a certain way not because we inherently believe that is the optimal way to do something, but rather because of our innate tendency to source things from other "experts" so we can focus on what matters to us in our own day-to-day lives. In sum, we assume certain things must be true. We choose them because we assume them to be, rather than through an inherent, complicated, logical decision-making process.
This applies to the world of fashion as well: we decide to wear what we wear not out of a feeling of optimization, but rather out of a feeling of assumption. Throughout recent history, as the author noted, clothing has become increasingly loose, less structured, and less hierarchical. The old days of wearing something containing multiple layers, heavily structured with corsets and elaborate hairdos, have largely become a thing of the past. Yet, the fundamental reason driving this change is not the optimization of our lives, but rather a trend. When the "cool cats" begin behaving a certain way confidently, with their loose wardrobes, soon people behave in herds and adapt.
This insight is rather helpful for me right now as I'm trying to explain many things that cannot be explained through an optimization lens. People do a certain thing, even though it is obviously no longer the optimized (or the right) way, not due to the simple fact that they have a different opinion than I do, but rather for a very simple reason: they're doing it because it has worked for them in the past. People will only shift when something that worked in the past stops doing so (and then they will do a reverse, which is often not the optimized choice either). Thus, when making decisions, seek as many opposing opinions as possible, but also take close note that the herd is often not driven by logic but rather by past inertia.
March 27, 2023
Good
If you’re starting to learn about fashion history you will definitely learn something from this book, and if you aren’t a newbie you’ll probably still learn new things along with getting a good refresher. This book goes over the political, cultural and economic reasons for fashion shifting over the years, which is a sign of one of the more informational books on fashion history.
Bad
-Heavily focused on mens fashion and isn’t really balanced enough between the two genders in my opinion
-The pictures chosen aren’t the best and doesn’t do that great of a job at showing the pieces that’s being described. Some words used weren’t even explained so this is not the best book for people who know absolutely nothing about fashion history
-Like every other book on history, it’s really Eurocentric. It didn’t say anything about this being a concise history on just western fashion, but it is
-It could be neater in organization. Sometimes I have no clue whether the book is talking about the beginning of a century or the end, specifically with ancient/medieval fashion
Overall it’s a decent book, and I was able to get it dirt cheap. It’s very educational, it’s just not the best book on fashion history. If you buy this it should be paired with another book that’s more visual at least. If you REALLY want to learn about fashion history, I would buy another book. I don’t think this alone is good enough.
If you’re starting to learn about fashion history you will definitely learn something from this book, and if you aren’t a newbie you’ll probably still learn new things along with getting a good refresher. This book goes over the political, cultural and economic reasons for fashion shifting over the years, which is a sign of one of the more informational books on fashion history.
Bad
-Heavily focused on mens fashion and isn’t really balanced enough between the two genders in my opinion
-The pictures chosen aren’t the best and doesn’t do that great of a job at showing the pieces that’s being described. Some words used weren’t even explained so this is not the best book for people who know absolutely nothing about fashion history
-Like every other book on history, it’s really Eurocentric. It didn’t say anything about this being a concise history on just western fashion, but it is
-It could be neater in organization. Sometimes I have no clue whether the book is talking about the beginning of a century or the end, specifically with ancient/medieval fashion
Overall it’s a decent book, and I was able to get it dirt cheap. It’s very educational, it’s just not the best book on fashion history. If you buy this it should be paired with another book that’s more visual at least. If you REALLY want to learn about fashion history, I would buy another book. I don’t think this alone is good enough.
July 30, 2018
This is a fantastic book with copious pictures.
It would be much more accurate to call it a concise history of European fashion, however. It begins with short chapters on Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; it ends with a chapter that mentions some American 20th century designers and garments. But the bulk of the book goes century by century through European fashions.
Very interesting look at what people were wearing and the cultural factors influencing those choices. Good setting resource for someone writing historical fiction set in Europe.
It would be much more accurate to call it a concise history of European fashion, however. It begins with short chapters on Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; it ends with a chapter that mentions some American 20th century designers and garments. But the bulk of the book goes century by century through European fashions.
Very interesting look at what people were wearing and the cultural factors influencing those choices. Good setting resource for someone writing historical fiction set in Europe.
October 21, 2025
a concise history this certainly is starting in 1000 BCE and coming all the way up to the 2000. with such a large time frame much is left on the cutting room floor; mostly clothes that aren’t english or french. though there is some mention of ancient west asian and egyptian clothes any non western fashion doesn’t really show up. if you’re looking for really in depth discussion of certain styles and periods this book isn’t for you but it is fun to trace styles and see how things evolve and there is tons of inspiration in all of the pictures. all in all i enjoyed it
September 25, 2017
Un buen punto de partida: recuento histórico que hace descripción de los estilos de la época, apuntando los factores sociales y culturales que influyeron en ellos. Interesante en la medida que permite sacar otras conclusiones que el autor explora en otras obras sobre el ciclo de la moda y la cambiante zona erógena.
March 2, 2021
Este libro es un clásico que debes leer si quieres conocer la evolución histórica de la moda, comienza desde la prehistoria hasta el siglo XX. Me hubiera gustado que fuera algo más extenso el capítulo dedicado a los siglos XIX Y XX pero es un libro de referencia obligada para todo estudiante de moda.
October 22, 2018
Buen acercamiento a la moda a lo largo de la historia. Si bien me aburrí un toque porque nombra cada uno de los materiales con los que se fabricaba ropa y tiene muy poco de lo social, está bastante bien y tiene una GRAN selección de imágenes.
October 31, 2018
This was my first text for college and boy did it open my eyes. It was for a Freshman seminar class titled 'Fashion Forward' and believe it or not, it led me to do my final project on skin bleaching in the African diaspora. Yeah, this book was something.
December 20, 2020
Very brief but comprehensive but it should've been titled "A Concise History of West European Fashion" because it isn't even a look into European fashions in general but mostly English and to some extent French.
July 17, 2021
Um livro extremamente detalhado sobre as transformações da moda pelos séculos, o autor nos leva numa jornada afim de nos fazer entender como os acontecimentos do mundo influenciam que roupas usamos.
Essencial para todo amante da moda!
Essencial para todo amante da moda!
March 20, 2025
Bueno para acercarse al mundo de la moda. Deja ver periodos por los que el lector puede sentir curiosidad y ganas de aprender más. Por la parte negativa, se me han hecho pesadas y repetitivas algunas partes, y me parece q está desactualizado al ser la última edición de los años 80.
May 2, 2025
I really enjoyed this history, and it is fairly far reaching. Some terms could have had more illustrations or a glossary. After centuries of fashion documented via illustrations and paintings it felt quite odd for fashion to be shown in photographs. A worthwhile read and reference book.
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April 17, 2021fff
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2023
I actually liked this one. It had some good photos in it and chapters on periods that are overlooked in most fashion history books. Was it amazing? No, but I'm glad it's in my collection.
April 26, 2013
This book ended up being one of my primary resources for a research paper I wrote for school, about fashion and the French Revolution. It perfectly describes many aspects of fashion, and additionally the social causes for the changes that occur, which was the primary emphasis of my paper. Though it is, as the title suggests, a concise history, it goes into just enough detail about each fashion era that it never feels incomplete. There is no in-depth discussion about the influence of Marie Antoinette or the rise of Charles Worth and haute couture, but that's okay. It's essentially a timeline of Western fashion, covering the beginnings of clothing, people's attitudes towards clothes in the ancient and classical eras, and how the fashions of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (which derived from barbarian clothing, interestingly enough) developed into what we wear today. Of particular interest to me was the way fashions have tended to follow a cycle of excessive decadence, followed by simplicity, then becoming more elaborate as people once again try to incorporate novel and unique elements into their manner of dress. Many of these abrupt changes are influenced by war or other social upheaval — think of how women traded panniers for empire waists and men discarded powdered wigs after the French Revolution, or how everyone dressed in a more practical manner during the two World Wars. I hadn't realized this, but apparently the fashion world was ready to start with crinolines and tight-laced corsets again towards the end of the 1930s, until WWII shattered that. But in any case, it's interesting the degree to which fashion changes are consciously conducted by the people wearing them, not merely being random developments or ways for designers and tailors to convince customers to "update their wardrobe".
Since the copy I had was the version that was first printed back in the sixties, it didn't have the updated chapters on the late 20th century, but I'll see if I can find one of those to read later. In any case, I'd like a copy of it whether or not it's the updated edition since the copy I had was borrowed and I was actually very sorry to have to return it. Since the book ended with the sixties, though, it was interesting to read his thoughts on how fashion might continue to develop, as of course for me that has already long since happened. Not that his predictions are very specific — they are of course stated in a way to suggest that they are only predictions and not definite truths — but it's fascinating to see what someone writing in the sixties might think of contemporary fashion, what with the crazy designs and patterns that were becoming popular then. It's really worth reading, if only to get an idea about how fashion is so closely interwoven with our lives and history in a way that most people rarely or never think about.
Since the copy I had was the version that was first printed back in the sixties, it didn't have the updated chapters on the late 20th century, but I'll see if I can find one of those to read later. In any case, I'd like a copy of it whether or not it's the updated edition since the copy I had was borrowed and I was actually very sorry to have to return it. Since the book ended with the sixties, though, it was interesting to read his thoughts on how fashion might continue to develop, as of course for me that has already long since happened. Not that his predictions are very specific — they are of course stated in a way to suggest that they are only predictions and not definite truths — but it's fascinating to see what someone writing in the sixties might think of contemporary fashion, what with the crazy designs and patterns that were becoming popular then. It's really worth reading, if only to get an idea about how fashion is so closely interwoven with our lives and history in a way that most people rarely or never think about.
April 7, 2022
um fashionably NOT concise
July 25, 2012
This isn't something that I would typically pick up but after looking at the first chapter I was hooked. This is a very concise description of fashion throughout all of history. I found myself thinking about how the dress of the different eras spoke to the roles of men and women for the time periods. Sometimes the costuming changed the social roles. I read the 2012 version which included the wedding gown of Kate Middleton. (I found myself thinking what that gown said of our culture now!)
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October 18, 2012I liked this book a lot, its a great intro to the subject, a short read with lots of reference pics (which are always needed with something like fashion). I enjoyed it so much i ordered the new edition which just came out June 2012. Should have great new info since 10 years have passed. Recommend for anyone interested in fashion on trends in general and how they are connected to large historical events and movements.
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