Patricia Rieff AnawaltThe Worldwide History of Dress

Pleased with this purchase, and happy to have found this book through this seller!

Amazing reference

I have been a long time collector of the grand Nineteenth Century studies of historic costume by the likes of Albert Racinet, Albert Kretschmer and Karl Rohrbach. Their valiant attempts to identify and organize historic costume into all encompassing encyclopedias represent the very best in late Victorian era thought. So it was with great pleasure that I came across Patricia Anawalt's ambitious "The Worldwide History of Dress". She too shares their passion for collecting and categorizing. However, what separates Anawalt from the great Nineteenth Century illustrators is that she has a PhD in anthropology and has access to all the resources of the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. The resulting "Worldwide History of Dress" is a tour de force. The book is beautifully printed and is sure to become highly collectible. A better one volume history of historic dress is hard to imagine. Highly recommended.

I have a textile collection that includes 500 items from about 60 countries. But if I had read this book earlier, I probably would either have twice as much or half as much but twice as good! There are many regions that are covered here that one rarely gets to read about, like Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost parts of South America, the many South Pacific Ocean islands and cultures, and the outstanding textiles of native Americans, from Alaska to Argentina. This ia a good reference book which should then lead to other books on specific topics...unfortunately, I did it the expensive way - specific books and finally this one!!! Gives the reader an easy way to follow how dress, textiles, developed from Year 1 to the present and an appreciation of how many cultures have managed to keep their pre-Western clothing through the years of colonialism and imperialism.

This book is chock-a-block w/ information about humans in cultures from pre-history to the present time around the world and their mode of clothing themselves. The copious and beautiful photographs of clothing from everywhere and when are worth the price of the book. Moreover author, Patricia Rieff Anawalt, is an excellent and well-informed writer, whose style makes close reading of this 500-plus page volume a treat. Whether perusing or closely reading the chapters, the reader gains more than a fashion show from then to now, from here to there. To have read this book is to become a better informed citizen of the planet.The only downside of Worldwide History of Dress is the size and weight of the volume--which is best read at a table or w/ a cushion on the lap. The publisher has provided an attached ribbon bookmark, which I found very helpful. I can't imagine reading the book w/o frequently reviewing previous chapters and illustrations.

I'm an illustrator who designs alien worlds and civilizations. This book is a god-send because I no longer have to spend hours on google looking for images/reference. There's so much information on these pages and the photographs are excellent.

You need this book if you love clothes. Monographs on Dior and Chanel will always be generated by fans and fashion houses. But our design inspiration -the origin of all dress design - can be found on every page of this beautifully illustrated volume. This vast compilation of artisanal, native, and vernacular clothing is compulsory read for the fashion lover, dress historian, and costume or fashion designer. The Worldwide History of Dress fills a gaping void: there is absolutely nothing like this compendium of international dress currently on the bookshelf.

Beautiful, and thoroughly researched, but you will need a pillow to rest it on your lap. A definitive history of worldwide clothing.

Très beau livre , beaucoup de photos complémentaires à celles des livres en français : complète ma collection de livres en français.

まず一言、これはスゴイ。昨今、近代西洋服装史の写真資料に関しては、TASCHENから出ているKCI(京都服飾文化研究財団)の『ファッションー１８世紀から現在まで』というマスターピースがあるが、本書はそれに対を成すような世界各地の民族衣装の大資料集。といっても、出版元も違うし、勿論そういうポリシーで作られた物でもないでしょうから、写真の見せ方や編集方法は全然違います。こちらはテキストのボリュームが非常に大きく、写真は挿絵的な形で散りばめられており前述の『ファッションー１８世紀から現在まで』のように写真集的な大きな尺で衣服を見せてくれる物ではありません。（大きな写真も勿論ありますが、まちまちです）なので完全に、「鑑賞」ではなく「勉強」の為の本です。掲載写真数は同テーマ中では群を抜いており、現在、私のような一般人でも容易に入手出来る民族衣装の総合データとしては、最高の一冊であると言えます。ネイティブアメリカンやチベット等、テーマを絞れば良書は勿論ありますが、このように世界中の民族衣装を総集した本では決定的と思える物が見つからなかったため、非常に嬉しい限り！オススメです。（英語が堪能では無く、翻訳に時間を要する私としては、日本語版が心底欲しい程・・・）