There are countless Fashion History courses, tutorials, articles available online, but for some, having a book is still a necessity to learn. This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. Fashion History: A Global View (Dress, Body, Culture) (2018)
Fashion History: A Global View proposes a new perspective on fashion history. Arguing that fashion has occurred in cultures beyond the West throughout history, this groundbreaking book explores the geographic places and historical spaces that have been largely neglected by contemporary fashion studies, bringing them together for the first time.Reversing the dominant narrative that privileges Western Europe in the history of dress, Welters and Lillethun adopt a cross-cultural approach to explore a vast array of cultures around the globe. They explore key…
2. How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century (2017)
Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women’s fashion across five centuries.Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments….
3. 100 Years of Fashion (2012)
This book documents in pictures the most exciting and diverse period in fashion: from 1900 to today, covering high society, uniforms, sportswear, streetwear, and couture. It will appeal to everyone with an interest in fashion as well as students Over 400 photographs and illustrations, many published for the first time, tell the stylish story of a fashion revolution….
4. Costume and Fashion (Fifth Edition) (World of Art) (2012)
“A standard reference for anyone interested in the history of style and clothes.” ―Arts and AntiquesFrom the momentous invention of the needle some 40,000 years ago to the development of blue denim, this classic guide covers the landmarks of costume history, the forms and materials used through the ages, as well as the ways in which clothes have been used to protect, to express identity, and to attract or influence others.For the fifth edition, Amy de la Haye, former Curator of Twentieth-Century Dress at the Victoria and Albert Museum, has…
5. Fashion (Oxford History of Art) (2003)
Following 150 years of fashion, Christopher Breward offers a catholic view of this colorful and flamboyant universe, describing its trends, products, and inhabitants. From Haute Couture, High Street, and developing fabric technology to such stars of the fashion heavens as Coco Chanel, Giorgio Armani, and Alexander McQueen, Breward explores territories far beyond style and function. He sees more than just an industry, giving voice to the larger cultural phenomenon fashion has become.Breward’s discerning view captures the glamorous world of Vogue and advertising; the relationship between fashion and film, and fashion as a business; and…
6. Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease (2017)
Long before "heroin chic" made headlines, the emaciated figure and feverish flush associated with tuberculosis victims were admired as beautiful. As the disease spread throughout Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it became commonplace toregard tuberculosis as a positive affliction, one to be emulated in beauty practices and dress. While medical writers believed that the fashionable way of life of many women actually rendered them susceptible to the disease, Carolyn A. Day investigates the deliberate and widespread flouting of…
7. Batik: 75 Selected Masterpieces: The Rudolf G. Smend Collection (2007)
Batik: 75 Selected Masterpieces contains never before published pictures illustrating the exquisite cross-section of the batik production in Java. Featuring textiles from the personal collection of gallery owner Rudolf G. Smend, historic photographs from the Hans van der Kamp Collection, and fascinating text from academic Isa Fleischmann-Heck, Batik: 75 Selected Masterpieces is a rich resource for collectors and lovers of the “golden period” of Java….
8. A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty (2018)
Women's clothing changed dramatically during the course of the Victorian era. Necklines rose, waistlines dropped, and Gothic severity gave way to flounces, frills, and an abundance of trimmings. Sleeves ballooned up and skirts billowed out. The crinoline morphed into the bustle and steam-moulded corsets cinched women's waists ever tighter. As fashion was evolving, so too were trends in ladies' hair care and cosmetics. An era which began by prizing natural, barefaced beauty ended with women purchasing lip and cheek rouge, false hairpieces and pomades, and fashionable perfumes made with expensive spice…
9. Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (World of Art) (2002)
The vagaries of fashion throughout the ages are a source of endless interest, not only as indication of our infinite capacity for invention, but also because of the relationship of costume to shifting cultural patterns. Laver presents in this classic study the underlying motives of fashion as well as a survey of the history of costume. He describes the means which have been adopted to satisfy the three functions of clothes: protection, expression of the personality by sartorial display, and attractiveness to others. The momentous invention of the needle (some 40,000 years ago), making possible the sewing together of…
10. Color for Modern Fashion: Drawing Fashion with Colored Markers (2006)
KET BENEFIT: CFMF teaches the skills and techniques that enable new ideas for fashion to be communicated with precision and flair, showing the way forward for a new generation of fashion designers. CFMF teaches how to draw fashion using colored markers, a medium that is easy to use, convenient, inexpensive and easy to learn. CFMF includes step-by-step drawings and photo sequences as well as clear and complete textural explanations that provide all the technical information and expert guidance needed to draw all types of modern garments. Photos of…
11. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints: A Memoir (2003)
As far back as i can remember … i can remember manhattan. Orlandito “Dito” Montiel, son of Orlando, a Nicaraguan immigrant, and an Irish mother, grew wild in the streets of Astoria, Queens, pulling pranks for Greek and Italian gangsters and confessing at the church of the Immaculate Conception, gobbling hits of purple mescaline and Old English, sneaking into Times Square whore houses—”Kids from nowhere going nowhere.” At 14 Dito watched as his best friend and surrogate older brother, Antonio, beat another kid to death with a baseball bat during a gang fight. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is the…
12. The History of Underclothes (Dover Fashion and Costumes) (1992)
“. . . thoroughness and most impressive scholarship . . . much entertaining detail and . . . pleasant humour.” — The Times Literary Supplement (London)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…
13. The History of Fashion Journalism (2017)
The History of Fashion Journalism is a uniquely comprehensive study of the development of the industry from its origins to the present day and professionals’, such as Anna Wintour, vision of the future. Covering everything from early tailor’s catalogues through to contemporary publications such as LOVE, together with blogs like The Sartorialist and handbag.com, and countries from Russia through to The United States, The History of Fashion Journalism explores the origins and influence of such well-known magazines as Nova, Vogue and Glamour. Combining an overview of the key moments in fashion journalism history with…
14. Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era (2016)
Have you ever wondered why we wear the type of clothes we do? Packed with outlandish outfits, this exciting history of fashion trends reveals the flamboyant fashions adopted (and discarded) by our ancestors.In the days before cosmetic surgery, people used bum rolls and bombastic breeches to augment their figures, painted their faces with poisonous concoctions, and doused themselves with scent to cover body odor.Take a fresh look at history’s hidden fashion disasters and discover some of the stories behind historical garments: How removing a medieval woman’s headdress could reveal her as a harlot Why Tudor men traded…
15. Pictorial Encyclopedia of Historic Costume: 1200 Full-Color Figures (Dover Fashion and Costumes) (2007)
Ranging from the elegant garments worn by citizens of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to the dramatic clothing of nineteenth-century French, English, and German societies, this stunning pictorial encyclopedia chronicles the full sweep of historic dress through the centuries.Carefully gathered from a rare portfolio originally published in 1906, over one thousand detailed engravings are presented here in a continuous chronological format. An unparalleled history of costume design, this collection includes the garb of kings and laborers … ladies and warriors … peasants and priests. Scores of accessories are also…
Best Fashion History Books: The Ultimate List
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some fashion history books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
The History of Armor - Protection, Mobility, and Fashion
Author(s): Nathan Bricault, Anant Garg
Publisher: Higgins Armory, Year: не указан, Size: 24 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2146622
The Fashion Forecasters: A Hidden History of Color and Trend Prediction
Author(s): Regina Lee Blaszczyk; Ben Wubs
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, Year: 2018, Size: 6 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2290014
The Hidden History of American Fashion: Rediscovering 20th-Century Women Designers
Author(s): Nancy Deihl
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, Year: 2018, Size: 6 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2369248
Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease
Author(s): Carolyn A. Day
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, Year: 2017, Size: 17 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2155569
The History of Fashion Journalism
Author(s): Kate Nelson Best
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, Year: 2017, Size: 10 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 2292654
Corsets & Codpieces: A Social History of Outrageous Fashion
Author(s): Karen Bowman
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books, Year: 2016, Size: 17 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 1620992
Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era
Author(s): Karen Bowman
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Year: 2016, Size: 30 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2332992
Creating the Illusion
Author(s): Jay Jorgensen, Donald L. Scoggins, Ali MacGraw
Publisher: Running Press, Year: 2015, Size: 92 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 1560135
The History of Modern Fashion: From 1850
Author(s): Daniel James Cole, Nancy Deihl
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing, Year: 2015, Size: 71 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 1577078
The battle of Versailles : the night American fashion stumbled into the spotlight and made history
Author(s): Givhan, Robin
Publisher: Flatiron Books, Year: 2015, Size: 2 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2081684
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are truly best-sellers according to The New York Times, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.