Exquisitely detailed and beautifully illustrated.
Fashion historian and Edith Cowan University lecturer Lydia Edwards first published her work How to Read a Dress in 2017. This year sees the publication of the revised edition.
Fashion history is not just for the costumier or clothes fanatic, but is a vital part of social history. As Edwards says in her introduction:
“Fashion, in particular women’s wear, has been a source of great social and cultural importance since the earliest civilisations.”
This work is, as the title suggests, all about “the dress”. Long the sole choice of clothing for women, and still the epitome of couture, the dress has changed shape, length, volume, structure, and meaning, over the centuries.
Edwards divides her book into twelve chapters covering major periods in fashion and society. Chapter 1 covers from 1550 to 1600, and Chapter 12 takes us from 1980 to 2020. Each begins with a short essay introducing the period and its main watersheds, before getting into the real grit of this work: the dresses themselves.
Each garment Edwards has chosen has a full page to itself. As much provenance as possible is given, along with detailed explanations of points of construction. Some of these are photos from museums, such as the 1870 silk taffeta promenade dress from LA County Museum of Art. Others are contained in paintings such as Anthony van Dyck’s Lady with a Fan. Later periods include photographs, such as the beautiful 1952 wedding dress from the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, which is shown alongside a photo of the bride’s wedding day. Being based in Australia, Edwards has gathered some wonderful gowns from smaller Australian museums, such as the Swan Guildford Historical Society in WA.
How to Read a Dress manages to fulfill several roles: as a textbook for students of fashion history, as a beautiful art/coffee table book, and as a fascinating read for those interested in sewing and construction. And it is certainly an indispensable handbook for the costumier, containing a useful glossary of terms and bibliography.
With engaging and lively writing, eclectic but comprehensive curation, beautiful, detailed illustrations, and Bloomsbury’s expected high-standard of book design, How to Read a Dress is a winner.
Now, to find a someone who can make me a copy of Ann Lowe’s American Beauty Dress (page 221)!
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not Glam Adelaide.
Reviewed by Tracey Korsten
Twitter: @TraceyKorsten
Distributed by: Bloomsbury
Released: January 2022
RRP: $49.99
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