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| Survey Of Historic Costume: A History Of Western Dress | 
 enlarge | Authors: Phyllis G. Tortora, Keith Eubank
Publisher: Fairchild Pubns
Category: Book
List Price: $110.00
Buy New: $71.25
You Save: $38.75 (35%)
Buy New/Used from $71.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 4019
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 585
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 8.8 x 1.5
ISBN: 1563673452
Dewey Decimal Number: 391.009
EAN: 9781563673450
ASIN: 1563673452
Publication Date: June 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In the Preface of the 5th Edition of Survey of Historic Costume, Tortora and Eubank conclude
with the following: In the history of dress at the beginning of the 21st century,
costume might be compared to a constantly moving river. This river divides into many narrower
channels that separate, cross, come together, and separate again, and yet that river
continually moves on. Building on the previous editions, the authors update their analysis
of Western dress to 2008. With each new edition some elements of the title change. And
those changes provide an opportunity to focus on some aspect that adds to the usefulness
of this best seller. Survey of Historic Costume has, from its beginnings, taken seriously the
need to accompany the text with appropriate illustrations and the major change in the 5th
Edition is the move to full color throughout the book to enrich the text and the concepts.
Perfect for anyone interested in historic costume, fashion, textiles, drama, and design, this
beautifully illustrated book is full of interesting facts and commentary.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
No frills text book September 29, 2008
If you are looking for great illustrations and colorful examples of historical costume, don't bother. If you can look past that, it is a great text book to learn clothing in history.
 Decent textbook, lacking in pics September 21, 2008
This is a textbook that I was required to purchase for a history class. The reading is full of info and seems to be laid out well. However, there are not very many pics to show what the text is explaining. There are some pics, but alot of the time you are left trying to imagine what the text is describing, and they are vague in their descriptions sometimes. I am learning a background of the history though.
Good book with a few drawbacks August 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is often used as a textbook in costume history courses. As far as textbooks go, it is definitely one of the best. The text is quite dense, since it covers a lot of material in a limited space. Despite this, it is never dull. The authors are always careful to cite their sources, as well as explain why they support one point of view over others in those instances where several conflicting opinions exist. The text has several very useful features: extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter, as well as at the end of the book, are an excellent resource guide for more in-depth study; the visual summary tables at the end of each chapter review the basic progression of the silhouette within a period; and every chapter includes a section titled "Contemporary comments", which shows what the people who actually wore these garments thought about them. The careful attention the authors pay to the general historical, cultural, and political backgrounds of each period present fashion history as part of the greater framework of the history of Western society, which makes for an engaging read.
I stopped short of giving this text a 5-star rating for the following reasons:
1. Illustrations in the body of the text, primary research as well as drawings, are black and white. Color illustrations are confined to separate pages inserted in the middle of the book. The plates are too few and too small, and the color fidelity doesn't seem to be of exceptional quality. It seems that in an effort to keep costs down, the publisher sacrificed a vital part of the book. After all, when it comes to clothes, a picture often is worth a thousand words.
2. Whoever was in charge of making sure that the illustration and page numbers correspond to the ones cited, did an extremely poor job. What I mean is, when authors describe a particular garment, they'll refer to an illustration in parenthesis (see figure 8.10, page 182). Well, this illustration may or may not be on the page named, as well as the illustration may or may not be an example of what the authors are talking about. The correct illustration is never far (usually on the same page or the next page), and I have not yet encountered an instance where a cited illustration is absent entirely, but this discrepancy has occurred once or twice in almost every chapter. I place the full responsibility on the publishers, and would ask them in the future to be more careful when proofreading an expensive and otherwise admirable text.
Bottom line: buy this book if you intend to read it. If you are looking for a quick and clear visual reference of costumes through the ages, your money will be better spent elsewhere. Try The Complete History of Costume & Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day
 Review for the 3rd Edition of 'Historic Costume' June 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the textbook from my History of Fashion course. Like nearly all Fairchild Publication books, this is extremely well put together. It describes the dress of the time, construction and what it was made of, as well as the social/historical events at the time that helped influence the dress styles. It covers women's wear, men's wear, and children's wear. It is truly an excellent resource.
Awsome! April 29, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book came in great condition! It was shipping fast, which is great because it was needed for a college class. I would definitely use them again for future purchases.
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