Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2009 - 74

spectators, utilized a gigantic set inspired by beijing's Forbidden City. The
Flying Dutchman, directed by Guy Montavon, used a scenographic installation designed by Maurizio balo against the architectural backdrop of the
gothic St. Mary's Cathedral. As documented by larmann, all these stage
designs illustrate the integration of the architectural elements of a specific
site into the visual world of a performance and give us a glimpse of the
effort to stage classical works literally "outside the box."
The quality of the photographic images is excellent, but if you're interested in stage design, you'll want more information about the artistic
and technical details. I can recommend Stage Design by Ralph larmann
as an album with great pictures from different productions with industrial
scaffolding, spectacular colored lights, projections and lEd, etc. but if
you expect a book about stage design, you will be really disappointed.
Nic Ularu heads the MFA design program at the University of South
Carolina. He headed the scenography program at the National
Theatre of Bucharest and served on the board of the European
League of the Institutes of the Arts (ELIA). He was the co-designer
and curator of the USA entry of the 2007 Prague Quadrennial.

Patterns of Fashion 4
The Cut and Construction of
Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear,
Headwear and Accessories for
Men and Women c. 1540-1660
by Janet Arnold, Jenny Tiramani, Santina M.
levey; Hollywood, CA, Costume & Fashion
Press/Quite Specific Media Group, 2008. 128pp. Paper, $49.95.
Reviewed by Myra bullington
For most costume designers and technicians, the English costume historian
Janet Arnold's books are the anchors of our personal libraries. Patterns of
Fashion 1 and 2 were the very first books I bought to begin my costume
library after I finished undergraduate school. I still own those copies, and
although they are dog-eared and falling apart, I treasure them.
When Janet Arnold died in 1998 at age 66, she had been researching
and collecting material for Patterns of Fashion 4 for over twenty years.
She had begun work on pattern drafts, line drawings, and anecdotal material. Unfortunately, she was unable to bring the project to fruition before
her death. luckily, her executors enlisted the help of two perfect candidates to complete the project: Jenny Tiramani, costume designer and former head of design at Shakespeare's Globe from its opening in 1997 until
2005, and Santina levey, a textile scholar who worked for over twenty
years at the victoria and Albert Museum as Keeper of the department of
Textiles and dress.
Patterns of Fashion 4 explores Elizabethan and Jacobean shirts and
smocks, neck and wrist wear, and underwear. like its predecessors, the
book is divided into history, pictorial research and drawings, and pattern drafts, including metric conversion charts. There is a wonderfully

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illustrated extra section at the end with instructions for constructing and
starching linen neckwear.
The history section, although thorough and well illustrated, makes
for rather dry reading. The authors have included information about the
properties of linen fabric and its uses, as well as specifics about the sewing workforce in the mid-sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. There are
sections describing the seamstress, the cutwork maker, the bone-lace
maker, etc. The tedium is lifted by the occasional interesting historical tidbit. We find out, for example, that "Katherine of Aragon had always made
Henry vIII's shirts, and continued to do so, even after divorce proceedings
against her had been set in motion." Talk about devotion!

Improved pictorial research
This latest Patterns of Fashion also is vastly improved in the quality of pictorial research. The first two volumes in the series relied mostly on drawings rather than on primary research sources such as paintings. Patterns
of Fashion 3 saw the addition of clothing examples as seen in paintings
and black and white photographs of original garments. Sadly, the quality of
the reproductions was slightly better than mediocre. Patterns of Fashion 4
includes abundant examples of paintings and extant garments photographed
and reproduced in extremely high quality color. This for me
was the most exciting feature of the book. Not only do the
beautiful details in fabric and stitching become more apparent, so do the stains and wear and tear on the garments. This
is a boon for the dyers and painters among us.
There is good cross-referencing between paintings and
the corresponding garments, as well as meticulous, and often
delightfully gruesome, descriptions of the garments themselves; many of the items were worn by the owner while in
battle or being murdered. For instance, on page 42 is the clothing worn by
King Christian Iv of denmark when he lost an eyeball during a battle at sea.
The pattern draft section of the book is typical of the previous books.
Patterns are basically 1/8=1˝ scale, very clearly drawn and accompanied
by extensive written detail. As mentioned earlier, the back of the book
contains a metric conversion chart and more information on how to use
the patterns. It is important to note that experience is needed to successfully draft up and construct these clothes. That said, beginning costume
designers and technicians should not be discouraged. A student designing
and building an Elizabethan dress, for example, could begin with a simple
shape generated from any number of less complex pattern books available, or by draping. The student could then reference an Arnold book
for appropriate fabric choices and ideas for trim details. The end result
would be appropriate and lovely.
Remember that a good costume library contains books that can be
used as support materials for the others. All the books in the Patterns of
Fashion series provide excellent research. Studying their text and patterns
will only enrich one's understanding of historical clothing construction.
Myra Bullington is draper and costume designer for
Pennsylvania Dance Theatre.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2009