Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1993 - 56

curiously, also dares rhe book. The producrions referred ro are all ar leasr 20 years
old or older and may very well be unfamiliar ro rhe reader, which could be offpurring ro college srudenrs for whom rhis
book is primarily inrended. Equally disrracring is rhe grammarically correcr bur
our of fashion convenrion of always referring ro arrisrs as male.
The layour and conrenr of rhis book is
barely changed since irs original prinring
though a funky brown paper bag-rype paper
for rhe pages has been replaced with glossy
whire and some of rhe renderings have been
replaced wirh slighrly more recenr ones. The
bibliography has been redone ro reflecr currenr pracrice in ciring sources which makes
ir easier ro use. Added ro rhe new edirion are
silhouerres of borh men's and women's cosrumes from rhe rwelfrh rhrough rhe ninereenth cenruries which serves as a quick reference.
While rhe book would be even more
helpful if more of rhe picrures could be in
color (always (he case in design books), rhis
remains a concise and useful book for rhe
beginning cosrumer.
ancye Van Brunr

University ofGeOlgia

Children's Clothes
by Clare Rose. 160 pp., iii. 12 b/",. 8 color, 535

In (his survey of fashion rrends in children's
c1orhing, rhe aurhor proposes a rhree-fold
mission: (I) ro explore rhe mainsrream of
children's fashions from 1750 ro 1985, (2)
ro annorare relarionships berween adulr and
children's fashions during rhar period, and
(3) ro relare various rrends in children's fashion ro corresponding social and economic
movemems. Her inrroducrion recommends
(he rexr nor only ro cosrume specialisrs, bur
"ro hisrorians of porrrairure, economic hisrorians and social hisrorians" as wel/.
Despire the length of rhe period srudied and
rhe breviry of rhe rexr, Page does achieve
each of her srared goals, alrhough nor as
fully as some of her rarger audiences may
prefer.
The srudy period is divided inro rhree
ages: I 50-1820, 1820-1890, and 18901985. Each age is addressed in rhree chaprers, one dedicared ro baby c1orhing, anorher ro girls' wear, and rhe rhird ro boys'
fashions. Generally, rhe secrions on babies
offer rhe mosr derail in each period demonsrraring whar some may perceive as a disrincr aurhor's bias. Boy's c10rhing chaprers
are in all cases rhe shorresr and lease
derailed. Given rhe scope of rhe srudy, rhe
reader occasionally finds chaprers in which
decades of fashion are disparched in a single
54

1993 WINTER

TD&T

page. However, despire rhe somewhar frequenr shorr shrifr, (he wriring sryle remains
borh lucid and enrerraining. The aurhor's
insighrs inro rhe social significance of children's c10rhing and irs economic causes and
ramificarions are of parricular inreresr.
The illusrrarions are noreworthy for rheir
size, number, and qualiry. Few of (he book's
128 black-and-whire or eighr color plares
occupy less (han a rhird of a page. The scale
of rhese illusrrarions offer more rhan ample
derail and provides clear visual documenrarion of rhe rexr. Many of rhe phorographs
are acrual garmenrs eirher displayed on
museum mannequins or worn by modern
models. Occasionally rhe presenrarion of
rhe garmenr either lacks a degree of aurhenriciry (as in rhe case of cerrain hair sryles and
awkward expressions on rhe live models) or
draws arrenrion from rhe garmenrs (as in the
case of some very unforrunare mannequin
choices); bur for the mosr parr rhe book furnishes an admirable selecrion of primary
source marerials.
Conrained wirhin rhe book is a very
selecrive (and somewhar quirk,')') bibliography thar mayor may nor assisr the reader in
further researching the subjecr. A shorr glossary rhar primarily reirerares definirions
found wirh rhe rexr and a relarively complere index are also included.
Perhaps rhe largesr drawback of rhe book
is irs exrreme erhnocenrriciry. The aurhor
rarely venrures from English source marerials. A more accurare ririe for rl1e work mighr
be British Children's Clothes.
Of rhe various rarger audiences for rhis
book, rhe cosrume hisrorian will probably
find ir mosr valuable due ro rhe clear inregrarion of social and fashion rrends. The
rexr successfully dispels commonly held preconceprions abour rhe insignificance of children's clothing as social indicarors. However, rhe pracricing cosrume designer may
have grearer difficulry jusrifYing (he acquisirion of rhis volume. While rhe illusrrarions
do offer novel source marerial on which ro
develop designs, rhe general subjecr marrer
may limir irs uriliC)'.
Wm.A. Earl

\\lestem Oregon State Co!!ege

Edwmdian Hats: The Art of
Millinery (I 909)
b,' :-tme. Anna Ben·Yusuf. enlarged and edited b,' R. L. Shep.
2-2 pp..

This book, originally primed in 1909, offers
a srep-by-srep course in millinery consrrucrion and a general inrroducrion ro rhe aesrheric of early rwenrierh cenrury millinery
design. Dedicared ro borh "rhe Arrisr and
rhe Amareur," ir promises rhe means ro

develop rhe skills and confidence necessary
ro "evolve accurare copies of Parisian crearions." The rexr is divided inro 17 lessons,
each of which guides rhe reader rhrough a
series of exercises designed ro reach rhe
basics of making and covering frames,
sewing srraw hars, crearing a number of
rrims, veils, and bows, and so on. Chaprers
on frame making provide rhe reader wirh
simple formulae and pracrical shorrcurs for
arriving ar a varieC)' of increasing more complex symmerrical and asymmerrical designs.
Lessons on ruching, shirring, plearing, and
bow making combine pracrical hinrs, ruleof-rhumb measuremenrs, and rechnical
how-ro in a series of skill developing exercises. From har base ro final rrim, rhe aurhor
provides relarively easy-ro-follow descriprions and diagrams illusrraring each procedure. Also of nore are rhe aurhor's insrrucrions regarding rhe choice and handling of
fabric and norions.
Al(hough originally inrended for rhe srudenr milliner, nor all the chaprers have pracrical relevance for rhe modern pracri rioner.
Several lessons concerning cleaning, sroring,
and consrrucrion pracrices which inrervening rechnical advances have superseded
clearly benefir rhe cosrume hisrorian more
rhan rhe cosrumer. In many cases, Mme.
Ben-Yusuf's rechnical advice on mainraining and preparing marerials presenrs a valuable look in Edwardian rechnology. Thencurrenr pressing and dry cleaning pracrices
should be of real inreresr ro the hisrorian.
A chaprer on mourning millinery nor
only advises rhe reader in marrers of consrrucrion bur in scale, derail, color, and eriquerre as well. Giving suggesrions regarding
"becoming" mourning weeds, rhe chaprer
helps widows avoid "a sorr of meraphorical
'sackclorh and ashes'" look. Periods of
mourning a.nd proper arrire for other family
members are also discussed. This look inro
"correcr mourning" presenrs a valuable
source of informarion for rhearre designer
and cosrume hisrorian alike.
Despire rhe evolurion of (he English language during rhe rwenrierh cenrury, rhis
book remains remarkably easy ro read and
undersrand. Alrhough rhe occasional awkward phrase or our-of-dare rerm arises, rhe
rexr seems relarively currenr in irs grammar
and word usage. The rexr is an1ply illusrrared wirh phorographs, diagrams, and line
drawings so thar virrually all major exercises
are accompanied by visual references. The
book also includes a shorr glossary rhar
assisrs rhe reader in undersranding and
rranslaring period rerminology.
This volume should be a welcome addirion ro rhe libraries of cosrumers, designers,
and hisrorians.
Wm. A. Earl

\\lestem Oregon State Co!!ege

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1993