Book Review: Patterns of Fashion 3

The third of my Patterns of Fashion reviews.

Patterns of Fashion 3: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c. 1560-1620 by Janet Arnold

The format of this book follows the others. Notable differences are the length (128 pages versus 76 and 88 pages for the first two), the inclusion of men's and children's garments, and the addition of photographs. In lieu of period cutting diagrams and patterns (which aren't exactly available for the 16th-17th centuries), volume 3 has 38 pages of  photographs of the profiled garments. Although they are black and white, the photographs show lovely details, and they are accompanied by contemporary portraits and effigies which depict similar garments in use.

All told, there are 56 garments or sets of garments included (the suits mostly being doublet-and-hose combinations); these include gowns, doublets, trunkhose, breeches, cloaks, and hats.  Most are for adults, though a handful of children's garments are included. About a fifth of the garments profiled are burial garments, including those of Eleanora di Toledo, Cosimo di  Medici, Dorothea Sabine von Neuberg, and Svante, Erik, and Nils Sture. As a result, many of these garments are closely dated, and have relatively extensive background information.*

Each garment gets as many pages as it needs--the record appears to be 5 pages for Nils Sture's leather doublet and wool plunderhosen, including multiple views of the complete garments, close-up detail drawings of construction techniques, and the pattern pieces.

*For those so concerned, there is some textual mention of death and burial conditions, as relates to the condition of the clothing--including mention of the wounds which killed the Sture men, and differing rates of decomposition in some garments. However, these aspects are not depicted on the diagrams and drawings, and the photographs focus on other details of the garments. In a few cases, jagged lines are used to show the extent of extant fabric on a pattern piece, with conjectures of the full shape.

[Side note: I am currently reading The Cultural World of Eleanora di Toldeo, and found the diagrams of her gown to be a useful companion to the chapter on "The burial attire of Eleonora di Toledo" by Mary Westerman Bulgarella--and that chapter to be a good explanation/companion to the diagrams here, going into greater detail about the condition of the gown, and how its original form was deciphered.]

Stars: 5

Accuracy: High.  All original garments, etc.

Difficulty: Advanced (for reproducing garments). All levels for appreciating garment construction.

Overall Impression: The Patterns of Fashion books are really useful for understanding how garments were actually cut and constructed  in the past. I like how many of the garments profiled in volume 3 come with specific details about who wore them, and when; the inclusion of pictures, albeit in black and white, is also a nice boon. If you do any sort of costuming for the late 1500s and early 1600s, get this book.