Antiques and the Arts Book Review


A Dictionary Of Costume And Fashion -
By Mary Brooks Picken
Dover Publications, Mineola, N.Y., 397 pages, paperback $14.95.

Everything you ever wanted to know about fashion terminology is in this book. It is organized in groups of apparel and decoration, from belts to yarns, every word listed alphabetically for quick reference. The book provides over 10,000 words from the fashion language, and over 750 black and white lined illustrations. The book is a reference guide for any connoisseur of fashion or tailor that is really serious about the field. In a sense it is the Bible of fashion vocabulary. Just about each page offers an illustration of one of the words, coming in handy for those who are not so fashion savvy. The book also gives a 32 page overview of clothing dating back to Ancient Egyptian and Roman costumes. The illustrations then move through time to Fourteenth Century costumes and so forth through the centuries. With numbered captions and pictures it makes this section quite interesting. It also gives a brief overview on some national costumes and their origin. The dictionary defines everything from "aal" to "Zulu cloth." Its purpose is to conserve the language of fashion that has been spoken over the centuries and not diminish it to what is commonly spoken today. How many times do we find ourselves saying the same word over because we cannot find or remember another one? This book brings forth some new and interesting vocabulary most of us have never heard. - Justine Hammond

A Dictionary Of Costume And Fashion -

By Mary Brooks Picken