Dress in Detail From Around the World

This is indeed a beautiful book, but it is also maddening! A full length color photo of each garment should have been included to demonstrate how the detail relates to the whole and the black and white line drawings don't do it.

This is a lovely book, with wonderful photography showing many aspects of international clothing in clear, bright, detail. (Like the title says!) It is well-written, as well, and although I would've liked pattern diagrams to have been provided, the line drawings go far toward helping understand the construction of the included articles of costume.The clarity of the photography makes it especially easy to see embellishment details such as embroidery, pleating, and fabrics, providing accurate information on various regional and historical items.

great value

I returned this book to Amazon because it did not meet my needs. Each garment portrayed in this book is portrayed in the same way. There are 2 graphics for each garment portrayed. One is a detailed drawing of each complete garment and the other is a detailed or close-up photograph of a small portion of the garment. My problem is that there were no complete photographs of any of the garments. I was surprised the authors chose not to photograph any of the garments portrayed in their entirety. Not one! A drawing doesn't come close to a photograph. And a close-up photograph of only a portion of the garment is not enough as well. You need a complete photograph of the entire garment in order for the reader to get the proper feel for a garment.

Useful in reinventing costumes for my egg tempera paintings.yBeautiful designs and detail. A great addition to my reference library.

Dress in Detail from around the world is one of the most inspirational books I have purchased. It expands your paradigm for designing your own patterns using the line drawings of these costumes. The embellishments, closures and use of multiple fabric combos is endless. The designs are simple and yet elegant depending on your choice in fabric. I feel they are adaptable to many figure types. I loved the focus of detail on necklines and cuffs as well as closures!

This is one of the most gorgeous and inspirational dress/costume books I've ever seen. The photos are clear, detailed, and focus on all the right things. If you're looking for design ideas or just eye candy, this fits the bill. It's a pity amazon.com doesn't remove the one-star review. His complaint has nothing to do with the book itself--just poor HTML linking on amazon's part. This book deserves to have a solid five-star rating. (6/9/06--I'm happy to see the one-star review was removed)

This book features pictures of details from extant ethnic costumes from more than fifty countries. Next to each picture is a flat (line drawing) of the whole garment, which allows you to see construction and some stitching details, as well as the overall shape. Descriptions alongside each flat include mention of the gender, class, time period, and ethnicity of a person who might wear the garment, as well as a context in which they might do so.The organization is a little odd, since it relates to the particular detail featured (e.g. "Necklines", or "Pleats and Gathers") but the index allows a search by place, which is very helpful. It also includes a map, glossary, and suggestions for further readings. Students interested in cultural dress will enjoy this brief introduction, though for more in-depth studies of a region, they should look into other resources.

Very good -a must buy for Fashion students, and really- anyone interested in design/ materials and 'global context'..I think this is the best book in this series, fantastic photographs and illustrations.Skimming through it is a joy; the colours, textures and its cultural scope make it 'go to' book for the visually aware.

This is very interesting and useful book, one of "must have" for costume designer. Qualtiy of printing and illustrations is excellent, seller shipped book quickly, arrived in perfect condition.