07 Historic Costume/Textiles

07.2 Survey

Payne, B., Winakor, G., & Farrell-Beck, J. (1991). The history of costume. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-047141-7, 659 pages, $60.00.

Tortora, P., & Eubank, K. (1989). A survey of historic costume. New York: Farichiled. ISBN 87005-632-8, 361 pages, $35.00.

Reviewed by Laurel Wilson, University of Missouri

Both of these books are commonly used as texts for courses about costume history and both have content, which recommends them. The authors of the two books cover costume history from ancient Mesopotamia through the 20th century. Payne et al. have included all of the 1980's while Tortora and Eubank have discussed costume history to the present. Care is taken by all the authors to present the information with qualification about its accuracy. Students are informed that the information presented in both books is as factual as the use of primary sources and consultation of scholars who have done careful study of costume can determine. When differences in information is available, reasons for those differences are presented. An excellent example of clarity in presenting reasons for differences in "Table 6-1: Old English and French Costume Terms" on pages 80 and 81 in A Survey of Historic Costume. Primary sources are used to illustrate both texts and, when the actual primary source illustrations were not available, clear line drawings of those sources, with as little distortion as possible, were used rather than drawings in today's aesthetic.
The style of the two books is quite different. Payne et al. have included an historical framework and maps of each region are included with a discussion of how the dress changed to reflect changes in society and in technology. While Tortora and Eubank have included historical framework and a discussion of the influences on costume, they have listed each of the forms of costume worn and described the appearance of each garment out of the historical context. In some cases, changes over history have been blurred and students may not grasp that change has occurred over time. Attempts have been made to note changes by means of "notes" in the text. These notes, even though emphasized, do not adequately explain the importance of these changes. It would seem that this style would lead to rote memorization of information rather than lead to an understanding of how changes in history lead to developments in dress. The use of contracted sentences in the descriptions of costume is also very distracting. The reader is forced to slow down and to fill in the missing verbs and modifiers. While the style may have been used as a space saving measure, a sacrifice has been made to clarity. The use of language in The History of Costume is elegant and clear, for the most part. There are some paragraphs in some of the later chapters, which are filled with short, choppy sentences like those we exhort our students to combine into a more varied style. However the style of History of Costume can serve as a model to writers who want to see examples of well-written information.
The authors of both books have focused on dress of the upper classes and on fashionable dress, not surprising because few primary sources show dress of ordinary people. The dress of the working class has been discussed when information was available. Tortora and Eubank have included discussion of children's clothing for every period for which information could be obtained, an important addition to the literature about costume history.
As one would expect, both books are filled with figures illustrating information that is better seen than described. Tortora and Eubank have done an excellent job of placing the figures near the text in which they are discussed. There is a color section, which includes figures from many periods. This section may be helpful to those reading on their own, but most who use this book will be in a class in which color slides are shown. The expense of including these examples could have been better used to expand content of some of the chapters. The figures in Payne, Winakor, and Farrell-Beck's book are often several pages from the discussion, forcing the reader to constantly turn to illustrations placed before or after the discussion. If figures could not have been placed on the same page, it would have been better to have been consistent by placing all figures after relevant discussion.
The authors of both books have consulted authorities to develop the historical framework for each of the periods. At the end of each chapter Tortora and Eubank have included a selected bibliography broken into topics such as books containing primary sources, periodical articles, and history of the period. Special topics about certain kinds of dress such as military dress are included when considered appropriate. Payne et al. included footnotes, which are listed at the end of each chapter. The bibliography of each of the books is also different in style - Tortora and Eubank have included a fairly comprehensive list of books arranged by period and subtopics within each period. The bibliography listed by Payne et al. is divided into just three topics: books, periodicals, and articles. Students doing research about costume and history of the period find that arrangement used by Tortora and Eubank more practical for obtaining information quickly. The "daily life" section at the ends of the chapters in Tortora and Eubank's book is useful for those who want to expand their knowledge about the history of each period of time and for students who are writing papers as part of the requirements of the costume course. Students using The History of Costume could use the footnotes as a point of departure for searching for sources; the information about the historical periods is not as readily available, however, and students are required to work a little hard for information. Both of these costume history textbooks would be appropriate for courses about costume history. I prefer The History of Costume because of the way in which information about costume is presented in the context of the historical framework. Because so much emphasis is placed on improving written communication, I also prefer to use books, which are good examples of careful writing as well as examples of careful scholarship.