Author:  Jack Cassin-Scott 

ISBN:  1844034836 

This book is about the development of clothing and fashion from 1066 to the present year of 2006.  It depicts how fashion came about and its importance throughout our history. 

Each section is dedicated to roughly several decades.  It starts out by covering 1066 to 1550 and allotting it 10 pages of illustrated designs.  From 1550 to 1620, there are 12 pages where the author describes the clothes from that era.  From 1620 to 1670 and 1670 to 1760, Jack Cassin-Scott dedicates 23 pages to each phase of the fashion development of those dates. 

Subsequent dates from 1760 to 1789, 1789 to 1794, 1795 to 1804 and 1804 to 1820 have fewer illustrated pages but I believe that fashion didn’t have such a significant change during those times.  At times I couldn’t believe the type of clothing worn by individuals during that time, which indeed can be called costumes.

The content is easily understandable and the illustrations are vibrant and large.  This book is a good reference when looking for a particular fashion piece or trying to find out what clothing was worn in a certain era.  The last page depicts 1990 to 2006 but many fashion styles came out during this era so maybe the author has yet another encyclopedia to produce? 

The author is trying to give the reader a sense of each period.  He also shows how fashion is adopted by other cultures to bring additions to their own. 

Fashion has made numerous changes throughout history.  I particularly like the changes in the women’s clothing.  I would have hated to wear a high neck gown with a ruff around the neck.  It seemed very uncomfortable wearing clothes for women from 1066 to the 1800s.  The men appeared to be dressed in such a feminine fashion with their frills and wigs.  Praise for the 1900s where the clothes started looking more comfortable and easier to wear. 

A glossary is included describing the various types of garments of each era.  Items like vester coat, kirtle and coif are some examples of the items explained to educate the reader in the terms of fashion and costume. 

The title states from 1066 to the present day but for an encyclopedia, there doesn’t seem to be much detail in the present day from 1990 to 2006, considering only one page was left for the last sixteen years of fashion.  When thinking of encyclopedia, one would think it was a thick book or one book from a volume of others.  The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Costume and Fashion is a rather thin book with large illustrations covering half the page.  The fashion description of the era is written in small print at the bottom of the page but the author goes into a lot of detail. 

The book is good if you are looking for fashion trends in the earlier years of our history, as it contains many pages and illustration pertaining to it.  The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Costume and Fashion is also a good reference for period piece writers looking to stick to the fashion trends in his or her writing. 

The above review was contributed by: Jennifer Andrew -Freelance Writer and Reviewer. To read more of Jennifer's reviews CLICK HERE