The Corset And Underwear Review

Presents the history of twentieth-century lingerie. This book examines the ways cultural meanings are orchestrated by the 'fashion-industrial complex, ' and the ways in which individuals and groups embrace, reject, or derive meaning from these everyday, yet significant, intimate articles of clothing.

With just a sewing machine and some inexpensive materials, you can learn how to make your own unique and beautiful bras, knickers and camisoles. Work your way up from super-easy, Tie-side knickers and Wedding Garters that can be customised in endless ways, to sewing with silk, tulle and other delicate fabrics. With more than 25 projects that can be personalised to suit your shape, size and style, from a Skirted Lace Thong and Chiffon Camisole to a Silk Soft-cup Bra and Roll-on Suspender, explore the vast scope for personal, creative expression in traditionally private items of clothing, whether making them for yourself or as a gift.

"Progressing through almost two centuries of corset-making, this collection showcases a range of period pieces, from the 1750 whale-boned corsets, through the invention of the sewing machine and mass-produced corsets of the 1850s to the makeshift corsets of World War I." "Reflecting the changing fashions and attitudes of women throughout the centuries, the collection includes corsets for pregnancy, riding corsets for sportswomen and hard-wearing corsets for housemaids. There are even corsets for small children and their dolls." "Each corset features an annotated pattern, a detailed drawing and close-up photography so any historical detail can be captured accurately by the maker. Each pattern is accompanied by a brief overview that places the corset within its historical context and explains any features or alterations that are necessary for making up the patterns." "A must-have guide for anyone with an interest in fashion history, Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques is a treasure trove of information for fashion students, costume makers for stage and screen, reenactors and historians alike."--BOOK JACKET.

Leading historians explore how our ideas of what is attractive are influenced by a broad range of social and economic factors. They force us to reckon with the ways that beauty has been made, bought and sold in modern America.

Containing 2,729 entries, Kevin L. Seligman’s bibliography concentrates on books, manuals, journals, and catalogs covering a wide range of sartorial approaches over nearly five hundred years. After a historical overview, Seligman approaches his subject chronologically, listing items by century through 1799, then by decade. In this section, he deals with works on flat patterning, draping, grading, and tailoring techniques as well as on such related topics as accessories, armor, civil costumes, clerical costumes, dressmakers’ systems, fur, gloves, leather, military uniforms, and undergarments. Seligman then devotes a section to those American and English journals published for the professional tailor and dressmaker. Here, too, he includes the related areas of fur and undergarments. A section devoted to journal articles features selected articles from costume- and noncostumerelated professional journals and periodicals. The author breaks these articles down into three categories: American, English, and other. Seligman then devotes separate sections to other related areas, providing alphabetical listings of books and professional journals for costume and dance, dolls, folk and national dress, footwear, millinery, and wigmaking and hair. A section devoted to commercial pattern companies, periodicals, and catalogs is followed by an appendix covering pattern companies, publishers, and publications. In addition to full bibliographic notation, Seligman provides a library call number and library location if that information is available. The majority of the listings are annotated. Each listing is coded for identification and cross-referencing. An author index, a title index, a subject index, and a chronological index will guide readers to the material they want. Seligman’s historical review of the development of publications on the sartorial arts, professional journals, and the commercial paper pattern industry puts the bibliographical material into context. An appendix provides a cross-reference guide for research on American and English pattern companies, publishers, and publications. Given the size and scope of the bibliography, there is no other reference work even remotely like it.

Over the years the bra has been stereotyped as an object of seduction, glamour, and even oppression. In Uplift: A History of the Bra in America Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau use this item of clothing to gauge the social history of women and to understand the business history of fashion. Viewing fashion as a means to entertainment, self-creation, and everyday art, the authors illuminate the effect the brassiere has had on women's lives—their style, health, and economic opportunity. Rich in examples from advertising, movies, and other areas of popular culture, Uplift moves beyond featherbones and fiberfill to provide a sense of the dynamic relationship of the bra to wider issues in society.