I think, closer to Thursfield from your description (although I've not actually heard of Thursfield before?), given what I saw of the book (haven't ordered my copy yet). They were definitely assuming some basic sewing knowledge, so it's not as basic as, say, Winter and Savoy, but it's not the archaeological/historical text that Arnold is, either. I didn't spend more than 5 or 10 minutes looking at my friend's copy, but these are the impressions I got: --At cursory glance, the people and outfits looked pretty good--at least like really good theatrical stuff without the shortcuts --It was particularly nice to see clothing that was not entirely royal/upper class, and of both genders --They covered a good part of Tudor/Elizabethan clothing --It seemed, at cursory glance, to be skimpy in the juicy details. Almost more like a coffee table costuming book than a down-and-dirty-in-the-sewing room how-to book --I will definitely purchase one, but I wouldn't rely on it as my sole source for 16th century English clothing by any means --I don't recall seeing an extensive bibliography or list of sources, but it may have been in there and I just didn't catch it. If not, it would have been nice to see--say, available articles on knitting one's own stockings, or sources for fabrics, etc., as well as primary sources (extant garments, portraiture, etc.) --I also thought "dang, but it's a shame we don't have something like this for earlier time periods. ;o)" --Sue's two pence worth (handily fueled by Dove chocolate eggs and Easter brunch....mmm....lamb...mmmm) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robin Netherton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Historical Costume" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2006 1:40 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] Tudor Tailor....a review
> > OK, now I'm curious. I haven't seen the book, and the descriptions I've > seen range so far that it's hard to figure out that they're all talking > about the same thing. > > So. In terms of approach (not subject matter), is this book closer to > Janet Arnold, e.g. "here's detailed, strictly documented information on > specific existing pieces of clothing, which may or may not be > representative, and which may or may not work for you in practice, > depending on your understanding of period techniques"? Or is it closer to > Sarah Thursfield, e.g. "here's how to make various style of period > clothing, based on what I understand of period practice, but with some > gaps filled in for purposes of the modern costumer"? Or something else? > > --Robin _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
