<What do you all think of "Historic Costume for the Stage", by Lucy Barton? Sharon C.>
I think the answer to your question lies within what you hope to accomplish with the textbook. One of the things I found disappointing with "Survey of Historic Costume: A History of Western Dress" by Tortora and Eubank was it was not the type of book I would want to keep for reference in the future. The school I attended was required to make the Costume History course a "history" course to meet "general electives" requirements. Thus, the history component in the text became more important than costume cut and appearance.
What do you hope to have your students walk away with when they complete your class? Do you want them to know the societal and political events that effected what people wore? Do you want them to be able to understand how to create the period look?
Using a "so-so" textbook can be supplemented with an amazing power point presentation in lecture with tons of great pictures to look at. Pictures are SO important when discussing costume as it always was and still is about visual impact. More prep work for you of course...
Perhaps another way to go at it would be to choose some books that will be smashing reference books for the future, but you won't really be teaching directly from them. Janet Arnold and Jean Hunnisett texts come to mind. Also "Fashion" from the Kyoto Institute falls into this category.
"Historic Costume for the Stage" by Lucy Barton isn't ringing any immediate bells for me. Isn't this an older work with thick line drawings? If this is the book I'm thinking of, I would avoid this one. You're combining older text (no allowance for updated theories and ideas) with uninspiring visuals. There's lots that's more stimulating to read out there. Use the "Survey" by Tortora if you run out of ideas. It at least, is current and has some visuals. I didn't realize Boucher's "20,000 Years of Fashion" was difficult to get when I suggested it, but it is still by far my favourite overview.
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