Phyllis G. Tortora Book order

Exploring the evolution of Western dress, this book delves into the social, cultural, and artistic influences shaping fashion from ancient times to the present. Each chapter focuses on a specific decade from the 1920s onward, highlighting significant changes and recurring themes in clothing. Over 600 images enhance understanding, while special features showcase contemporary perspectives and the lasting impact of historical fashions on future generations. This comprehensive approach provides a rich, global context for the study of dress.

Technology has been an essential factor in the production of dress and the cultures of fashion throughout human history. Structured chronologically from pre-history to the present day, this is the first broad study of the complex relationship between dress and technology. Over the course of human history, dress-making and fashion technology has changed beyond recognition: from needles and human hands in the ancient world to complex 20th century textile production machines, it has now come to include the technologies that influence dress styles and the fashion industry, such as the media and printing presses. In the last century, new technologies have helped not just to produce but to define fashion: the creation of automobiles prompted a decline in long skirts for women while the beginnings of space travel caused people to radically rethink the function of dress. In many ways, technology has itself created avant garde and contemporary fashions. Through an impressive range of international case studies, the book challenges the perception that fashion is unique to western dress and outlines the many ways in which dress and technology intersect. Dress, Fashion and Technology is ideal reading for students and scholars of fashion studies, textile history, anthropology and cultural studies.

Finding definitions for fashion is easier than ever. The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion, 3rd Edition, defines more than 15,000 fashion terms, including apparel, accessories, and their components; historical and textile terms that relate to contemporary fashion; and the language of the fashion business. Its organization of 51 broad categories, such as activewear, blouses and tops, clothing, construction details, footwear, headwear, jewelry, laces, necklines, shirts, skirts, and waistlines, promotes comprehension of related terms. Categories are fully cross-referenced to the alphabetical listing. Includes terms not readily found in ordinary dictionaries and pronunciation guides for foreign words. An appendix of designers includes emerging leaders. Lavish illustrations by Bina Abling enhance definitions, capturing both the details and style of fashion. Labeled "anatomical" drawings show how the parts of fashion items fit together. Alphabetical page tabs add to the ease of use. This dictionary is the ideal reference for designers, fashion media, instructors, students, historians, and fashion enthusiasts.