jethrien: (Default)
Title: Vecellio's Renaissance Costume Book
Author: Cesare Vecellio
Genre: A 16th C set of woodcuts showing costumes from history and around the world
Thingummies: 4

Synopsis: Vecellio was one of the first people to really take costuming seriously, instead of just portraying all historical/foreign characters in contemporary clothing. This is a reprint of his book of studies of clothes from different social classes, countries, and historical periods.

Thoughts: If you're really into costuming, this book is awesome. Want to know what a Venetian prostitute would have worn in the sixteenth century? How about a merchant from Westphalia? A Persian lady's street dress? An English peasant or a nobleman from Cuzco or an Ethiopian princess?

It's pretty much just woodcuts and captions, though. There are no labels on the different parts of the costume, and I'll confess that the Venetian noblewoman's costume didn't look all that different to me from the prostitute's. Clearly there are subtleties of dress escaping me. So this will not be your sole resource. But the fact that the drawings themselves are historical and done by the same hand makes for some fascinating comparisons.

Date: 2011-09-27 05:12 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] ivy03.livejournal.com
Broken italics tag!

Date: 2011-09-27 06:15 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jethrien.livejournal.com
Fixed.

Date: 2011-09-27 06:26 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] firynze.livejournal.com
I seriously could've used this back when I was doing a lot of costuming and costume history.

Date: 2011-09-27 07:22 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jethrien.livejournal.com
One of my coworker's mothers just cleaned out an attic or something. I was offered a giant box of goodies that Chuckro is not going to be particularly pleased with. I have multiple costuming books now, plus dozens of medieval and Renaissance patterns. Actually, a bunch of them are duplicates. If you have any interest in historical dresses and want some patterns, let me know.

Date: 2011-09-27 07:35 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] firynze.livejournal.com
*gasp*

I haven't made any costumes in far, far too long, but I do not look gift patterns in the mouth.

Date: 2011-09-27 07:56 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jethrien.livejournal.com
I'll happily send you some of the duplicates. It's going to be a couple days before I manage to schlep them home from the office, though! :)

Date: 2011-09-27 08:11 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] firynze.livejournal.com
That's perfectly fine! I'm not likely to suddenly find the time to embark upon another Elizabethan costuming binge.

That, and I think my parents would object to winding up with another mannequin in their house by the time I'm done.

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