Dress in Ireland

Rating:
Summary: The Only In Print Source on Irish Dress
Review: Dunlevy was the curator of ceramics, glass and textiles at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin when this book was first published in 1989. Her degree is in ceramics, actually, and that shows in her discussion of some of the clothing in the Museum's collection. She does a great job of giving us the story of all the Irish textiles in one convenient place, but sometimes it is obvious that she is reading the "file copy" on a garment and hasn't made a study of it herself. Many of her terms are not those of a textile historian and this makes it a little confusing.

I had the great opportunity of examining and cataloging the garments at the National Museum in the summers of '98 and '99. Dunlevy's representation of these textiles is not quite enough information to make reconstructions as many historical re-enactors would wish. But her information is good and interesting and nothing about it is particularly wrong.

And above all, it is the only source on Irish Clothing that is in print. The only other source of merit is McClintock's "Old Irish and Highland Dress" and copies of that are few and far between. Dunlevy also discusses garments that were not yet discovered when McClintock wrote in the 1940s.

It's not the best, but it's the best there is.

Kass McGann Historian Reconstructing History

Rating:
Summary: The Only In Print Source on Irish Dress
Review: Dunlevy was the curator of ceramics, glass and textiles at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin when this book was first published in 1989. Her degree is in ceramics, actually, and that shows in her discussion of some of the clothing in the Museum's collection. She does a great job of giving us the story of all the Irish textiles in one convenient place, but sometimes it is obvious that she is reading the "file copy" on a garment and hasn't made a study of it herself. Many of her terms are not those of a textile historian and this makes it a little confusing.

I had the great opportunity of examining and cataloging the garments at the National Museum in the summers of '98 and '99. Dunlevy's representation of these textiles is not quite enough information to make reconstructions as many historical re-enactors would wish. But her information is good and interesting and nothing about it is particularly wrong.

And above all, it is the only source on Irish Clothing that is in print. The only other source of merit is McClintock's "Old Irish and Highland Dress" and copies of that are few and far between. Dunlevy also discusses garments that were not yet discovered when McClintock wrote in the 1940s.

It's not the best, but it's the best there is.

Kass McGann Historian Reconstructing History

Rating:
Summary: Unique, outstanding contribution to Irish historical studies
Review: This historical survey of dress in Ireland will fascinate any involved in costume design or Irish history and clothing: Dress in Ireland takes a century-by-century look at Irish clothing, status, fabric and styles, and uses historical and archaeological research as well as modern literature and studies to chart Irish dress and changing standards.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Very informative. It's so hard to find any good books on the dress of Ireland. Highly recommended for ANYONE interested in customes, SCA, Ren Festivals, and history just to name a few.