Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women C1560-1620

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Summary: What do you call it when...
Review: ...you find something on amazon.com that you wished you could have purchased nearly a decade ago, if only you had know of its existance? I bought this book for my sister-in-law. Alas, I no longer make costumes, but it was very hard to not just shelve it at home for later. I'm such a bad person, but this is such a beautifully done book, even though it's already coming up on 10 years old.

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Summary: Excellent for Documentation
Review: Despite a few ambiguous sections and some difficulty with reproductions, I find this to be exceptionally helpful for late period clothing (for the SCA). The only thing better would be color photos, or to see the garments first-hand.

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Summary: A must for any professional costumer of period clothing.
Review: I liked Ms Arnold's book so well that I received the entire set of her books from my daughter. As a professional costumer I found the construction of the choosen garments in her book more for the experienced sewer rather than a beginner. There are construction notes to help, but they are very difficult to understand if you have limited sewing experience. Also, notes dealing with the finer details on each pattern such as embroidery, edging, and fabrics are given for those of use who are looking for recreating each garment as worn. I might add that each pattern is on a grid to make it easier to enlarge for any size. Pictures of each piece, plus a painting, if possible, is all so part of this informative series of books.

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Summary: Definitely a must for the serious costumer!
Review: Janet Arnold explores the cut and construction of clothes from 1560-1620 like no other. If you have questions regarding period seam placement, pattern design, period fabrics, and period construction...this is the be all and end all of sources. This is not a "how to" book for a beginner, this is for the serious artisan looking to design in a more authentic direction.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a must for the serious costumer!
Review: Janet Arnold explores the cut and construction of clothes from 1560-1620 like no other. If you have questions regarding period seam placement, pattern design, period fabrics, and period construction...this is the be all and end all of sources. This is not a "how to" book for a beginner, this is for the serious artisan looking to design in a more authentic direction.

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Summary: Not as accurate as you think.
Review: Janet Arnolds book was something I used to use to make historical reproductions until I had the chance to see a garmet she had chosen to pattern in a museum. There were several blatent mistakes made in the pattern. Apperantly Ms. Arnold does not work from the garment, she works from an artists rendition of the garment, so there are many details that are overlooked. If you want an precise pattern for a historical garment, look elsewhere.

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Summary: The best book that I've seen for late 16th cent. costuming.
Review: Not much in the way of a how-to book (I bought it long before I could make real use of it), but once you have an idea of how to sew late 16th-early 17th century clothing, it is an amazing resource. There are just enough patterns of the shown clothing (along with pictures of period patterns) to give you an idea what patterns were used and how to create them. Also, read the bibliography, much of it is not easily available, but it's usually wonderful.

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Summary: A Must-Have Book For Any 16th Century Costumer
Review: Once again, Janet Arnold has firmly reinforced her position at the top of the world of historical costume research. Housed within the pages of this book is some of the most invaluable research in the field of 16th century costuming. Arnold examines extant clothing of 16th century nobility and drafts the pattern pieces in detail. Rare photographs of these garments, as well as detailed shots of seams, linings, and stitching and fabric close-ups makes this book one of the most important in the field of historical costuming. Patterns are given for the garments examined, but be aware, they are not sized. Some knowledge of pattern drafting, or access to an enlarger of some kind will be needed if you want to take a pattern from this book and make it fit a human being. But don't let that discourage you! The information within this book is priceless and for any die-hard 16th century enthusiast, it is perhaps the best book available on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have Book For Any 16th Century Costumer
Review: Once again, Janet Arnold has firmly reinforced her position at the top of the world of historical costume research. Housed within the pages of this book is some of the most invaluable research in the field of 16th century costuming. Arnold examines extant clothing of 16th century nobility and drafts the pattern pieces in detail. Rare photographs of these garments, as well as detailed shots of seams, linings, and stitching and fabric close-ups makes this book one of the most important in the field of historical costuming. Patterns are given for the garments examined, but be aware, they are not sized. Some knowledge of pattern drafting, or access to an enlarger of some kind will be needed if you want to take a pattern from this book and make it fit a human being. But don't let that discourage you! The information within this book is priceless and for any die-hard 16th century enthusiast, it is perhaps the best book available on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: A classic work; required reading for every historic costumer
Review: This book analyzes in detail surviving garments of the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century. Many are too fragile now to be on display in museums, so this is an extremely valuable historic record. Janet has examined the garments and provides detailed drawings, patterns, and construction notes. The book also correlates period portraits, paintings, and scultures (in black and white) with the actual clothing examples, so costumers can learn to "read" the pictures for fabric, cut, style, etc. This book is a classic in its field, and no serious historic costumer should be without it