Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 2: Evening, Bridal, Sports, Outerwear, Accessories, and Dressmaking 1877-1882

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Continued
Review: I just reviewed Volume 1, where I said the book contains a huge selection of patterns. Volume 2 focuses on patterns for evening dresses, bridal wear, sports wear, and outer wear. The chapters on accessories and trimmings contain some needlework patterns, embroidery and so on. I figure if I don't do the handwork I'll still have learned a lot about buying appropriate materials.

I bought both volumes, but they are organized so you can use them separately. Both contain the instructions for using the book and the special rulers that allow you to draft patterns to fit you. They also both have a big glossary, a bibliography, and two indexes.

Volume 2 has something really special though--a dressmaking manual. The book says it was rewritten from numerous rare original sources that are listed in the bibliography. But it's been rewritten so it doesn't read that way; you can't tell where any source begins or ends. That makes the manual a lot easier to use. And it's so long it could have been published as a book by itself. I'm glad to have it, because I've never been able to find a comprehensive sewing manual for this period. It even has corset-making instructions (the corset patterns are in Volume 1).

Both volumes are very well edited and produced. This is not a cheap printing job.

Anyone who does Old West reenactment or Victorian teas would love these books!

Rating:
Summary: This is Volume 2
Review: This is a great book, but you should know that it is not a second edition of Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 1. It is the second volume of the anthology, and a different book with all different patterns. The title is actually Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 2: Evening, Bridal, Sports, Outerwear, Accessories, and Dressmaking 1877-1882. It's just as good as Volume 1, none of the information is the same except the intro on how to use the patterns, and the dressmaking manual is really unique.

I heard both volumes were published but it took me awhile to find the second one on Amazon because it was mislisted. So I thought I'd warn other people.