San Antonio College Library

An exploration of fashion trends throughout the centuries. This book includes wonderful pictures, interesting facts and funny quotations "The history of the corset proves that women have attached great importance to outward appearance and this since more than 2000 years. The corset was not a fashion item for the masses. The first flourishing period for the corset dates back to the Elizabethan and Spanish fashion between the 16th and 17th Century....

Guide to building a wardrobe based on the principle of less is more, with information on how to shop, mixing versatile pieces, dressing for different ocasions, caring for clothes, and practicing.

Calico Chronicle is the source book for teachers, students, historians, customers, re-enactors, of history buffs searching for custom history of the Texas frontier and the American West - an area which has had scarce priceless pieces of the past found in excerpts from letters, diaries, oral histories, historic journals, and even police blotters, to compile and account that reveals much about the lifestyles of frontier women.

"Real Clothes, Real Lives highlights over 300 garments and accessories from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. This unique survey honors countless lives, tracing through the lens of dress how women's roles have changed over the decades. Each piece holds colorful stories about the woman who wore it, the one who made or bought it, and her context in place and time. Whether homemade or ready-made, many of the garments are modest and inexpensive....

The nineteenth century was a period of continuous change for women's clothing in England. The growing prosperity of the merchant class meant an ever-larger number of women for whom "dress" was a principal function in life, while the increasing availability of lower-priced ready-made garments enabled women of moderate means to purchase the fashions of the day. In addition, the development of the railways spurred the spread of new goods, while the removal...

Nowadays mostly reserved for scarves and sweaters, knitted wool was once used for everything that needed to be soft and stretchy: a baby's layette, sports clothing, and even bathing suits. Knitwear was more than just a fabric; in the first half of the 20th century, it came to stand for a new way of life: more leisure, less formality, and - most of all - comfort.

Although today it's considered rather conservative, the suit for women was once a revolution in the world of female fashions. It introduced comfort into a wardrobe once dominated by corsets and crinolines ... It became the ideal multifunctional outfit for every occasion ... And it was immortalized by Coco Chanel. Worn by the imitable Jackie Kennedy and the '80s superwoman, the suit is here to stay.

Something old, something new: possibly the most revered garment in a woman's wardrobe, the wedding dress, is seen in a new light. This episode shows how white came to be standard for the wedding dress, how royals have inspired thousands of brides - even before Princess Diana - and how veil and dress lengths have fluctuated with the styles and trends of the times.