Melissa Leventon

Definitely better than any other history of fashion books.

An okay beginner's guide but keep in mind that this all information from the 19th century and therefore incomplete or even inaccurate. I'd rather read the two original sources that this book is taken from.

This illustrated history of costume through the nineteenth century uses illustrations from two older works. This is both a plus and a minus, since some aspects of costume are thus not illustrated. Still, it would be a great addition to a reference shelf, especially for theatrical types, but also for those of us who feel a need to look up places and artifacts in the fiction we read.

What People Wore When is a beautiful book. I was greatly disappointed, however, to read in the introduction that the images in the book were less than accurate. Why not then find accurate images? Still, it gives a great sense of clothes from various times and places.

I was also a little disappointed to see the non-European world so poorly represented. After ancient times, non-European areas were only represented in modern times and rough "regional" styles.