Review: Very interesting but wish it had lots more
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2014
The material the author included is quite good as far as it goes, but I think she could have gone further and done better.In the first place, she should tell fully what garments women (aristocratic and, perhaps, others) typically wore--underwear (or not), stockings, shoes, corsets (or not) -- hair, hoods and so on.  At some point she should have oriented the reader to the specific costumes she might discuss by listing the elements that would have gone into dressing for the day, for a festivity, for bed etc.  Pictures of this stuff should be included.Then, she does not describe enough about fabrics. The fabric names of Anne Boleyn's day were different from today. What fibers were used? how thick/thin were the fabrics? Where were they made? Bits and pieces of this information is scattered but no systematic discussion is offered. She does not even say what jewelry women typically work on a daily basis or for specific occasions. The custom of sewing jewels onto clothing was common but I wonder how it was done. Were stones set into metal with holes for sewing?  Sometimes in paintings it looks like the jewels were woven into a net that was attached.  There's really no excuse for not explaining this sort of thing in a book on a queen's wardrobe.More on shoes would have been helpful and more on hair would have pleased me.I also would like to have seen Bell analyze some paintings explaining the role certain garments play in constructing the persona of the subject. Of course, no good portraits of Anne Boleyn exist, but Bell  could have used other contemporaneous examples.Specifically on the clothing Anne wore to her execution, I have seen at least two different accounts.  Bell should have discussed this and explained the different sources.The main sources for the book have to do with the actual physical wardrobes, place(s) where things were stored.  That and the cost of some items are documented.  Mildly interesting.Nevertheless, I am glad I read it as I did learn something.