num_pages: 192
description: Underwear however functional it may or may not be is the basis on which the silhouette of fashion is formed and is moreover increasingly an erotic element in its own right. Elizabeth Ewing describes the underwear of each period from 3000 BC and the manner in which it evolved. But just as important she explains the reasons for the changes and names the individuals who were themselves the agents of change. The Empress Eugnie Worth Lady Duff Gordon Paul Poiret and Caresse Crosby all had their influence and so in different ways had Dr Jaeger Mrs Bloomer and more recently Marks and Spencer and Janet Reger. No less important have been such technical innovations such as the introduction of rayon rubber nylon Lastex Lycra and the zip fastener.The illustrations chosen here are pertinent plentiful and often unfamiliar. Some are from original drawings by Jean Webber; others from old and new paintings photographs and prints while many of the most diverting are from the catalogues and advertisements of stores and manufacturers covering the last 120 years.Now appearing in paperback for the first time Dress and Undress will not only be invaluable for students of costume history and fashion design but will also appeal to the general reader fascinated by the intricacies of costume and its development.
language: English
title: Dress and Undress: A History of Women's Underwear
publisher: Drama Pub