Another beautiful British costume book has recently reached the United States. In Detail is more than just another pretty face. The authors have taken an innovative approach to the study of clothing construction. The 222 pages are bursting with full color, close up photographs that are so clear, you can count stitches and practically the threads in the fabric.
Line drawings show the shape of the entire garment.
Although you might be disappointed to find no overall photos of the garments, the details are absolutely mesmerizing. Anyone who reproduces clothing from this period, and anyone who loves the artistry of beautiful tailoring will thoroughly enjoy this book. This book examines the clothing worn by African Americans in the southern United States during the thirty years before the Civil War. Drawing on a wide range of sources, most notably oral narratives recorded in the 1930 s, this rich account shows that African Americans demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the role clothing played in demarcating age, sex, status, work and recreation, as well as special secular and sacred events. Testimonies offer proof of African Americans vast technical skills in producing cloth and clothing, which served both as a fundamental reflection of the people s Afro centric craftsmanship and aesthetic sensibilities, and as a reaction to their particular place in American society.