Overview

Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Suit is an authoritative visual guide to the under-explored area of men’s fashion across four centuries. Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history – as well as how menswear has varied in type, cut, detailing and popularity according to the occasion and the class, age and social status of the wearer. This lavishly illustrated book is the ideal tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know their Chesterfield from their Ulster coat. Equipping the reader with all the information they need to ‘read’ menswear, this is the ultimate guide for students, researchers, and anyone interested in historical fashion.

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9781350071209

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Reviews

A reminder that even the most devil-may-care of modern male dressers is out-fopped by his antecedents. * Anna Murphy, The Times * Another excellent resource from Lydia Edwards, indispensable both to the fashion history novice and expert alike. * Amber Butchart, fashion historian, author and broadcaster * Fun to read. * Hasty Book List * Lydia Edwards' superb choice of illustrations, and excellent analysis, make this book an essential complement to How to Read a Dress. Men's clothing, so often ignored, is here given its rightful place in costume history. * Jean Druesedow, Kent State University Museum, USA * The idea that men ever renounced fashion is eloquently disproved by this book. Packed with images of sartorial splendour, it is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the male wardrobe. * Cally Blackman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK * Once again, Lydia Edwards refines centuries of costume history into its most essential elements, capturing the subtle markers of masculinity in an accessible and engaging manner. This book is not only a delightful sequel to How to Read a Dress, but an essential text for any library and also makes a helpful companion to The Dress Detective. * Ingrid Mida, Curator, Dress Historian and Author *

Lydia Edwards' superb choice of illustrations, and excellent analysis, make this book an essential complement to How to Read a Dress. Men's clothing, so often ignored, is here given its rightful place in costume history. * Jean Druesedow, Kent State University Museum, USA * Any idea that men ever renounced fashion is eloquently disproved by this book. Packed with images of sartorial splendour, it is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the male wardrobe. * Cally Blackman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK * Once again, Lydia Edwards refines centuries of costume history into its most essential elements, capturing the subtle markers of masculinity in an accessible and engaging manner. This book is not only a delightful sequel to How to Read a Dress, but an essential text for any library and also makes a helpful companion to The Dress Detective. * Ingrid Mida, curator and dress historian, Ryerson School of Fashion, Toronto, Canada *

Lydia Edwards' superb choice of illustrations, and excellent analysis, make this book an essential complement to How to Read a Dress. Men's clothing, so often ignored, is here given its rightful place in costume history. * Jean Druesedow, Kent State University Museum, USA * The idea that men ever renounced fashion is eloquently disproved by this book. Packed with images of sartorial splendour, it is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the male wardrobe. * Cally Blackman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK * Once again, Lydia Edwards refines centuries of costume history into its most essential elements, capturing the subtle markers of masculinity in an accessible and engaging manner. This book is not only a delightful sequel to How to Read a Dress, but an essential text for any library and also makes a helpful companion to The Dress Detective. * Ingrid Mida, curator and dress historian, Ryerson School of Fashion, Toronto, Canada *

Author Information

Lydia Edwards is a Lecturer at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.

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