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Bradfield, Nancy. Costume in Detail. 1730-1930.
One of my favourites! It has loads of pictures (drawn by hand in black-and-white) of dresses and accessories and explanations and drawings of how they were constructed, often with measurements. |
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Cunnington, C. Willett. English Woman’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century.
Fantastic resource for very detailed information on the clothes in the 19th century – year by year! |
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Bernstein, Aline. Masterpieces of Women’s Costume of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Lovely black-and-white drawings of dresses and, what is even more important for a historical costumer, of the items underneath the dress (corsets, chemises, pantaloons, shoes, etc.) |
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Hamilton, Michelle. Sewing Victorian Doll Clothes. Authentic Costumes from Museum Collections.
Wonderful book with lots of photographs of 19-century dolls in gorgeous outfits in the first half, and with lots of patterns and tutorials for recreating doll dresses in the second half. There are lots of useful tips at the end of the book. |
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Hedrick, Louise. A French Fashion Doll’s Wardrobe. Patterns 1864-1874.
A very useful and inspirational book. Dozens of patterns. |
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Thursfield, Sarah. The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant. Making Common Garments 1200 – 1500.
One of the best books and an absolute must-have! And not only for those interested in making medieval clothes! Lots of medieval patterns, drawings and photographs of reconstructed gowns. Instructions of sewing. It even has quite a lot of examples of children’s dresses. |
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Ninya, Mikhaila. The Tudor Tailor. Reconstructing sixteen-century dress.
Excellent book for making Tudor clothes. Lots of patterns and photographs. |
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Wearden, Jennifer. Underwear: Fashion in Detail.
Fantastic reference book. No patterns, but it has lots of close up photographs of corsets, chemises, etc. It also has drawings of the same items and some explanations about them. I got my idea for Jane’s chemise from this book. |
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Cunnington, C. Willett; Cunnington, Phillis. The History of Underclothes.
A very useful book. Lots of text and lots of black-and-white photos of actual garments (not all of them, and some periods are not covered enough, from my point of few) |
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Waugh, Norah. Corsets and Crinolines.
It’s classics. Lots of corsets with patterns. My Jane’s corset was inspired by one from this book. Recommended! |
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Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Women’s Clothes. 1600 – 1930.
Another classical work by Norah Waugh. Lots of information, lots of dress patterns. A must-have. |
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Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men’s Clothes. 1600 – 1930.
A must-have, especially since there are so few books on men’s historical fashions. It has loads of patterns, including even patterns for shirts. |
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Maclochlainn, Jason. The Victorian Tailor. An Introduction to Period Tailoring.
Brilliant and indispensable book! Goes into details of making garments for gentlemen starting from 1830s onwards. There are patterns for vests, coats, pants. One of my favourites! |
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Davis, R.I. Men’s Garments 1830-1900. A Guide to Pattern Cutting and Tailoring.
Yet another absolutely brilliant book with lots of patterns for male historical clothes – vests, coats, morning suits, pants, breeches, etc. |
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Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion. 1660 – 1860. Vol. 1.
Another classics. Lots of drawings of different dresses for different periods, often pictures of the inside. Every dress has a pattern and a detailed description of how it was made. Invaluable source of information! |
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Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion. 1860 – 1940. Vol. 2.Second volume of this classical work. Lots of drawings of different dresses for different periods, often pictures of the inside. Every dress has a pattern and a detailed description of how it was made. Invaluable source of information! |
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Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion. 1560 – 1660. Vol. 3.Third volume of this classical work. Lots of drawings of different dresses for different periods, often pictures of the inside. Every dress has a pattern and a detailed description of how it was made. |
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Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion. The Cut and Construction of linen shirts, smocks, neckwear, headwear and accessories for men and women. 1540 – 1660. Vol. 4.Fourth volume of this classical work. Another must-have! |
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Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen. Patterns for Women’s Dress 1800 – 1909.
Although some people say this book is does not help to create 100% authentic dresses, I find it one of the most useful sources of information. There are basic patterns and lots of tips on how to make an authentic looking (albeit, often just LOOKING authentic) garment. Highly recommended. I couldn’t do without this book! |
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Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen. Patterns for Women’s Dress 1500 – 1800.
Although some people say this book is does not help to create 100% authentic dresses, I find it one of the most useful sources of information. There are basic patterns and lots of tips on how to make an authentic looking (albeit, often just LOOKING authentic) garment. Highly recommended. |
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Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen. Patterns for Women’s Dress. Medieval – 1500.Although some people say this book is does not help to create 100% authentic dresses, I find it one of the most useful sources of information. There are basic patterns and lots of tips on how to make an authentic looking garment. Highly recommended. |
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Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen. Patterns for Outer Garments. Book 1: Cloaks, Capes, Stoles and Wadded Mantle.I find this book one of the most useful sources of information. There are basic patterns and lots of tips on how to make an authentic looking garment. Highly recommended. |
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Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen. Patterns for Outer Garments. Book 2: Dominos, Coats, Pelisses, Spencers, Calashes, Hoods & Bonnets.I find this book one of the most useful sources of information. There are basic patterns and lots of tips on how to make an authentic looking garment. Highly recommended. |
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Davis, R.I. Men’s 17th & 18th Century Costume, Cut & Fashion. Patterns for Men’s Costumes.
Very useful book. |
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Johnston, Lucy. Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail.
A fantastic book with lots of close-up photographs of actual garments (for both ladies and men!), drawings and detailed explanations. I keep on returning to this book again and again! |
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Hart, Avril; North, Susan. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Fashion in Detail.A fantastic book with lots of close-up photographs of actual garments (for both ladies and men!), drawings and detailed explanations. |
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Salen, Jill. Corsets. Historical Patterns & Techniques.
Great book. it has photographs of one corset from many periods with explanations and a pattern |
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Tiramani, Jenny. Seventeenth-century Women’s Dress Patterns. Book One.
An absolute jewel! Contains dozens of outfits from the 17th century – with coloured photgraphs, patterns, very detailed tutorials on how it was made. Adn it also has X-rays if the garments which is very useful when you wish to see the layers inside and see how they we attached to each other! |
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Tiramani, Jenny. Seventeenth-century Women’s Dress Patterns. Book Two.Another jewel! Contains dozens of outfits from the 17th century – with coloured photgraphs, patterns, very detailed tutorials on how it was made. Adn it also has X-rays if the garments which is very useful when you wish to see the layers inside and see how they we attached to each other! |
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Holkeboer, Katherine Strand. Patterns for Theatrical Costumes: Garments, Trims, and Accessories from Ancient Egypt to 1915.
A wonderful book of patterns. It covers basics of each period. Each century is usually divided into 3 sections (beginning of the century, mid-century and the end of the century). Not always 100% authentic, but very useful! No text or explanations, just patterns.
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Hamilton Hill, Margot; Bucknell, Peter Arthur. The Evolution of Fashion. Pattern and Cut from 1066 to 1930.
One of the best period pattern books. Each century is divided into logical periods and described in detail. Patterns are great (I find them more useful than in the previous book). I love this book. |
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Grimble, Frances. The Lady’s Stratagem: A Repository of 1820s Directions for the Toilet, Mantua-Making, Stay-Making, Millinery & Etiquette.
An absolute gem!! A heavy 755 pages volume full of priceless information on all things 1820s from the period sources. Patterns, explanations on making all sort of things. For example, at least 10-15 pages are dedicated to embroidery of collars (with patterns!). A must-have for those interested in the Regency period.
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Marsh, Gale. 19th Century Embroidery Techniques.
Very informative book with lots of coloured photographs. |
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Marsh, Gale. 18th Century Embroidery Techniques.Very informative book with lots of coloured photographs. |
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Dreher, Denise. From The Neck Up. An Illustrated Guide to Hat Making.
And absolute gem for those who wants to make their own period hats, for both men and women. |
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Burke, Marianne. Hats, Caps & Bonnets: 1855 – 1875. 12 Patterns for Dolls & An Illustrated History.
Very interesting book, giving lots of background information about hats of the period in question. |
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