Auguste Racinet. The Costume History (Bibliotheca Universalis)

This is one of those books that is just fun to have around. It's easy to get lost in the pages and wonder where the depicted people were going all dressed up, or whether they felt comfortable in the styles of their times. Costume design fascinates me, and I don't even have much interest in the theater.

The book is quite heavy for it's medium size. Page after page of glorious, colorful images, some in black and white. A treasure trove of history. Just by learning the period costumes one can guesstimate the era. A great addition to any library!

I adore everything about it. Explains exactly what they wore in detail then share descriptive pictures about them.

Terrific book! I didn't expect it to be so inclusive but it really represents all time periods.

Almost 800 pages but the pictures are quite small. Still quite a nice book but not one for reference more than general guidelines.

So many amazing images! Well organized and easy to follow if you're researching authentic looks from various periods. Also nice to have an affordable option to Racinet art. Would be nicer if it were in a slightly larger page size.

I enjoyed learning about clothing from other eras.

I do costuming for my local community theatre company. I needed this book for when we do period productions. Finally don't have to borrow the book.

A vederlo in foto sembrerebbe più grande di quello che effettivamente è, invece è un volume di media misura e abbastanza compatto e corposo. Il contenuto è straordinario... illustrazioni di antichi costumi che spaziano tra le varie epoche e nazioni, dalla Francia all'Italia sino ad arrivare in Africa, Oriente ed Estremo oriente, Polonia, Olanda, Germania, India con raffigurazioni di vari tipi di abiti in base anche alle classi sociali. A questo si aggiungono anche le ambientazioni, gli accessori, scarpe, decori, tessuti, qualche ambiente, armi e armature, ornamenti. Davvero un ottimo testo che non appena ho acquistato ho già subito trovato utilissimo nel mio lavoro per le mie illustrazioni infatti è sempre aperto lì sul tavolo pronto per un'immediata consultazione. Bellissima la sovracopertina anche... molto elegante e i colori delle illustrazioni sono davvero bellissimi. Davvero consigliato! La spedizione è stata veloce e impeccabile, arrivato in pochissimo tempo, davvero soddisfatta :)

VERY generous edition.

Es pequeño pero la calidad es muy buena

Excelente

It arrived with no damage. The largest version of this book is better but also way too big. I think it also has more text and the pages feel amazing to touch (laminated too?). But it’s very expensive. This smaller version is still very informative, beautiful, no complains about the thickness of the paper either. The images are high quality and I really like everything in it. It’s amazing what the author did in his time to collect all this information, that’s what makes this book impressive and I’m very happy that the publisher made an affordable version of it. I was expecting it to be a bit larger than the size it has but I got used to it and kept it.