C. Willett CunningtonThe History of Underclothes (Dover Fashion and Costumes)

This book is quite informative but also take in consideration that it was written about 70 years ago and some common sense might not have have been applied. Overall it hits all of the high notes you might need for historical writing or costume making, etc. The chapters are broken up in subsection based on genders and layers of clothing. All of the pictures are in black and white -if that's an issue for you, remember it was written over 70 years ago. It does lean a bit towards misogynistic and less objective than I would have preferred, but again that was a thing of the times it was written in. Last note, to the men that might be using this for writing, costume creations, etc. -women would have worn some type of drawers, bloomers ,etc in the earlier times and not gone without them like the author suggests. We have a natural occurrence that would make it necessary.

It was okay for what it was. I found it confusing in period dating. What pictures there were didn't really coordinate to the text. What I wanted was pictures ( garments, illustrations, drawings!) of more than the occasional men's shirt, versions of underdrawers or a women's chemise. There were no clear pictures showing what the text was talking about. A quick line drawing of a shirt pulled through and becoming sleeve puffs would have been helpful, for instance. The cover of the book had drawings of corsets and bustle hoops, among other things. The body of the book didn't show much about these until into the 19th century. What about Elizabethan structures, Spanish farthingales, and the French at Versailles?Like I said... not what I needed.

I'd had this paperback in my interested list for some time. Weighing on how it could help my business & or sharing the amazing facts with my clients. The book was very informational of where we've been with plenty of illustrations. Very glad I bought this...Not to mention amazingly fast delivery. Thank you

The book is a Dover reprint of a British scholarly treatise originally publushed in 1951. As such, it doesn't discuss the evolution of inner wear to outer wear that has occurred in the intervening decades. Otherwise it appears to be a pretty thorough discussion of the development and use of underwear in Western society. Though there are quite a few photos of historical garments, they are all black and white. It would have been nice to have seen some of them in color and to have some close up details of construction. Overall, I am satisfied with the book, which has realized its purpose of providing education and date references for certain styles.

This book is FASCINATING. It's very detailed but not only gives the details of clothing and fabrics, but also gives some historical and sociological background to each piece of undergarments over the centuries. It's a bit voyeuristic without being erotic if that makes sense! I couldn't put it down and when I shared it with some friends, they were FULL of questions and interest in the subject matter! Don't assume this is a light treatment of undergarments or fashion history - this book is not only full of very pertinent and interesting details (along with excerpts from letters, household accounts, speeches, etc.), but it's also well written.

An interesting treatise on an interesting topic - underclothes. As a writer of historical romances, I need to know what is under the heroine's clothes, should the hero get around to removing them. This book has helped in my search for answers to that important question. The illustrations are excellent and it is quite fascinating to realize how much we do (and don't) know about what our ancestors wore and why. However, this book does seem to spend a lot of time on men's underwear (yes it's important, but not as much as the ladies'), and also covers such a large time period that inevitably some discussions are very brief (no pun intended). This book will become part of my reference library - not a stand-alone source, but complementary to my other volumes on clothing.

It seems somewhat unbecoming of a lady to order a book on undergarments but I gotta say, hubba-hubba! Seriously, the explanation of underwear through the ages is just fascinating! For instance, right from the get to, it was a shock to find out that underpants were created to protect clothes from the owner, not the other way round. People only recently (relatively speaking) began bathing routinely since it was always considered a risky undertaking when we did not understand where illness came from. Add to that the notion that we needed to emphasize our external sexual attritbutes for pairing purposes and this becomes quite a compelling work. Thank you, Mr. Cunnington. Good work!

So I haven't had a full chance to sit down and read it but it seems that it will have more of this is what they wore if you're looking for that. No patterns of the sort. Some parts do have pictures to reference. Is in fair condition. Good buy.

where shall I start? The illustrations are of very poor quality, some of them difficult to discern in total let alone in detail. The information is extremely rudimentary, just skimming across the ages - which is fine, but the some of it is misleading and blatantly false - looks like the authors just threw together some generic information, inserted a few quotes - and put in in an organised format. Some quotes and information has been misinterpreted, making me think the authors do not have a lot of experience in the history of costume , especially medieval one. using quotes from satirical publications is fine, but not as a sole evidence. A few descriptions of the mediaeval chemises for women especially made my blood boil - repeating aggrandised myths I thought we put aside some decades ago - not surprising as it was originally published in 1950, the research has moved forward since then and most of the information is obsolete. I would recommend updated publications to anyone who wishes to research the topic in a bit more thorough way.

Really poor illustrations some of them almost black and featureless. Text quite informative.

I was hoping for more information on medieval underclothes. Unfortunately there is only about 3 sentences and then the rest of book is about time from approximately 16th century on. Mostly centered around corsets. Otherwise good book just not perfect for me and what I wanted from it.

An interesting, well-presented and illustrated book. It is a very useful addition to the library of any historian wishing to gain an overall picture of life in past times.

This book is probably to most comprehensive and best researched book I have come across on the subject. It covers both male and female underclothes, through the various periods giving not only style but construction of the garments. An amazing find for those interested in needlecraft and garment construction, real must for any historian and invaluable to all interested in portraying our past in costume.