Eighteenth Century Theatre Costumes

Colonial Williamsburg owns one of the most outstanding collections of period costumes in the world, numbering almost 900 costumes and more than 2,400 accessories.There are 25 full-page patterns in inches and centimeters for women's and men's clothing and accessories accompanied by photographs.

Clothes define people. A person's clothing, whether it's a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential key to his or her culture, class, personality, or even religion. The Kyoto Costume Institute recognizes the importance of understanding clothing sociologically, historically, and artistically. Founded in 1978, the KCI holds one of the world's most extensive clothing collections and has curated many exhibitions worldwide. With an emphasis on Western women's clothing, the KCI has amassed a wi... [Read More]

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Students and enthusiasts of period costume as well as needleworkers interested in re-creating authentic costumes of America's post-Revolutionary era will welcome this comprehensive, scholarly treatment. It not only discusses and describes the clothing worn in rural America (primarily in New England) between 1783 and 1800, it is one of the few books to include scaled drawings of patterns and full instructions for making most of the garments.The attire includes the clothing both of settlers and of... [Read More]

The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music studies the complex impact of movements, costumes, words, scenes, music, and special effects in English illusionistic theatre of the Renaissance. Drawing on a massive amount of documentary evidence relating to English productions as well as spectacle in France, Italy, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire, the book elucidates professional ballet, theatre management, and dramatic performance at the early Stuart court. Individual studies take a fresh lo... [Read More]

A small but complete guide to 18th C. women's costume, throughout the century. Includes fabric choices, sewing hints, colors, shifts, petticoats, pockets, stays and jumps, bed gowns, short gowns, jackets, gowns aprons, caps shoes, cloaks, hair styles, jewelry and more. Illustrated by Cathy (Kate) Johnson, longtime member of the Costume Society of America. Cover blurbs from Sharon Ann Burnston and Sally Queen, authors and clothing historians, and Sue Felshin, researcher and contributor to 18cNewE... [Read More]

THE LURE OF PERFECTION: FASHION AND BALLET, 1780-1830 offers a unique look at how ballet influenced contemporary fashion and women's body image, and how street fashions in turn were reflected by the costumes worn by ballet dancers. Through years of research, the author has traced the interplay between fashion, social trends, and the development of dance. During the 18th century, women literally took up twice as much space as men; their billowing dresses ballooned out from their figures, sometime... [Read More]

Each period in the history of costume has produced its own characteristic line and silhouette, derived from a cut and construction which varies considerably from age to age. Here are patterns taken from actual dresses, many of them rare museum specimens, illustrated by sketches of the dresses. There are notes on the production of women's dress, with references to early technical books and journals, together with diagrams from some of them. Numerous illustrations show the dresses as worn complete... [Read More]