The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England

This book is currently one of my favourite books on the history of the era, because it tackles an area that has been very neglected: the clothing of the poor, the working class and servants in the long 18th century. Jane Austen gives us some ideas of the puritanical attitude some held towards servants clothing in Mansfield Park : Mrs Norris and her sister, Mrs Price, share the opinion that servant girls ought not to show any extravagance in dress. Surviving costumes as worn by the poor etc in the long 18th century are , of course, very rare .They were worn, re worn and adapted till they fell apart into rags. That makes a study of them very difficult. John Styles, the Research Professor of History at the University of Hertfordshire, has tackled this problem head on and resolved it by referring to various sources of information. Unusual written primary sources are used by him in this book: criminal records, which are invaluable as the theft of clothes and clothing material was one of the most frequently prosecuted set of offences in the criminal courts during the long 18th century. Newspaper advertisements for fugitives inevitably contained descriptions of the clothes the fugitive was wearing when last seen. For visual and material sources, Professor Styles refers to the prints and paintings of the era, and for evidence of the type of materials worn by the poor he refers to the magnificent but sad collection of textile scraps preserved by the London Foundling Hospital.The hospital's admission or billet books which were meticulously kept form 1741 to 1760 contain the worlds largest collection of everyday fabrics. Professor Styles uses them very carefully, describing the type of cottons and linen the preserved scraps represent and describes the type of clothes from which they came. It all makes for an absorbing and facinating read. The book is published by Yale and it is sumptuously and carefuly produced, the illustrations are clearly reproduced, an important point other publishers may have fudged. I thoroughly recommend it, not only for its history of plebeian clothing in our era, but for its examination of that part of society which,is certainly referred to by Jane Austen but is not usually covered in social history books in any great detail.

John Style's "The Dress of the People" stands out in the narrow focus of his volume: the dress of everyday people in England. With numerous photographs of art of the times, fabrics, wallpapers, furniture, and accessories, the reader can see the points he presents. He also moves among the classes, from the upper classes with their elegant frippery and penchant for marking their servants by their own livery to the tales of travelers to England. The huge pride of the English, that they wore shoes, not clogs, and deemed the Welsh as uncivilized for their bare feet, is but one of the political points Styles makes. His research is extensive, presented in four parts, each with sub-chapters. The bibliography is impressive. This book has solved many questions for me as I fashion a historical novel of the 18th century.

This book details the working class people's clothing, as it states, and does an excellent job of telling us what the average person in England wore. I especially liked the description of clothing in different regions, comparing the north of England to the southern areas. A perfect resource for authors and others who are interested in clothing history.

Lots of detail. While it is based on English uses, there is a lot of basic information that is of use to the historian/reproducer of historical garments. Includes information like how long a shirt was expected to last, and what garments might be in a basic wardrobe, based on research of period inventories and records.

If you are doing research into the dress of common English people in the 18th century, this is for you. As an American Colonial re-enactor, one is told that "people dressed that way", and everybody looks kind of the same. This book disproves that, at least for English people of America's colonial past. If you are dressing colonial, or researching life in colonial times, this book goes well beyond the clichés into what people really wore.

Beautiful book! All the info I was looking for!!

I had a great deal of difficulty finding a copy of this book at a reasonable price,but was extrememly pleased to receive my copy so promptly when it became available through Amazon. The book is wonderful and adds a richness to my reading of Eighteenth Century literature, newspapers, etc. Provides hours of pleasure.

Great book. So much information.

Scholarly work that has wonderful colour photographs of extant fabric swatches, and detailed historical research that goes beyond just wills and satirical cartoons of the period. This is not just a pretty picture book but a serious resource for anyone studying the clothing of this period.

Absolutely brilliant book for those looking for more insight into the social background, materials and styles likely to be worn the ordinary people in Britain in the 18th century. The lower classes is often a subject which is neglected in the studies of 'fashion' through the ages, but this book paints the most vivid picture I have seen yet, and is a valuable resource for anyone requiring more detail about the fabrics used and available to the less well off, especially useful for reconstruction purposes. Using excellent primary sources (with good appendices detailing the findings as tables) and plenty of quality illustrations, including that of many textiles from private sources and the Foundling Museum, this book will provide the social and material history background for anyone who needs to reconstruct accurate common-place garments for this period, as well as being a great read for those who are simply interested in the era. Superb book and a must for the bookshelves of those interested in clothing for ordinary people of the C18th.

As someone with a keen interest in historical costume and fashions, when I heard about this book I knew I had to buy it as most of my references relate to American Costumes. I am not disappointed, this is an amazing resource.

Bought as a present, they were thrilled with the book.

This book immediately became a resident on my "instant grab shelf" by my computer as I write 18th century fiction. It's interesting, entertaining, and well-researched, with excellent and numerous illustrations, and has been an invaluable guide. I'll be looking for other books by this author!