Based upon the authors large personal collection of beautiful fashion postcards from Edwardian times, this book takes the reader on a journey through that era covering the hat fashions and social changes of the day. Delve further into the carnage that took place around the world, in which unscrupulous and money grabbing individuals from the Northumbrian coast in England to the Everglades in America, would callously slaughter whole colonies of birds (leaving their young to die) purely to provide the millinery trade with ornate feathers to decorate fashionable hats during that era.The book also takes the reader into the world of millinery sweatshops of poverty stricken New York and describes the conditions and deprivations under which the poorly paid workers, many of them immigrants, worked. You can even learn about the background, history and amazing life of one of the worlds greatest fashion designers, Coco Chanel, as she set out on her lifetime of fashion in Edwardian Paris.With superb fashion colour plates of the day, together with images of amazingly creative and colourful hat pins from both the UK and America, the author shares the fruits of his 40 years of postcard collecting and the highs and lows of his search for the 'Hats' postcards, as worn by his Edwardian 'girlfriends' from over 100 year ago.

Based upon the author s large personal collection of beautiful fashion postcards from Edwardian times, this book takes the reader on a journey through that era covering the hat fashions and social changes of the day. Delve further into the carnage that took place around the world, in which unscrupulous and money grabbing individuals from the Northumbrian coast in England to the Everglades in America, would callously slaughter whole colonies of birds (leaving their young to die) purely to provide the millinery trade with ornate feathers to decorate fashionable hats during that era. The book also takes the reader into the world of millinery sweatshops of poverty stricken New York and describes the conditions and deprivations under which the poorly paid workers, many of them immigrants, worked. You can even learn about the background, history and amazing life of one of the world s greatest fashion designers, Coco Chanel, as she set out on her lifetime of fashion in Edwardian Paris. With superb fashion colou plates of the day, together with images of amazingly creative and colorful hat pins from both the UK and America, the author shares the fruits of his 40 years of postcard collecting and the highs and lows of his search for the 'Hats' postcards, as worn by his Edwardian 'girlfriends' from over 100 year ago."

Over 1,000 illustrations document elegant ladies' fashions from 1860 to 1914: evening gowns, wedding ensembles, bathing costumes, cycling outfits, and much more. Accompanied by hundreds of stylish accessories.

Fashion in the Edwardian period underwent some quite revolutionary changes. The delicately coloured, flower-and-lace-trimmed trailing gowns and elaborate hairstyles worn by tightly corseted fashionable ladies in the early years of Edward VII's reign would transform into the boldly coloured, dramatically stylized Eastern-inspired kimono wraps, slender hobble skirts, ankle-skimming tunic dresses and turbans of 1914 on the eve of the First World War. This book presents the story of women's and men's dress through this exciting period, and is a fascinating addition to the bestselling Shire fashion list that already includes Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen and Fashion in the Time of the Great Gatsby.

Over 80 years ago, Heather Firbank packed away her extensive collection of fine clothes, bought from London's very best dressmakers and tailors. These treasures lay undiscovered for the next 30 years, until after her death, they were given to the V&A, laying the foundations for the Museum's world-famous collection. Firbank was an enthusiastic shopper and bought her clothes from the world's leading couture houses, including Lucile, Redfern and Mascotte, as well as private dressmakers and department stores. Her collection forms an invaluable record of fashionable Edwardian taste over a period of some 15 years. Beautifully illustrated with new photography of finely crafted evening gowns, tailored suits and glamorous hats, the book also features contemporary photographs and pages from Heather's own albums of fashion cuttings. It vividly maps out the London couture scene of Edwardian Britain, and charts changes in fashion through the tumultuous first decades of the twentieth century. Through the story of Heather's own life, both joyous and troubled, this book celebrates the central role of clothing in creating a single woman's identity.

Edwardian fashions for women were characterized by the S-shaped silhouette, embellished with lace, tucks, ruffles, tassels, frills and flounces. This essential book includes eleven detailed projects, which form a capsule collection of clothing and accessories that might have been worn by an Edwardian governess, a woman travelling on an ocean liner, a campaigning suffragette, or a wife overseeing a busy household in a large country house. It explains making sequences in full and advises in detail on how to give the garments a fine, authentic finish. Eleven detailed projects are included, based on the dress collections at Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove, and Worthing Museum and Art Gallery. Each project includes a detailed description of the original garment, with an accompanying illustration alongside photographs of the original pieces, and scaled patterns are included for all projects with a list of materials and equipment required. Includes step-by-step instructions with information about the original techniques used and close-up photographs of the making process, with further chapters on tools and equipment, fabrics, measurements and sizes, and how to wear Edwardian fashion with ideas on creating new outfits from the featured projects. Also includes advice on how to adapt garments to make them suitable for both wealthy, leisured women, and for their poorer counterparts. Aimed at costume makers, museums and re-enactors and beautifully illustrated with 200 colour photographs.