How to Read a Suit: A Guide to Changing Mens Fashion from the 17th to the 20th Century [Paperback]

Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style,How to Read a Suitis an authoritative visual guide to the under-explored area of men's fashion across four centuries.

Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history  as well as how menswear has varied in type, cut, detailing and popularity according to the occasion and the class, age and social status of the wearer.

This lavishly illustrated book is the ideal tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know their Chesterfield from their Ulster coat. Equipping the reader with all the information they need to 'read' menswear, this is the ultimate guide for students, researchers, and anyone interested in historical fashion.

A reminder that even the most devil-may-care of modern male dressers is out-fopped by his antecedents. Anna Murphy, The Times

Another excellent resource from Lydia Edwards, indispensable both to the fashion history novice and expert alike. Amber Butchart, fashion historian, author and broadcaster

Lavishly illustrated [and] wonderfully researched & the 'How to Read' series of books are perfect research guides for students, researchers and anyone with an interest in historical fashion. Costume Society UK

A fascinating tome that examines changes in men's fashion in a vibrant and visually striking way ... From the styles of political movements in the French Revolution to l#^