Examines the manner of dress and the design of the Middle Ages through biographies of the most prominent monarchs of the time.

To stripe a surface serves to distinguish it, to point it out, to oppose it or associate it with another surface, and thus to classify it, to keep an eye on it, to verify it, even to censor it. Throughout the ages, the stripe has made its mark in mysterious ways. From prisoners' uniforms to tailored suits, a street sign to a set of sheets, Pablo Picasso to Saint Joseph, stripes have always made a bold statement. But the boundary that separates the good stripe from the bad is often blurred. Why, for instance, were stripes associated with the devil during the Middle Ages? How did stripes come to symbolize freedom and unity after the American and French revolutions? When did the stripe become a standard in men's fashion? "In the stripe," writes author Michel Pastoureau, "there is something that resists enclosure within systems." So before putting on that necktie or waving your country's flag, look to The Devil's Cloth for a colorful history of the stripe in all its variety, controversy, and connotation.

More than a pictorial archive of medieval dress and decoration, this beautiful collection is also valuable for its discerning scholarship. A magnificent compilation of artwork from Henry Shaw's detailed study of court life in the Middle Ages, this splendid book provides a grand display of medieval figures and fashions of the times. Reproduced directly from Shaw's original, hand-colored plates and identified by brief captions, more than 200 superb illustrations depict knights in battle, ladies in waiting, kings, queens, popes, and commoners, as well as armor and weapons, jewelry, and other decorative accessories. Skillfully adapted from rare paintings, illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, textiles, and stained glass windows, these lovely illustrations will be invaluable to fashion historians and costume designers. Craftworkers will find them equally useful.

This volume provides a history of human decoration and adornment.

This engaging analysis of Western fashion explores the influence of fashion, taste, and style on people's actions and beliefs since the Middle Ages.

La 4e de couverture indique : "A comprehensive guide to making period clothes for living history, re,enactment, plays and pageants..."