Corsets and Codpieces: A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era
Written by Karen Bowman
Narrated by Susan Duerden
4/5
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About this audiobook
Have you ever wondered why we wear the type of clothes we do? Packed with outlandish outfits, this exciting history of fashion trends reveals the flamboyant fashions adopted (and discarded) by our ancestors.
In the days before cosmetic surgery, people used bum rolls and bombastic breeches to augment their figures, painted their faces with poisonous concoctions, and doused themselves with scent to cover body odor.
Take a fresh look at history’s hidden fashion disasters and discover some of the stories behind historical garments:
How removing a medieval woman’s headdress could reveal her as a harlot
Why Tudor men traded in their oversized codpieces for corsets
How crinoline caused a spate of shoplifting among Victorian ladies
Karen Bowman charts our sartorial history from the animal skins first used to cover our modesty and show off hunting skills, right up to the twentieth-century drive for practicality and comfort. Corsets and Codpieces is a fascination read for history buffs and fashionistas alike.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
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Reviews for Corsets and Codpieces
70 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I couldn’t get through the first chapter as the narrator is awful! Read the book instead.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Narrator speaks far too quickly and is not a good people to voice audio books
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The amount of information about how fashion tied to the political climate of the times was highly entertaining and informative!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5My rating for this book is entirely personal. Someone with. keen interest in the subject of the interplay between fashion and society might find it priceless. Among many quotes was a very revealing one about fashion serving the patriarchy: one esteemed gentleman points out that clothing should be designed to make women appear smaller versus men and should interfere with their free movement, to prevent any notion of challenging their owners, mainly husbands. The quote was not presented favorably, by any means. But interesting that one guy, at least, said the quiet part out loud.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I learned a great deal from listening to this audiobook. It was well organized and easy to comprehend.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a hilarious account of fashion trends throughout history. It is well researched and the illustrations were wonderful, although they aren't as easy to see on an original kindle. My concern was that fashion trends like corsets were thrust on women by men's desires, but I soon found out that even the most outrageous, uncomfortable and dangerous fashion trends were established and indeed embraced by women worldwide. I also found out that some of men's fashion choices were equally bizarre and unheard of.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is written in a humorous way, but it's packed with information on costume history and all the outlandish things people have done to their clothes and their bodies in the name of beauty. If you're interested in the subject, I highly recommend, although this book probably doesn't contain anything a specialist in costume history wouldn't already know.