Costume Close-up: Clothing Con­struction and Pattern 1750-1790   

by Linda Baumgarten and John Watson with Florine Carr  

120 pages, softcover: $24.95 ISBN 0896762262

Published in the March/April 2000 issue of MUZZLELOADER magazine

    I wrote another book review a year ago and started it with, “I have been waiting to see this book for almost a year. Thus it was with great anticipation that I opened the package containing my copy. The wait was worth it, and my anticipation was well‑rewarded.” Now I hate to sound like a broken record, but it has happened again. This anticipated book is also a book on clothing (queue surprise!) and comes from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The authors are Linda Baumgarten and John Watson, with Florine Carr. Ms. Baumgarten has been the curator of textiles at Colonial Williamsburg since 1978. You are probably familiar with her previous book, Eighteenth-Century Clothing in Williamsburg, which is in its fourth printing. This book is far more ambitious than its predecessor, with measured drawings of 25 garments in the clothing collection of Colonial Williamsburg.
    The best way to study clothing is to look at extant garments. Yet, while handling the extant garment may be good for those of us who study clothing, it is not very good for the garment. Even those in good shape are still 200 years old, and thus “good shape” may still mean somewhat fragile. So one person doing a careful study with detailed photographs and measured drawings is kinder to the garments and still allows many people to study the same piece of clothing.
   Costume Close-up contains detailed studies of 25 garments, along with asides including information on many 18th century textile terms. The authors decided that, with the current technology of scanning and enlarging, they did not need to put the patterns on graphs, but rather used scale drawings. I found the idea of drawing the pattern as it was in the original garment—i.e. with the stretching and other assembly variations—to be an interesting concept, and probably the most accurate way of depicting a garment. This may cause some problems in reproduction however.
    The garments are described with thread counts of the fabric, type of fabric, condition of the garment and a provenance, if known. Along with scale drawings, detailed information is included on how the item was constructed, such as the types of stitches and number of stitches per inch.
    Costume Close-up contains patterns for garments for both women and men. Most of the patterns are of clothing that is of a more formal variety, which is in keeping with the collection at Williamsburg. Using the patterns in this book, you could dress both a man and a woman from the inside out, and by using less formal fabrics, you could adjust the level of formality of the garments. There are a few less formal garments, like the short gown, a jacket for women, and also included is a pair of men's underdrawers. There is a lovely lace mantle, which is really unusual to see in a costume book but not at all unusual to see in paintings of the period.
    The authors have drawn the patterns for these garments without changing any of the measurements. This includes the stretching that has occurred by the garment being worn. This is most notable on the bib of the printed cotton apron. The nice thing about seeing the stretching is that is gives a better idea of how the garment was worn.
    There is a good variety of men's clothing. Both fall-front and fly-front breeches, waistcoats, coats, a shirt and even a cloak are represented. There are wonderful close-up photographs of construction details. Unlike many books, where I find myself wishing that the garment could have the front turned back to show the lining or the cuff turned down to show how it was attached to the sleeve, this book has either a close photograph or detailed drawing of these types of details.
   I am sure that I will find new information every time that I refer to this book. While I always wish there were more to every book, this one certainly covers men's and women's clothing from the inside out. The photography is beautiful, the illustrations could not be better, and the I would be hard‑pressed to find a tidbit of information that has been missed. It is printed on high quality, glossy paper with a substantial soft cover. This book was worth the wait.
    Costume Close-up is available through the bookstore at Colonial Williamsburg and also through Burnley & Trowbridge for $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Burnley & Trowbridge, 108 Druid Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185; 757-253-1644.