Medieval Costume and How to Recreate It, Paperback/Dorothy Hartley

Clear-cut and accurate in its guidance, this volume depicts medieval clothes and accessories not as inanimate museum exhibits but as items of vital interest and well worth recreating. Unlike conventional costume histories, which tend to classify their contents by era, this volume portrays the clothing of the twelfth through 15th centuries according to the wearer's social class. Here are the garments of royalty, clerics, doctors, merchants, musicians, knights, artisans, farmers, and laborers -- all magnificently illustrated with images from tapestries and illuminated manuscripts as well as in drawings and diagrams. Helpful advice covers choosing fabrics; placement of seams; draping and folding garments; how to walk, dance, and climb stairs in the cumbersome unfamiliarity of flowing attire; and even the best methods of storage.