Book review: Below the Waist

 

This book is a brilliant, much needed resource on the construction of underpinnings, support garment structures that help to create silhouettes of historical fashion. 

The author Mandy Barrington studied several extent pieces at historical clothing collections around the UK. The author teaches in a college program for historical costume, & tested out the methods and instructions with her own students. The book is accessible for even novice stitchers, although not for a complete neophyte. If you’ve ever sewn a garment from a pattern, you’ll be able to follow along.

It covers the tools and materials required, the vocabulary used, and the methods of pattern drafting and construction for underpinning garments from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The text is clear and concise, the photos are beautiful and illustrative, and handy diagrams are included for pattern layout & construction.

Highly highly recommend, an invaluable new resource!

Disclosure: this author once led a workshop at the school where I teach. I did not meet her and was not contacted to provide this review, but I am obliquely connected to her.