Children's Costume

Book excerpt: The most comprehensive and detailed survey of Western children's historical clothing ever published—an invaluable resource for designers and historians. John Peacock charts the development of every kind and style of apparel from earliest times to the present day, for both boys and girls. The hundreds of specially drawn illustrations reproduce in meticulous detail a host of examples from every era of children’s clothing: the fringed and tasseled outerwear of Eastern antiquity, medieval tunics and fur-trimmed hats, exquisite seventeenth-century miniature gowns, delicate nineteenth-century printed cotton dresses and slippers, and the denim sportswear of our own time. There are also special pages on children’s caps, hats, bonnets, berets, shoes, and more. The specially drawn pictures are arranged in six chronological sections and accompanied by full descriptions that include details on fabrics, trimmings, and accessories. An invaluable time chart summarizes the development of children’s clothes throughout the centuries.