This exciting book explores fashion not simply from an aesthetic point of view but also as a manifestation of social and cultural change.

Focusing on fashion from 1850, noted fashion historians Daniel James Cole and Nancy Deihl consider the evolution of womenswear, menswear, and childrenswear, decade by decade. The book looks at the dissemination of style and the mechanisms of change, at the relationship between fashion and the visual, applied, and performing arts, the intertwined relationship between fashion and popular culture, the impact of new materials and technology, and the growing globalization of style.

With photographs of costume from museums and images from the fashion press including editorial photography, illustrations, and advertising, the book will include insights into icons of fashion and the clothes worn by "real people", providing a valuable visual reference for the reader.