Review by Choice Review
Lewandowski (Midwestern State Univ., Wichita Falls, TX) provides a comprehensive overview of costume terminology from early to modern times. This dictionary is a welcome addition to standard dictionaries of clothing such as Ruth R. Wilcox's Dictionary of Costume (CH, Jul'71) and C. M. Calasibetta's Fairchild's Dictionary of Fashion (3rd ed., 2003; 2nd ed., CH, Oct'88, 26-0662). The dictionary is a compendium of more than 20,000 terms that include clothing, fabrics, accessories, fibers, and jewelry--just to mention a few. Each entry includes a time period, country of origin, and brief description. More than 300 black-and-white illustrations are included, and the bibliography is extensive. Appendixes list terminology in three ways: by country of origin, by type of word, and by time period of origin. This volume's global coverage--encompassing all countries and all centuries from ancient times to the present day--makes it unique. Unfortunately, the dictionary omits the pronunciation of terms. In any case, it deserves a place in all costume, design, museum, and theater collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. A. Zanin-Yost Western Carolina University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The Complete Costume Dictionary is a culturally and chronologically comprehensive collection of 20,000 terms collected by Lewandowski, a professor of costume design. In addition to garments, Lewandowski defines materials (Bakelite, Zebra feathers); dyes (Madder, Cochineal); colors (Alice blue, Loden green); hairstyles (Badger whiskers, Flying Saucer); jewelry (Friendship bracelet, Swamy jewelry); and myriad accessories, such as Dragon's blood cane (a cane made from the Malay dragon palm), Downy calves ( false pads worn by men in appropriate places in tights to produce more attractive legs ), and Giraffe comb (a high tortoiseshell hair comb). Slang terms abound, including the evocative Bum-freezer (a man's short coat) and Dead Spaniard (an Elizabethan term for a pale grayish-tan color). Appendixes list terms by type of item, era, and country. Items include 750 varieties of lace (Barlycorns, Holly point) and 280 undergarments (Merry widow, False hips, and Amazon corset). India, France, and the UK are best represented among the 130 countries included, but there are also 300 Vietnamese and 200 Palestinian terms. Chronology extends from ancient Egypt to the mid-1980s. Entries are one word to one paragraph long. Most include the era and country, followed by a definition. Some are simply translations, such as Ardilla (Spanish for squirrel ) or Argent (French for silver ). Others are very brief, such as that for Labret, a lip-plug described as Mayan without mentioning its use in other cultures. The volume includes 250 black-and-white illustrations, 50 color plates, and an eight-page bibliography.The Complete Costume Dictionary is recommended for academic and public libraries supporting theater departments or art programs.--Whittington, Christine Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
To understand better the terms used in an 18th-century family diary, Lewandowski, a professor of theater in costume design (Midwestern State Univ., TX), began collecting words on note cards 15 years ago. The end result is this massive collection of more than 20,000 fashion and costume definitions. Appendixes arrange terms by garment types (280 kinds of lace, 118 terms for sleeves), by era from ancient Egyptian sheath dresses to 1960s hot pants, and by country. Covering items from an aile de pigeon, a wig worn by French men in the 1750s, to a Zylinder, a German top hat, this is a welcome resource for costume departments and social historians alike. (LJ 2/1/12) (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
