The sweeping crinolines, corsets, bustles, bonnets and parasols of Victorian Britain are indispensable to our period dramas, and their influences can still be seen within burlesque and steampunk fashions. This is no surprise, as nineteenth-century clothing was so wide-ranging and decorative. We might unfairly think gentlemen’s costume to be rather plain and uniform, but this is more by contrast to the overwhelming ostentation, luxury fabrics, fine accessories and constantly evolving silhouettes of ladies’ fashion. This colourful introduction to what the Victorians wore describes the vibrant, fancy materials and lace edging at one end of the spectrum, and the tightlaced sobriety of mourning apparel at the other. It examines both high fashion imports from Paris and more modest everyday wear, evening costume, bridal styles, children’s clothes and sportswear, and explores the social and cultural backdrop to clothing in Britain’s great age of industry and empire.

1750 to 1950 was a period that saw the decline of many traditional forms of employment, the emergence of new types of job and the alteration of various existing roles to meet the changing demands of the workplace.Occupational gear vividly reflects the daily working lives of people during this period. Drawing on wide range of historical resources, this guide demonstrates the adaptation of regular clothes for manual tasks, the development of civilian uniforms and the evolution of protective garments.This concise guide is ideal for family historians researching ancestors' occupations, as well as costume enthusiasts and designers.

The 1920s was a vibrant, energetic decade that bustled with jazz music, fast cars and glamorous movie stars.Fashion was at the forefront of this first true explosion of popular culture: bright young things donned short skirts and cloche hats, gents dressed in sharp tweed suits and spats, and even children’s clothing was given a thorough overhaul.Jayne Shrimpton here explains the various elements that shaped British fashion in the 1920s, including the strong influences of Paris and Hollywood and looking not only at the clothes worn by the rich and famous but also at those of the common people – and at those who chose to dress conservatively in this age of ‘anything goes’.

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them. 

Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past.

This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background.

Sections look at photographs of special occasions – baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday and at work. There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations.

Jayne Shrimpton's handbook is an authoritative, accessible guide to old photographs that no family or local historian can be without.

As featured in The Argus.

This illustrated volume explores what fashion history can reveal about the lives of your British ancestors.As Britain evolved from an agrarian society into an urban-industrial nation, dress was transformed. Traditional rural styles gave way to modern city modes, workwear, and holiday attire. Women sewed at home, while advanced textiles and mass-produced goods brought affordable fashion to ordinary people. Many of our predecessors worked as professional garment-makers, laundresses or in other related trades—and they used those skills when caring for their own clothes.The Victorians observed strict etiquette through special costumes for Sundays, marriage, and mourning. Poorer families struggled to maintain standards while young single workers spent their wages on clothes and the older generation cultivated their own discreet style. Twentieth-century dress grew more relaxed and democratic as popular culture influenced fashion for recent generations who enjoyed sports, cinema, music, and dancing.

This illustrated volume explores what fashion history can reveal about the lives of your British ancestors.As Britain evolved from an agrarian society into an urban-industrial nation, dress was transformed. Traditional rural styles gave way to modern city modes, workwear, and holiday attire. Women sewed at home, while advanced textiles and mass-produced goods brought affordable fashion to ordinary people. Many of our predecessors worked as professional garment-makers, laundresses or in other related trades—and they used those skills when caring for their own clothes.The Victorians observed strict etiquette through special costumes for Sundays, marriage, and mourning. Poorer families struggled to maintain standards while young single workers spent their wages on clothes and the older generation cultivated their own discreet style. Twentieth-century dress grew more relaxed and democratic as popular culture influenced fashion for recent generations who enjoyed sports, cinema, music, and dancing.

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them. Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past. This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background. Sections look at photographs of special occasions - baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday and at work.There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations. Jayne Shrimpton's handbook is an authoritative, accessible guide to old photographs that no family or local historian can be without.

This book reveals the impact of wartime and austerity on British fashion and tells the story of how a spirit of patriotism and make-do-and-mend unleashed a wave of new creativity among women who were starved of high fashion by shortages and rationing. Many home dressmakers copied the high-end looks, and women involved in war work created a whole new aesthetic of less formal street wear. Fashion in the 1940s also shows how the Second World War shifted the centre of the international couture scene away from Paris, allowing British designers to influence Home Front style. Afterwards Paris fashion was re-born with Dior''s extravagant New Look, while casual American trends were widely adopted by young British women and men.

This book reveals the impact of wartime and austerity on British fashion and tells the story of how a spirit of patriotism and make-do-and-mend unleashed a wave of new creativity among women who were starved of high fashion by shortages and rationing. Many home dressmakers copied the high-end looks, and women involved in war work created a whole new aesthetic of less formal street wear. Fashion in the 1940s also shows how the Second World War shifted the centre of the international couture scene away from Paris, allowing British designers to influence Home Front style. Afterwards Paris fashion was re-born with Dior''s extravagant New Look, while casual American trends were widely adopted by young British women and men.

The sweeping crinolines, corsets, bustles, bonnets and parasols of Victorian Britain are indispensable to our period dramas, and their influences can still be seen within burlesque and steampunk fashions. This is no surprise, as nineteenth-century clothing was so wide-ranging and decorative. We might unfairly think gentlemen’s costume to be rather plain and uniform, but this is more by contrast to the overwhelming ostentation, luxury fabrics, fine accessories and constantly evolving silhouettes of ladies’ fashion. This colourful introduction to what the Victorians wore describes the vibrant, fancy materials and lace edging at one end of the spectrum, and the tightlaced sobriety of mourning apparel at the other. It examines both high fashion imports from Paris and more modest everyday wear, evening costume, bridal styles, children’s clothes and sportswear, and explores the social and cultural backdrop to clothing in Britain’s great age of industry and empire.

1750 to 1950 was a period that saw the decline of many traditional forms of employment, the emergence of new types of job and the alteration of various existing roles to meet the changing demands of the workplace.Occupational gear vividly reflects the daily working lives of people during this period. Drawing on wide range of historical resources, this guide demonstrates the adaptation of regular clothes for manual tasks, the development of civilian uniforms and the evolution of protective garments.This concise guide is ideal for family historians researching ancestors' occupations, as well as costume enthusiasts and designers.

The 1920s was a vibrant, energetic decade that bustled with jazz music, fast cars and glamorous movie stars.Fashion was at the forefront of this first true explosion of popular culture: bright young things donned short skirts and cloche hats, gents dressed in sharp tweed suits and spats, and even children’s clothing was given a thorough overhaul.Jayne Shrimpton here explains the various elements that shaped British fashion in the 1920s, including the strong influences of Paris and Hollywood and looking not only at the clothes worn by the rich and famous but also at those of the common people – and at those who chose to dress conservatively in this age of ‘anything goes’.

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them. 

Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past.

This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background.

Sections look at photographs of special occasions – baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday and at work. There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations.

Jayne Shrimpton's handbook is an authoritative, accessible guide to old photographs that no family or local historian can be without.

As featured in The Argus.

This illustrated volume explores what fashion history can reveal about the lives of your British ancestors.As Britain evolved from an agrarian society into an urban-industrial nation, dress was transformed. Traditional rural styles gave way to modern city modes, workwear, and holiday attire. Women sewed at home, while advanced textiles and mass-produced goods brought affordable fashion to ordinary people. Many of our predecessors worked as professional garment-makers, laundresses or in other related trades—and they used those skills when caring for their own clothes.The Victorians observed strict etiquette through special costumes for Sundays, marriage, and mourning. Poorer families struggled to maintain standards while young single workers spent their wages on clothes and the older generation cultivated their own discreet style. Twentieth-century dress grew more relaxed and democratic as popular culture influenced fashion for recent generations who enjoyed sports, cinema, music, and dancing.

This illustrated volume explores what fashion history can reveal about the lives of your British ancestors.As Britain evolved from an agrarian society into an urban-industrial nation, dress was transformed. Traditional rural styles gave way to modern city modes, workwear, and holiday attire. Women sewed at home, while advanced textiles and mass-produced goods brought affordable fashion to ordinary people. Many of our predecessors worked as professional garment-makers, laundresses or in other related trades—and they used those skills when caring for their own clothes.The Victorians observed strict etiquette through special costumes for Sundays, marriage, and mourning. Poorer families struggled to maintain standards while young single workers spent their wages on clothes and the older generation cultivated their own discreet style. Twentieth-century dress grew more relaxed and democratic as popular culture influenced fashion for recent generations who enjoyed sports, cinema, music, and dancing.

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them. Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past. This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background. Sections look at photographs of special occasions - baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday and at work.There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations. Jayne Shrimpton's handbook is an authoritative, accessible guide to old photographs that no family or local historian can be without.

This book reveals the impact of wartime and austerity on British fashion and tells the story of how a spirit of patriotism and make-do-and-mend unleashed a wave of new creativity among women who were starved of high fashion by shortages and rationing. Many home dressmakers copied the high-end looks, and women involved in war work created a whole new aesthetic of less formal street wear. Fashion in the 1940s also shows how the Second World War shifted the centre of the international couture scene away from Paris, allowing British designers to influence Home Front style. Afterwards Paris fashion was re-born with Dior''s extravagant New Look, while casual American trends were widely adopted by young British women and men.

This book reveals the impact of wartime and austerity on British fashion and tells the story of how a spirit of patriotism and make-do-and-mend unleashed a wave of new creativity among women who were starved of high fashion by shortages and rationing. Many home dressmakers copied the high-end looks, and women involved in war work created a whole new aesthetic of less formal street wear. Fashion in the 1940s also shows how the Second World War shifted the centre of the international couture scene away from Paris, allowing British designers to influence Home Front style. Afterwards Paris fashion was re-born with Dior''s extravagant New Look, while casual American trends were widely adopted by young British women and men.