Empire Fashions
By: Tom Tierney
Rating: 5 of 5
This is an older coloring book by Dover. The copyright date is 2001 but has a statement that it was manufactured in 2016. I assume that means that the paper is more like what we expect today versus what was available when it first came out.
The designs are printed on both sides of the page with blurbs of information printed at the bottom of each page as well. This is consistent with what I expect from these older books.
What is great, besides the beautiful designs, is that there are 45 different fashion plates. This is a lot more than I expect from these older Dover books (which more generally seem to have 30 pages.)
The designs are of both men’s and women’s fashions and are based on French fashion of before and after the Revolution and of the clothing of the Napoleonic era. Not only did the Revolution have its effect on the political position of the world, it had a huge effect on the clothing people wore. With regards to women’s fashions, there was a slim down of the silhouette, lower necklines and much thinner (even translucent) fabrics used.
You can see this fascinating change in this book and, if you are so inclined, color the fashions to suit your own imagination. The designs are well done and are detailed without being overly intricate. The fashion plates are as such without any form of background.
