Essays on costume, fabric and clothing in the Middle Ages and beyond.

The study of medieval clothing and textiles reveals much about the history of our material culture, as well as social, economic and cultural history as a whole.

One hundred surviving garments are discussed with colour plates. Ranging from high art to homely, some are associated with known persons, others are anonymous,

This is the first global history of dress regulation and its place in broader debates around how human life and societies should be visualised and materialised.

Why were beards suddenly stylish in Europe after 1500? Why did the ruff come in and out of use in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries? Why did men fro