This volume offers the opportunity to see fragile clothes in detail. Perfection is in the detail: decorative seams, exquisite stitching, knife sharp pleats and voluptuous drapery feature alongside more usual techniques such as stamping, pinking and slashing. Many of the skills displayed have been lost to the modern world: such labour-intensive handwork is no longer done and these effects cannot be replicated by machine. Yet many fashion designers take their inspiration from the past, adapting ideas to a more contemporary idiom. Containing a gallery of photographs, accompanied by line drawings showing the construction of the complete garment, this book should appeal to anyone interested in historical costume and textile history, from cut and construction to fabrics and trimmings.