Includes bibliographical references and index.

From the turn-of-the-century S-bend silhouette to the bumster and bustier of today, this comprehensive survey explores all the significant developments in fashion in a century that has witnessed a growing preoccupation with personal appearance and clothing. Written by two experts in costume from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, it explores movements and innovations in for both men and women through the work of the most original and influential designers and couturiers.

Organized around crucial shifts in style and major world events, the book places exciting, even revolutionary, developments in fashion within their socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts. International in scope, it encompasses the century's most important designers and metropolitan fashion centers, including developments in accessories, hairstyles, and make-up. The importance of mass production, advances in man-made fibers, the growth of ready-to-wear, and the major influences of postwar subcultures on contemporary fashion are also discussed. A reference section includes an extensive bibliography and a glossary of designers.