Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

In the late Victorian age, American and European women of high social standing--which, by definition, meant they were not without substantial financial assets--tended to patronize three couturiers above all others: Worth, Doucet, and Pingat, all located in Paris. To accompany an exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum, this sumptuous book profiles these three major fashion houses in their late-nineteenth-century prime (when they set rather than followed style), highlighting their similarities and differences within such contexts as characteristic designs, fabrics, and clientele (from Empress Eugenie of France to Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago, both of whom were estimable fashion connoisseurs). Fluid with its narrative--rather than the prosaically rendered text one might expect on a somewhat limited topic such as this--Coleman's book is a lively visitation to times past, perfectly accessible to anyone with an interest in social history. The beautiful color plates serve as delicious augmentation. Notes, selected bibliography; no index. --Brad Hooper