drabness of the 1950s. The blame is laid right where it belongs, on Cromwell and his "round-heads", but why it has taken us 300 years to begin to recover is not made clear. In fact, the author seems to regard the Restoration, when "England was deluged with a tidal wave of male finery" as something to have recovered from. On the other hand, he cites Communism as the source of the drabbest clothing to date. All considered, he is neither for nor against conformity, recognizing it as the enemy of individual creativity but also feeling it serves some useful purposes. While he does maintain the intolerance it generates towards the non-conformist, no attempt is made to explain the irrationally strong offense taken by many people at

cross-dressing.

Chapter 14 tells all about improving on Nature, with ancient and modern armor both shown. Of more interest is the use of special garments to cover physical defects; Frederick's hip pads and inflatable bras are featured. The falsie's history is traced back some 600 years. . .Wigs (Chapter 15) are also given their place in history; 5000 years this covers! And underwear (Chapter 16) gets its share of attention. Chapters 17 and 18 cover the various uses of clothes in performing and other arts. Most important is the thought that being completely authentic in costume is all wrong if it does not create the right IMPRESSION on the audience, (goers-out please note). Finally, chapters on Fashion and on future trends add little to the book's value to us. This is also true of the Addenda, covering ornaments, make-up and articles carried. The bibliography, on the other hand, is loaded with goodies!

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"She'll be right down-she's shaving."

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