What's a good 'history of fashion' book?

Question

I need a good one that shows you different styles of dress (mainly European, but other cultural dress as well if possible), from the farther back in time the better. It doesn't have to be really really in depth, but just to give me an idea of what people dressed like in the 1800s, or what the difference is between 14th century and 12th century clothing was.

Mainly pictures, please.

Answer 1

I have quite a few reference books on fashion.  One of my favourites is this one, by Francois Boucher:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Costume-...

A very readable one is "Fashion, the Mirror of History" by Michael and Ariane Batterberry; although I've found a few errors in it, it's an excellent read.

You can also try books by James Laver, Iris Brooke and Agnes Allen.

All these are full of pictures and information.  Some are "coffee-table" books and rather expensive, but your library would either have them in the Reference section, or would be able to order them for you.

Answer 2

look at your local library they should have some good ones mine does