Monday, April 28, 2008

Nonfiction Monday: From Rags to Riches

Sills, Leslie. From Rags to Riches: A History of Girls' Clothing in America

FROM RAGS TO RICHES is a nonfiction guide to the history of girl's fashion from Colonial times (1600's) to present day. Attractive layout and generous use of both colored and black and white photographs and illustrations, add readability to the well-researched text. Arranged chronologically, FROM RAGS TO RICHES consists of twelve chapters ranging from two to four pages in length. For example, "Bustles and Ruffles: Stylish Girls of the Late Nineteenth Century" is three pages in length and contains seven illustrations (both photographs and sketches). In addition to illustrations, FROM RAGS TO RICHES contains sidebars for many (if not all) of its chapters. Italicized words in the text are words defined in the glossary. Bustle for example is defined as "a cotton pad mounted on a steel or cane frame, then attached by hooks or laces to a waistband under a skirt." Bibliography and webography are included as are listings of museum and organizations.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review, Becky. Your timing is perfect - just last week I had a student come to our library asking for a book on costume/dress. We didn't have anything to meet her need, nor could I think of anything published recently that would work. Now I know what title to add to our collection!

Ms. Yingling said...

I love this one-- especially the 1970s square pictures of the girls in jeans. It is very popular with my girls, who often are hard to set up with nonfiction.