'Costume In Detail'

I just received this yummy book in the mail & I have already spent several hours dipping into it.

Nancy Bradfield obviously loves costume because it shows in the inspiring, detailed drawings she has made of the outside & inside of hundreds of garments & accessories. Most of them have never been seen by the public and never will because they are too delicate or are disintegrating.
Most of the earliest costumes are drawn from a cache she discovered in the basement of Westminster Abbey on wax effigies beside the owner's tomb.
The drawings are so detailed they are an 'invaluable source of information for those concerned with fashion, with period dress, with history, and with theatre, film, or TV.'
ISBN 0-89676-217-3

Archetypes of the Feminine

In my Opus BA studies I am exploring the archetypes of the feminine and was reminded of Kimberly Johansen's entry, Telling Stories Through the Body, in this year's Alberta College of Art + Design here Artawearness performance.

She made a costume for each archetype 'from richly embellished, silk-screened & printed paper, exotic fabrics & found objects.' It was a clever way of telling the story and lovely to look at.