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Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Omissions
Review: An interesting treatise on an interesting topic - underclothes. As a writer of historical romances, I need to know what is under the heroine's clothes, should the hero get around to removing them. This book has helped in my search for answers to that important question. The illustrations are excellent and it is quite fascinating to realize how much we do (and don't) know about what our ancestors wore and why. However, this book does seem to spend a lot of time on men's underwear (yes it's important, but not as much as the ladies'), and also covers such a large time period that inevitably some discussions are very brief (no pun intended). This book will become part of my reference library - not a stand-alone source, but complementary to my other volumes on clothing.
Rating: 
Summary: Unmentionables finally mentioned!!
Review: An interesting treatise on an interesting topic - underclothes. As a writer of historical romances, I need to know what is under the heroine's clothes, should the hero get around to removing them. This book has helped in my search for answers to that important question. The illustrations are excellent and it is quite fascinating to realize how much we do (and don't) know about what our ancestors wore and why. However, this book does seem to spend a lot of time on men's underwear (yes it's important, but not as much as the ladies'), and also covers such a large time period that inevitably some discussions are very brief (no pun intended). This book will become part of my reference library - not a stand-alone source, but complementary to my other volumes on clothing.
Rating: 
Summary: Good illustrations
Review: Illustrations and pictures, combined with detailed description, make this book a good resource for any historian or writer. My only complaint is that the book covers such a long period of history (early 1300s to 1939). When so many years are covered, it's hard to have perfect accuracy and not rely on gross generalization. If you want to read about a very specific period, this probably isn't the book for you, but if you are looking for generalization, it's a great resource!I liked it and would recommend it.!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Omissions
Review: In agreement with some other posters, I found this book disappointing. One obvious omission is covering the Middle Ages to 1939 and not mentioning "codpiece". It would have been more useful as well separated by men's/women's over each time period.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing!
Review: not only were the authors too ambitious (trying to cover way too many centuries in too few pages), but the fact that it was originally published in 1951 is glaringly apparent -- ridiculous psychological reasons are ascribed to purely practical phenomena. there is insufficient discussion of the illustrations, and too few illustrations to illuminate the discussions!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting info, but lots of omissions.
Review: There was some interesting stuff in here, but unfortunately a lot of omissions. Helpful for the items it discusses, but LOTS of generalities. Also, it really sweeps through too much history at once. And it focuses more on men's underwear than women's, which as a romance writer is a problem for me.
Rating:
Summary: a book on the life of unmentionables
Review: unfortunately this is the only book by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington easily available in America. This book is a terrrific and cheap resource for those interested in an aspect of historical costume often ignored. It doesn't include construction methods, but it is otherwise a perfect resource for the professional or reenactment costumer. It covers the Middle Ages through 1939 with black and white photos of garments and illustrations from primary sources.
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