Henry James was fascinated by clothing and dress. This book examines, for the first time, the role of dress in reinforcing thematic and symbolic patterns in James's fictional world. Hughes traces a development from the significance of dress in discussion of 'the American Girl' in the early works, through dress as an indicator of social position, to the emergence of the more unstable and threatening aspects of dress, which culminate in the strange case of the coat of changing colours in The Sense of the Past.

"A tribute to a time when style -- and maybe even life -- felt more straightforward, and however arbitrary, there were definitive answers." -- Sadie Stein, Paris Review As a glance down any street in America quickly reveals, American women have forgotten how to dress. We lack the fashion know-how we need to dress professionally and beautifully. In The Lost Art of Dress, historian and dressmaker Linda Przybyszewski reveals that this wasn't always true. In the first half of the twentieth century, a remarkable group of women -- the so-called Dress Doctors -- taught American women that knowledge, not money, was key to a beautiful wardrobe. They empowered women to design, make, and choose clothing for both the workplace and the home. Armed with the Dress Doctors' simple design principles -- harmony, proportion, balance, rhythm, emphasis -- modern American women from all classes learned to dress for all occasions in ways that made them confident, engaged members of society. A captivating and beautifully illustrated look at the world of the Dress Doctors, The Lost Art of Dress introduces a new audience to their timeless rules of fashion and beauty -- rules which, with a little help, we can certainly learn again.

The Art of Dress is a coloring book for creative fashion enthusiasts of all ages who enjoy fashion illustration. The book is a collection of 22 original pencil drawings—dress and evening gown illustrations inspired by the traditions of Haute Couture. The idea for the coloring book "The Art of Dress" was born while creating the "Haute Couture Fashion Illustration Resource Book," a book for professional dress designers. All drawings in this book are professional couture design illustrations. All artworks in the book are in two color tones: the tone of the original pencil drawing and a light grey tone (for creative editing or to try different color rendering). The paper in the book is for dry media such as pencils, crayons, sketching sticks, and pastel and is not suitable for watercolor. If you are planning to use markers or gel pens, place extra sheets of paper under the book you are coloring page to prevent ink from bleeding through the page and avoid marks or grooves underneath the coloring page. "Test pages" at the end of the book are for trying out art media before coloring.