Fashion In The Time Of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) by Melinda Camber Porter

Fashion In The Time Of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) by Melinda Camber Porter ISBN-13: 9781942231103 ebook: 82 pages Publisher: Blake Press Released: May 16, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Fashion in the Time of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) was a hand written thirty-four page document on eight inch by twelve inch lined British school tablet paper with thirty-one separate drawings on white paper. Melinda Camber Porter wrote and illustrated this book as a school report in Second Grade (Class 2), where she attended The City of London School for Girls. Melinda's reference material appears to originate from the great British fashion writer and illustrator of the 1930s, Dion Clayton Calthrop, who wrote and illustrate many books on English fashion from 1050 A.D. to 1750 A.D.

The text of this book is typed from the original hand written text and includes reproductions of Melinda Camber Porter's original drawings. The book also serves as a piece of history for The City of London School for Girls, and includes photos and awards of Melinda Camber Porter in the appendices.


My Review:
Fashion In The Time Of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) is about both Melinda Camber Porter and her report on English fashion in 1558-1603. The actual report described the clothing of English noblemen and noblewomen in some detail--from head to toe--and included changes in fashion and the names and uses of the different clothing items. In less detail, she described town and country clothing worn by men and women from the middle and lower classes and children's clothing. She drew nice illustrations for some of the clothing (see an example below), and I was impressed by the overall quality of her report. Though brief, it's very informative and even included some quotes from Elizabethan times describing clothing.

This book also included some information about the The City of London School for Girls and a short biography of Melinda Camber Porter. The appendix included a list of Melinda Camber Porter's writings and art exhibits, photos of the awards she won, quoted praise for her work, and a list of newspapers that ran her obituary.

I'd recommend this book to people interested in Melinda Camber Porter who would like to read her report on Elizabethan fashion.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.