Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. A history of girls' clothing may not seem the liveliest of topics, but the sparkling design of Sills' overview makes this a pleasure to page through. Sills skips through centuries of American history, describing what girls wore and how the outfits reflected what was happening at the time. For instance, in colonial days, when girls were considered miniature women, stays in their clothing kept them straight and tall. By the mid-nineteenth century, as women's rights became an issue, bloomers appeared. A marvelous collection of paintings and photographs show off the apparel. Some of the most interesting are the earliest--paintings of girls who look like adults. The illustrations are placed on brightly colored pages, and their placement gives the feel of a scrapbook. They capture the times, and though minorities are represented, there are no pictures of girls in slavery and only a few of girls at work. A terrific roundup of resources, including lists of Web sites, museums, and media, makes it easy for kids to learn more. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
For those seriously into clothes, From Rags to Riches: A History of Girls' Clothing in America by Leslie Sills begins with swaddling clothes for babies during Colonial times and follows through to Victorian hoopskirts and crinolines, to the "Anything Goes" clothes of today. Photos of fabric swatches and sewing machines share space with paintings and archival photos to break up the text and give girls a flavor of each era. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-From confining stays in the Colonial period to Victorian-era hoopskirts, through bustles, bloomers, and rompers, to the comfortable outfits of today, Sills shows how American girls' clothing has closely correlated to cultural expectations and gender roles. She effectively presents garments as "a form of communication" within the context of historical attitudes and events, reflecting changing ideas about childhood in general and girls in particular. Her commentary includes contemporary thinking on discipline and education and its effect on styles. Numerous well-captioned vintage portraits and photographs illustrate her points. While never crossing over to actual fictionalization, the author extrapolates details about the pictured individuals on the basis of their appearances. Describing a 19th-century photograph of young textile workers, she writes, "The girls' clothing and postures say a lot about their lives. They look quite proper because they had to be," and then provides information about the daily lives of mill girls. Sills includes individuals from varied geographical areas and social classes, from the obviously wealthy to the working strata, as well as African-American slaves and a Native American youngster. The effects of historical events such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and wartime shortages of fabric are noted, as is the impact of prominent people ranging from Queen Victoria to Shirley Temple. This visually pleasing volume will be useful to students researching American history, popular culture, or fashion, or just looking for a fun browse.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This unusually engaging historical overview of girls' dress in America begins with the confining clothes of the Colonial period, which reflected beliefs about childhood at that time, and concludes with the relatively anarchic choices girls enjoy today. Most interesting of all: Sills analyzes many of the reproductions, archival images, and photos of contemporary kids that appear throughout. Directory, websites. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The history of what people wear is never simple, hemmed about with culture, nurture, mores and occasionally cockamamie ideas. Sills strives to address all of these issues in a busy format, but doesn't always hit the mark. Her chapters are only a few pages in length and her pictures--most of them photographs--are well chosen. However, the text is printed on papers that reflect many kinds of printed cloth, visually interesting but hard to read. Her subject is American girls' clothing and the confining aspects of girls' clothes--from swaddling and stays to hoopskirts to bustles--is highlighted in the 12 chapter headings. She's so breezy, though, that sometimes information isn't complete--like why bobbed hair was such an innovation (freeing girls from caring for very long locks) or incorrect (the derivation she gives for "nylon, for instance). Young female readers will be delighted with the photos of Lucia, who designed her own dress, and astounded at how late the idea of females wearing pants came along. (glossary, index, bibliography, Webography, author's note, lists of museums and organizations) (Nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
