Shortlisted for the Costume Society of America Millia Davenport Publication Award (2016), this lavishly illustrated book looks at the history of fashion from 1850 to 2010. Taking a decade-by-decade approach, Daniel James Cole and Nancy Deihl explore the history of fashion as a lively and dynamic manifestation of twentieth-century culture. Covering chronological changes in womenswear, menswear, and childrenswear, the book looks at the dissemination of style and the mechanisms of change, at the relationship between fashion and the visual, applied, and performing arts, the intertwined relationship between fashion and popular culture, the impact of new materials and technology, and the growing globalization of style. Illustrated with photographs of costume from museums and images from the fashion press including editorial photography, illustrations, and advertising, the book will include insights into icons of fashion and the clothes worn by "real people", providing a valuable visual reference for the reader.

Daniel James Cole teaches the History of Fashion at New York University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He is also a freelance costume designer with stage, television and film credits.

Nancy Deihl, the Director of the graduate program in Costume Studies at New York University, specializes in the history of fashion and textiles from the mid-19th century to the present.