Product Review

Have you ever wondered why we wear the type of clothes we do? Packed with outlandish outfits, this exciting history of fashion trends reveals the flamboyant fashions adopted (and discarded) by our ancestors.

In the days before cosmetic surgery, people used bum rolls and bombastic breeches to augment their figures, painted their faces with poisonous concoctions, and doused themselves with scent to cover body odor.

Take a fresh look at history's hidden fashion disasters and discover some of the stories behind historical garments:

• How removing a medieval woman's headdress could reveal her as a harlot
• Why Tudor men traded in their oversized codpieces for corsets
• How crinoline caused a spate of shoplifting among Victorian ladies

Karen Bowman charts our sartorial history from the animal skins first used to cover our modesty and show off hunting skills, right up to the twentieth-century drive for practicality and comfort. Corsets and Codpieces is a fascinating listen for history buffs and fashionistas alike.