My review here originally was posted on amazon.com for the book.
Good info, but not Arnold. December 30, 2007.

This book has a lot of information covering the age of Henry VIII, the Tudor King of England in the early part of the 16th century. There is information regarding the fashion styles of his wives, sisters, and children. I would suggest this book for those who are into researching this time period for costuming, and who can form their own conclusions on the research provided. I would not suggest this book for those looking for a how-to on costume creation.

I looked forward to this book for over a year, and ... was a little frustrated when I was able to read some of the sections. There is a lot of info waiting for the reader, from the written inventories that survive that is given in the appendix. There are a number of images of interest, most of which I have seen in other books I've collected, but here they are available in one book, some of which are in color (most are in b&w).

One of my frustrations dealt with three images that provide a front, side and back view of a man's extant short gown; the kind of gown Henry is commonly seen wearing. But there is only a one sentence mention (that I've found so far) of these photos of this surviving garment, and that one sentence says very little. If these are of a surviving garment, and the garment is still available to look at, then it would have been a lot more help to people to actually provide info on the inside view, or how the pleats are attached, or something more than the one little sentence and three photos. I do appreciate those three photos, tho. I've not seen them anywhere else, and I can't even find them online at the museum they are in (but that server connection keeps dying, so I can't explore for long).

Another area I had issues with covered fur collars and capes, and the author cited another author's article on this. I've had the pleasure of meeting Prof. Tawny Sherrill ("Fleas, Fur, and Fashion: Zibellini as Luxury Accessories of the Renaissance"). Ms Sherrill in her scholarly article proved the term of "flea furs" as being a Victorian term, not a word that's really appropriate to the use or wearing of furs (especially zibellini - the point of Sherrill's article), but Ms. Howard not only cites Sherrill's article, but continues to use the "flea fur" term, perpetuating this costuming myth to her readers.

Another area; Ms Hayward goes into commentary of later women's dress... and suggests a new masculine style of bodice, possibly a doublet with what is modernly called a "Medici collar", although she admits that none of the records has any entries for women's doublets. I've done Tudor costume and research for awhile. To me the two images she offers appear to be the standard gown with a high necked partlet of black that is a different material than the gown. The third portrait appears to be a long loose gown. The only thing all three have in common is the style of their collars. If there is possible support for a doublet style, she should have provided some more info to prove this, especially since she does cover partlets as a garment item, so she is aware of them.

These items have cast a shadow of doubt over the rest of Ms. Howard's conclusions in her book.

On the good side so far (as I am still reading this book... it is pretty extensive). There are aspects that I've not seen elsewhere, like the original transcriptions for the Wardrobe accounts from different time periods of Henry's reign. There are a few images I've not seen elsewhere, either, including the extant garment images I've mentioned. I really like the inventory listing in the back. This is nice, and similar to the inventory listing in QEWU. I can't wait to get into reading this further.

Maria's conclusions at a few points are a bit... stretched, as I've already mentioned. But the amount of info included, including a break down of different garments by name vs the years they are worn, and a color chart and fabric chart that is similar. The new images, some other quotes and comments found from other original sources, and more, are things that are not found in other books I've read.

The book author states this book was done in the style of Janet Arnold's "Queen Elizabeth Wardrobe Unlock'd". There are a lot of good and well researched information from various written texts, surviving textiles, and the inventory transcripts... but there are aspects that have left me a bit frustrated considering the updated research that is available today. ( )