Style From the Nile Egyptomania in Fashion

Style From the Nile Egyptomania in Fashion written by Isabella Campagnol

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 248

In November 1922, the combined efforts of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon

revealed to the world the 'wonderful things' buried in Tutankhamen’s tomb, Egypt

had already been a source for new trends in fashion for quite some time: in the

early 19th century, for example, Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign contributed to

the popularization of Kashmir shawls, while the inauguration of the Suez Canal

in 1869 stimulated 'Egyptianizing' trends in gowns, jewellery and textiles.

Post-1922, a veritable Egyptomania craze invested all artistic fields, quickly becoming a dominant Art Deco motif: “flapper-style” dresses were elaborately embroidered with beaded “Egyptian” patterns, evening bags were decorated with hieroglyphics, brooches nonchalantly sported ancient scarabs, and the sleek black bobs favoured by the admired icons of the time, Louise Brooks and Clara Bow, looked up to the fabled Egyptian beauty of Nefertiti and Cleopatra.

Egyptomania often resurfaces in 21st-century fashion as well: the awe-inspiring John Galliano’s designs for Dior Spring-Summer 2004 brought back pharaonic crowns in lieu of headdresses in a triumph of gold-encrusted creations, the ancient practice of mummification was referenced by Iris van Herpen’s Fall 2009 collection and Egyptian vibes resonated in Chanel's Métiers d’Art 2018/2019 collection.

Through the combination of rigorous fashion history research, intriguing images and well-informed, but approachable, writing, Style from the Nile offers a comprehensive overview of a fascinating phenomenon that, to this day, continues to have a mesmerizing appeal.

I must apologise because I don’t remember offering to review this book, I must have pressed the wrong button or something. But despite that, I thought it was something different for me so I read it, and what a surprising and very good read it was. The book basically shows how the Egyptian world, culture and fashion has influenced lots of this through time but especially fashion. I’ve always seen Egyptian fashion as very classical and when you look back through fashion you can see the various elements that come through or that are still influencing fashion today, primarily with the influence of Cleopatra. But it’s been very clever to read how it has come up through all these centuries, and in my opinion, it really showed out well in the 1920s to 30s.

I actually found his book very fascinating and I’ve learnt a lot from it. The research and effort that has gone into the writing and knowledge is impressive and really comes out in the text. The author Campagnol has done a great job. The book is also supported by some great photography and pictures. An excellent book, ideal for anyone interested in this part of the fashion world whether you are a beginner or an expert in the fashion world.

Not So Virtuous Victorians

Not So Virtuous Victorians written by Michelle Rosenberg and published by Pen & Sword Books - £12.99 - Softcover - Pages 112

What springs to mind when you think of British Victorian men and women? – manners, manners and more manners. Behaviour that was as rigid and constricted as the corsets women wore. From iron-knicker sexual prudery to men so uptight they furtively released their pent up emotions in opium dens and prostitute hot spots. All, of course, exaggerated clichés worthy of a Victorian melodrama.

Each generation loves to think it is better than the last and loves to look aghast at the horrifying trends of their ancestors. But are we really any different? This glimpse at life for Victorian men and women might make millennials think again.

Men and women were expected to live very differently from one another with clearly defined roles regardless of class. However, lift the skirts a little and not only will you see that they didn’t wear knickers but they were far less repressed than the persistent stereotypes would have us believe. The Victorians were as weird and wonderful as we are today.

From fatal beauty tips to truly hysterical cures for hysteria to grave robbers playing skittles with human bones, we have cherry picked some of the more entertaining glimpses into the lives led by our Victorian brothers and sisters.

This is a small book that looks at alternative little bits of life in Victorian Britain, looking at Child Labour, Sex & Perversion, Hidden Sexualities and Fashion Victims. The chapters are small but the book entertaining, good and quite humorous in places. Maybe a book for people wanting to start getting into learning about the Victorian era.