This sumptuously illustrated book reveals the decorative seams, exquisite stitching, voluptuous drapery, strict corseting and slashing and stamping that make up the clothing in the V & A's superlative seventeenth and eighteenth-century fashion collection. Using an authoritative text, exquisite colour photography and line drawings of complete garments, the reader is allowed the unique opportunity to look closely at clothing, often too fragile to be on display.