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- Algéroises: Histoire d'un costume méditerranéen by Leyla BelkaÔd. Šdisud, Aix-en-Provence France, 1998. ISBN 2-85744-918-6
- The best book on the history of Maghribi women's costume that I've been able to find! Entirely in French, with lots of historical detail, footnotes, historical pictures as well as more modern art works. This is a treasure trove. Naturally, photos of women in costume come from the 19th and 20th, but there are photos of some older garments, paintings and illustrations from as early as the 13th, late 15th, and 16th centuries, and textual descriptions from much earlier. A great source of documentation if you read French. Highly recommended. (I intend to do some translations and put them on this website eventually)
- The Embroideries of North Africa by Caroline Stone. Longman Group Limited, Harlow Essex, 1985. ISBN 0-582-78371-2
- This book covers Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Most of the
photographs are excellent and well-reproduced, with the weave of the
cloth and the stitches visible. There is also a chapter on embroidery
stitches. Although most of the contents come from the 18th, 19th, and
20th centuries, they are visually striking, and useful for your costume,
even if not documentable for Arts & Sciences competitions. Highly recommended to embroiderers.
- Maroc-costumes-broderies-brocarts (on cover). le costume marocain (on first page). abc collection (on back of dust jacket), ABC DÈcor (on last page). 1974. No ISBN.
- The book is entirely in French. It has no title page and no page behind it with publisher and copyright information. The last page in the book has a list of info, such as the name of the printer, the binder, the photogravure, and a copyright holder (C.P.I.P., Paris).
The text, which is insufficient, begins in the 16th century. The costumes in the fairly recently taken photographs are mostly from the 19th and early 20th century. The Moroccan brocades (primarily from Fez) are breathtaking, although the quality of the photo-reproduction is terrible. It was overpriced, but it's hard to find books on the subject. Not recommended.
- Moroccan Silk Designs in Full Color, edited by Lucien Vogel. Dover Books, Mineola NY, 1996. ISBN 0-486-29255-X
- Consists of 45 plates from the orig. Les Soieries Marocaines: Les Ceintures de FËs, no pub. date known. The plates show close-up photos of brocaded belts, most likely from the late 19th or early 20th century. But the brocades of Fez are a marvel - each belt is usually a combination of several patterns, each in a couple different colorways. These close-up pictures do not show any complete belts. The patterns are adaptable to embroidery, appliquÈ, and decorative painting, the colors are striking, and the book is inexpensive.
- Palestinian Costume by Jehan Rajab. Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1989. ISBN 0-7103-0283-5
- An excellent book on this topic, covering primarily the 19th and 20th centuries, with details on individual village styles, jewelry, and embroidery stitches and motifs. Great photos of actual costumes. Recommended.
- The Art of Palestinian Embroidery by Leila el Khalidi. Saqi Books, London, 1999. ISBN 0-86356-038-5
- A labor of love by a Palestinian woman, with a limited number of black and white photos and an excellent and well developed section on embroider motifs. I'm sure that many of these motifs date from "SCA period", although you won't find any documentation here. Recommended to embroiderers with a Middle Eastern focus.
- Palms and Pomegranates: Traditional Dress of Saudi Arabia N.D.
- A booklet from a traveling exhibit (1987-1989) sponsored by the U.S. Committe for Saudi Arabian Cultural Heritage. I saw it in Los Angeles in August of 1988. Besides photographs of complete women's costumes from the various regions of Saudi Arabia, the booklet includes a glossary and bibliography. I don't know if this is still available, but the address for the committee is:
The U.S. Committe for Saudi Arabian Cultural Heritage
Suite 200, 655 Fifteenth Street N.W.
Washington D.C. 20005
- The Fabric of Tradition by Heather Colyer Ross. In Aramco World, September-October 1987.
- Photos of more costumes than are in the above booklet. The captions frequently assure Muslim readers that "All photography was done in the United States on Western models". Two photos that grabbed me the most are one of a dress and veil encrusted with folky beadwork and the other of a headcloth with patterns composed of appliquÈs and white shell buttons. The text is by the author of a book on Saudi Arabian costume, one of which is listed below, and one on Saudi Arabian jewelry.
- Skilled Hands, Designing Hearts by John Topham. Ibid.
- This essay, by a former American Aramco employee, covers his collection of artifacts, featuring some fascinating Arabian slit-tapestry weaving, from his book Traditional Crafts of Saudi Arabia. (side note: slit-tapestry weaving is not difficult and can be done on a small frame - it's just somewhat time consuming - the photos are good enough that if you weave, you could reproduce some of the patterns.)
I purchased this magazine at the Arabian costume exhibit. It also includes two interesting essays on old Saudi urban architecture with many photographs. Again, I don't know if it's still available, but you can contact Aramco:
Aramco Corporation
Suite 1200, 1667 K Street N.W.
Washington D.C. 20006
Also, according to an e-mail message of 1995, which is much more recent than 1987 when the magazine I have was printed, you can write to:
Aramco World
P.O. Box 469008
Escondido, CA 92046-9008
and request a *free* subscription to the journal, since it's published by the Saudi oil company.
- The Art of Arabian Costume: A Saudi Arabian Profile by Heather Colyer Ross. Arabesque SA, Montreux Switzerland, 1981, 1994. ISBN 0-88734-640-5
- The photos, taken in Saudi Arabia, are of models in costumes,
not real Saudis, because Muslim law is strictly observed in Saudi Arabia
(unlike much of the rest of the Muslim world). The text has good
information about the various peoples and regions of Saudi Arabia. There
are men's as well as women's costumes detailed, although the focus of
the book is women's costume. Many garments are diagrammed so you can
draft your own patterns. One chapter is illustrated with some rather
fanciful drawings of costumes, which is frustrating, as I'd rather see
the real thing. Although the costumes are primarily from the 20th
century, many of the shapes are those that have lasted through the
centuries. There's no real historical documentation here, but this book
may be helpful for figuring out a shape or cutting diagram for something
actually from between 600 and 1600. There are also some pretty good
closeup photos of embroidery and other surface decorations and there's
an appendix on embroidery stitches, detailing their uses, and typical
colors employed. Overpriced, but one of the few sources of information
on this region.
- Women's Costume of the Near and Middle East by Jennifer Scarce. Unwin Hyman, London, 1987. ISBN 0-7007-0344-6
- The title is misleading, as the book covers essentially the
costumes of the Ottoman Empire, with only a few limited forays into
other Near and Middle Eastern cultures. There is a brief chapter on
Byzantium, and one on Central Asia, with some very interesting photos of
costumes found in archaeological sites dating back to the 5th C. BCE
and the 2nd C. BCE. And the book finishes with a limited chapter on
Persia and Afghanistan. But the body of the text focuses on the Osmali
Turks from the 15th century onward, as they gradually spread their
control over a vast area from North Africa to East Europe to Central
Asia. This is is "late period" for SCA purposes. It is illustrated with
historical paintings, photos of people in their own clothing, photos of
surviving cosutmes, and layout diagrams for recreating some of these
garments. Useful if you're interested in Turkish garb.
- Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World by Wendy Buonaventura. Interlink Books, Brooklyn NY, 1994. ISBN 1-56656-117-5
- While it contains little that is "SCA period", this is a
fabulous book about the history of "belly dance" and its interface with
Europe and the modernizing world. Includes issues such as exoticization.
It is fairly clear that bare bellies appear primarily for the benefit
of European men and in European paintings of women and dancers, and the
only time they show, the dancers appear to be of "questionable morals".
Since most women danced, these bare-bellied women are the exception
rather than the norm. Naked abdomens don't seem to appear much in their
Middle Eastern context until after the 2nd quarter of the 20th century.
The text also describes how what we think of as belly dance today
developed largely from the adaptation, of European Orientalizing femmes
fatales and Hollywood images, by an innovative Egyptian woman beginning
in the 1920's. Highly recommended for the fantastic art and the great text, which dispells many myths.
- Fashion at the Center of the World by Veleda of Isenfir (Everson). Moongate Designs, Canton MI, 1986.
- A useful research project by an SCA member. Describing the
culture of Byzantium, in what is now the western part of Turkey, it
covers the 5th through 12th centuries. No color pictures, but many
useful drawings of people in costume (many from Mary Houston, Herbert
Norris, and Blanche Payne) and diagrams for garments. My persona, as a
9th century Maghribi, would probably have worn a Roman/Byzantine style
dalmatica with clavii, too, according to BelkaÔd in Algéroises. Was available from various SCA vendors.
- For Persian costume, see my Calligraphy and Illumination bibliography and links pages, coming soon.
- Costume Patterns and Designs by Max Tilke. Has been
through several different publications - my copy is from Verlag Ernst
Wasmuth, T¸bingen Germany, N.D. - I purchased it in 1971.
- This is a fabulous book for those interested in the "folk" and
traditional costumes of North Africa, Europe, and Asia. The drawings are
scaled and schematized so that you can draft from them. While the
information was collected in the late 19th and early 20th century, the
shapes of many garments have changed little over the centuries. While it
cannot be used by itself to document authentic costume, it is a useful
adjunct when combined with "period" art, "period" textual descriptions,
and rare surviving textiles and clothing pieces. Be forewarned that the
sections on ancient Middle Eastern (i.e. Mesopotamia), historic
European, and traditional Native North and South American costume are
not very good. Unfortunately out of print. Highly recommended! If you find a copy you can afford, snatch it up.
- Costumes of the East by Walter A. Fairservis, Jr.
The Museum of Natural History, Chatham Press Inc., Riverside CT, 1971.
prior to ISBN numbers, it has SBN 85699-028-0
- Has fuzzy photos of costumes on display from Eastern Europe (with only one dress from Turkey) to Siberia and Japan. Has one or two each of Arabic, Syrian, Palestinian, Iraqi, Iranian, and Afghan costumes. Has some useful generalizations about traditional clothing from the not-too-distant past. Not recommended, but, hey, I bought this book when it came out, which was a long time ago - just want to warn you, but if it's all you can find, well...
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