From BBC television and radio presenter Amber Butchart, The Fashion Chronicles is an exploration of 100 of the most fascinating style stories ever told. From Eve's fig leaf to Hilary Clinton's pantsuit, the way we choose to clothe our bodies can carry layer upon layer of meaning. Across cultures and throughout history people have used clothing to signify power and status, to adorn and beautify, even to prop up or dismantle regimes. Here, explore the best-dressed figures in history, from Cleopatra to Beyoncé, Joan of Arc to RuPaul. Some have influenced the fashion of today, while some have used their clothing to change the world. But all have a sartorial story to tell. Entries include: Tutankhamun Boudicca Eleanor of Acquitane Genghis Khan King Philip II of Spain King Louis XIV of France Catherine the Great Marie Antoinette Karl Marx Amelia Earhart Josephine Baker Frida Kahlo Malcolm X Marsha Hunt Beyoncé Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ...and many more

The priorities of medieval chroniclers and historians were not those of the modern historian, nor was the way that they gathered, arranged and presented evidence. Yet if we understand how they approached their task, and their assumption of God's immanence in the world, much that they wrote becomes clear. Many of them were men of high intelligence whose interpretation of events sheds clear light on what happened. Christopher Given-Wilson is one of the leading authorities on medieval English historical writing. He examines how medieval writers such as Ranulf Higden and Adam Usk treated chronology and geography, politics and warfare, heroes and villains. He looks at the ways in which chronicles were used during the middle ages, and at how the writing of history changed between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.

In 1666, King Charles II felt it necessary to reform Englishmen's dress by introducing a fashion that developed into the three-piece suit. We learn what inspired this royal revolution in masculine attire--and the reasons for its remarkable longevity--in David Kuchta's engaging and handsomely illustrated account. Between 1550 and 1850, Kuchta says, English upper- and middle-class men understood their authority to be based in part upon the display of masculine character: how they presented themselves in public and demonstrated their masculinity helped define their political legitimacy, moral authority, and economic utility. Much has been written about the ways political culture, religion, and economic theory helped shape ideals and practices of masculinity. Kuchta allows us to see the process working in reverse, in that masculine manners and habits of consumption in a patriarchal society contributed actively to people's understanding of what held England together. Kuchta shows not only how the ideology of modern English masculinity was a self-consciously political and public creation but also how such explicitly political decisions and values became internalized, personalized, and naturalized into everyday manners and habits.

Analyses the principal Irish chronicles and proposes that the chroniclers were in contact with each other, exchanging written notices of events. Reconstructs the contents and chronology at different times, showing how the accounts were altered to reflect and promote certain views of history.

This is a standard reference for anyone who is interested in the history of essential fashion accessory – the hat. The hats always were used to protect, to express identity, to express identity, and to attract or to influence others. Main developments in the timeline of hats from ancient past to modern present, including the phenomenon of the must-have accessory covering the top of the head.