In the Preface of the 5th Edition of Survey of Historic Costume, Tortora and Eubank concludewith the following: In the history of dress at the beginning of the 21st century,costume might be compared to a constantly moving river. This river divides into many narrowerchannels that separate, cross, come together, and separate again, and yet that rivercontinually moves on. Building on the previous editions, the authors update their analysisof Western dress to 2008. With each new edition some elements of the title change. Andthose changes provide an opportunity to focus on some aspect that adds to the usefulnessof this best seller. Survey of Historic Costume has, from its beginnings, taken seriously theneed to accompany the text with appropriate illustrations and the major change in the 5thEdition is the move to full color throughout the book to enrich the text and the concepts.Perfect for anyone interested in historic costume, fashion, textiles, drama, and design, thisbeautifully illustrated book is full of interesting facts and commentary.