Textiles Studies
Date of this Version
2002
Document Type
Article
Citation
Journal of the American Oriental Society 122.3 (2002)
Abstract
Arab Dress: A Short History, From the Dawn of Islam to Modem Times. By YADIDA KALFON STILLMAN. Edited by NORMAN A. STILLMAN. Themes in Islamic Studies, vol. 2. Leiden: BRILL, 2000. Pp. xxxii + 240, plates, figs.
Billowing folds, exquisite pleats, tightly wound turbans, flowing burqas, short square kerchiefs-the dramatic drapery of Islamic fashion fills the quiet spaces of our daily news coverage; yet the garments illustrated and their significance often pass without verbal notice. Little would Yedida Stillman ever have anticipated the widespread presence of the Islamic vestimentary system in Western media a short three years after her death in 1998. Preserving and honoring her memory, her dedicated collaborator-husband, Norman A. Stillman, has edited her most important work, Arab Dress: A Short History. And more is promised to come. A veritable treasure trove of information about Arab dress, culled from a wide range of textual sources (academic references, as well as manuscripts in Arabic, Hebrew, and JudeoArabic), this book also draws upon several visual resources and ethnographic studies in the Arab world. Focusing primarily on the extensive vocabulary in Arabic for items of dress (somewhat akin to the Eskimo's fascination with snow), this book offers much attention to detail, but as its subtitle suggests, the subject is ever more vast and the need for its study is much greater than can be accommodated in a short history.
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