Inside the Wardrobe of Anne Boleyn - Barbara Parker Bell

I fancied something a bit historical I absolutely Love history when it comes to the kings and queens of England so i picked up this book.


so Glad i did!


It took me on a historical Journey though the legacy that is the whole "Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII"


I love history and visiting any costume museums or exhibitions. I am fascinated by the way that the clothes were made and adorned in the past. This book was particularly interesting to read because it tells you about the day to day running of the royal wardrobe. You read about the "accounts" kept and the money owed to various seamstresses for the making of different "parts" of a garment, for example; a bill for 2 pairs of sleeves with matching bodices in yellow and red', another bill for the seed pearls and gold thread to decorate them.
In "mixing and matching" different parts of 'A dress' this way, it gave the impression that the owner had many different outfits when in-fact she probably only owned 4 basic underskirts, 6 pair of sleeves, 4 bodices and 4 overskirts that could all be swopped around and changed creating a whole new 'look' each time.
Anne of course had a vast wardrobe and we read of an account entry for '9 diamonds and some emeralds' given to her by Henry to decorate a band worn across the forehead under her 'french cap' (head dress).
Strangely these little details really bought her to life.