Not only was Mr Wenceslaus Hollar one of the foremost engravers of his time, and his depiction of London before the great fire invaluable, but he also bit of awesomeness called Women's Fashions of the 17th Century.

This work was not commissioned, (as far as I can find in my not so thorough research) he just had a fascination with women's fashion and because of him we have an idea of what the finest threads were back then. It was hundreds of years later, in the 19th century when magazine finally began depicting drawings of the latest styles.

This site has sixteen of these great illustrations for you viewing pleasure, reprinted from English Costume: Tudor and Stuart by Dion Clayton Calthrop.

Boldly wikipedia claims ” No one that ever lived has been able to represent fur, or shells, or a butterfly's wing as he has done.”

See more: Style Icons: Male

Posted on September 1, 2008