Fashion is about the body. The first book to reflect this truism, The Anatomy of Fashion is the ultimate guide to how we dress, why we look the way we do and how this has changed over time. One of the world´s leading fashion commentators, Colin McDowell, breaks fashion down into specific parts of the body, examining in detail how each has been clothed. He uses this novel arrangement to map out the different considerations that influenced clothes in the past and still do so today. In a series of essays on major themes and looks in fashion, McDowell also explores how the separate elements of fashion fit together, showing how anatomical and historical influences have interacted to shape the way we dress. This unique approach enables McDowell to paint a broad and accessible picture of the forces at work in the creation and development not just of clothing, but of all aspects of appearance.