The ''Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion'' is an encyclopedia about

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that co ...

and ornamentation of the body in different cultures throughout history. It explores themes of personal and social identity related to the universal activity of dressing one's self. Its ten volumes are dedicated to describing and interpreting dress and fashion in different places throughout the world, and are organized geographically. The last volume reviews the global perspectives through research and study of the present-day and the future of dress and fashion.''Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion''
at

Disseny Hub Barcelona The Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (Catalan, English: "Barcelona Design Museum"), is a center for Barcelona's Institute of Culture, which works to promote better understanding and good use of the design world, acting as a museum and laboratory. It ...

Description

Composed of 760 articles and written by more than 600 international experts, it includes multidisciplinary and pluricultural perspectives that allow us to understand the richness and complexity of dress in all of its manifestations. The definitions of dress, apparel and fashion are the starting point and the principal focus of the various contributions: dress is analyzed as a body modification, apparel is connected to history or the exhibition in a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, and fashion corresponds to the changes related to body alterations and ornamentation, over short periods of time.

Prizes and awards

The ''Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion'' was awarded with the

Dartmouth Medal The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year. History Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a priv ...

for the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, in 2011. This prize is awarded to reference works (dictionaries, encyclopedias, image banks, etc.) by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

and it was the first time, that an award has been given to a work in the design sector. It has also been the recipient of an Award at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011 and the Best Web 2011 prize by FutureBook bookstore.

References

2010 non-fiction books English-language encyclopedias History of clothing History of fashion Fashion websites Specialized encyclopedias {{encyclopaedia-stub