"A short book, and an easy read that adds a fresh perspective to studies of global history, colonialism, economic development, military history, and the history of costume." Journal of Interdisciplinary History "No longer viewed as inconsequential, clothing has much to tell historians. Clothing fits very neatly within this new historiography." Journal of Social History "A model work of synthesis - lucid, lively, accessible, globally informed, stuffed with rich and fascinating examples, making good use of theory and comparison, and approaching its topic from economic, political, social and cultural points of view." Peter Burke, University of Cambridge "Robert Ross admirably weaves the history of dress into the broader contours of modernization and the rise and fall of western imperialism. Clothing offers the reader insights into the power of bodily adornment, both as a tool of western hegemony, and as a potential symbolic medium for nationalist aspirations of the colonized." John Mackey, Birmingham University