“…What role has social decorum played in developing an 'English' style, and is this preoccupation with etiquette in fact unique to England ? With chapters authored by leading scholars in the fields of costume history, social history and cultural studies, this is the first book to examine the ways in which fashion and dress might be considered in the context of national identities as they apply in England. …”

“…He has convincingly explored the nature and limits of the common ground that can be identified between the Anglican, and then Catholic, Newman writing in Victorian times, and the Italian Protestant exile Peter Martyr Vermigli writing in Tudor England. A journey across such a timespan might seem unlikely to prove fruitful. . . . …”