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The Costume-Book of Social Identity...

Cesare Vecellio was an engraver, painter and author, born near Venice and lived 1530-1601. Originally published in 1590 (with a new edition including clothing from the 'New World' in 1598), Vecellio's Habiti Antichi et Moderni  comprises of prints and descriptions of the 'costumes' worn by Early Modern men and women from a variety of regions, occupations, eras, cultures and socio-economic classes. Vecellio's book is a reminder to the modern viewer that for Early Modern people, clothing provided more than mere warmth and concealment, but revealed a great deal of one's identity, as well as reinforcing social, gender, and regional boundaries. 

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NOTE: This is an English Translation by Margaret F. Rosenthal and Anna Rosalind Jones (2008). The original was published in Latin and Vernacular Italian.