Dr. Doran’s Habits and Men is a discursive, anecdote-rich history of dress and the people who made and wore it, playing on the double meaning of “habits” as both garments and customs. Ranging widely across European history, Doran gathers curious records of tailors, fashions, and the social manners bound up with clothing.
A celebrated popular historian, Doran writes with wit and a fondness for the odd detail, treating costume as a thread through human folly and vanity. The book mixes serious history with entertaining digression. For readers who enjoy social history told in anecdote, this lively study is offered here as a free EPUB download.