Cheat sheet for identifying era of dress styles is perfect for cosplay and drawing reference

This timeline will help you create and identify dresses from any time period like a pro.

Sometimes the goal of a cosplay is to be low-quality and hilarious, like the man who dressed up as Goku’s kamehameha beam at the recent Comiket. But other times the cosplayer wants to be as accurate as possible, and when it comes to dresses, it can be hard to pin down exactly which styles were from which time periods.

Thankfully Japanese Twitter user @genjihikaru recently posted a handy cheat sheet for identifying which era certain dress styles are from, and it has exploded in popularity. You can take a look at it here: (translation below)

▼ “I put together a general timeline of dress styles in this illustration.
Each era is unique and wonderful.”

【ドレスの歴史まとめてみた】だいぶざっくり 今まで描いたドレスのイラストで、知っておくとちょっと便利なドレスの歴史をまとめてみました！どの時代のドレスも個性的でステキです。 https://t.co/C01uZPt2cS

—
花園あずき◆1/6麗しのドレス図鑑発売 (@genjihikaru) January 03, 2017

Top Row
Gothic Era
Renaissance
Baroque Era
1492: Discovery of America
1558: Coronation of Elizabeth I
1588: Destruction of Spanish Armada

Middle Row
Rococo Era
Empire Style
1760: British Industrial Revolution
1775: American Revolutionary War
1789: French Revolution
1804: Coronation of Napoleon
1814: Congress of Vienna

Bottom Row
Romantic Style
Crinoline Style
Bustle Style
Art Nouveau
1830: July Revolution
1848: March Revolution
1851: Great Exhibition in London
1861: American Civil War
1901: Paris Exhibition

I’m not even super interested in dresses, but that’s a pretty cool timeline. Seeing the evolution of styles, especially how the bottom halves go from small to big to small to big to small in and out like an accordion is pretty amazing.

@genjihikaru has also put out a book of dress illustrations, which they encouraged people who were interested in the timeline to take a look at.

▼ “If seeing this has made you interested in the history of dresses, then check out my book available on Amazon! I hope it will help you enjoy your dress lifestyle.”

@genjihikaru これを見て興味が湧いた方、もっと詳しく知りたい方は、1月6日発売の『イラストでわかる 麗しのドレス図鑑』（マール社）をぜひチェックしてみてください！皆様の幸福なドレス生活の助けになれば幸いです。… http://twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

—
花園あずき◆1/6麗しのドレス図鑑発売 (@genjihikaru) January 03, 2017

▼ The book includes full-color drawings which could
prove helpful for cosplay and drawing references.

Amazon Japan

Here’s how Japanese Twitter reacted to the drawings:

“Ooh, so Zelda in Ocarina of Time was wearing an Elizabethan Era dress?”
“I never knew dress styles changed so much throughout history.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I want to try them all on.”
“Oh man, I am all about that early Renaissance Era style.”

Now we just have one question: what era are these Disney and Pokémon dresses from?

Source: Twitter/@genjihikaru
Top/featured image: Amazon Japan

Credit: