I expected this is to be a coffee-table book but the gorgeous colour plates are supported by a well-researched narrative which draws on original sources to offer a rounded portrait of Tudor elite and courtly dress. Lynn starts by deconstructing the familiar costumes to look beneath the surface layers, and also explores the support necessary for the rich apparel favoured by Tudor monarchs: launderers, tailors, seamstresses, dyers and so on. 

The chapter on dress as a code for regal authority and monarchical authorisation is perhaps the most familiar as it offers an abbreviated version of a story that has been more deeply explored elsewhere. There is, though, some excellent material on the shift of fashions between Henry VII, the first Tudor king, and Elizabeth, the last. 

The wider story that takes in the international trade in alum (a dye fixative), the influence of the French court on English culture (especially during Henry VIII's reign when he was so competitive with Francis I), and some of the gender complications ushered in by Elizabeth and her long reign are all given a specific slant in relation to their impact on dress and fashion. 

The final chapter rounds things off nicely with a look at why so many Tudor costumes disappeared in history and what became of some of them. 

The illustrations are lush and diverse, with some glorious close-ups on portraits and some material objects which have survived. Anyone interested in the Tudor court, the history of fashion, or just intrigued by the few costumes, gloves, jewellery and accessories that have survived in the V&A, the Buckingham Palace galleries and places like Hampton Court will love this book.