This volume positions itself as a beginning to expand the view of "fashion history" to more of a global position. It's scholarly but not unreadably dense or full of unfamiliar jargon (they spend a chunk at the beginning defining the terms they will use to talk about their topics). It's not a long book, but it's a big book and an eye-opening book for scholars of dress and adornment who might have been unaware of their own presumptions.