Of all the riches of the sixteenth-century European nobleman, none spoke more powerfully of his heroism,wealth and taste than his armour, clothing and weapons. Drawing on the V+A`s popular arms and armour collection, Angus Patterson looks at the suits designed to kill, protect and impress. From parade suits, lavishly embossed and gilded, decorated with plumes of ostrich feathers and draped with colourful silk sashes, to swords, daggers, pistols and gunpowder flasks, detailed new photograpy, paintings and sculpture bring the fashion of armour to life and move armour and weapons from the armoury to the wardrobe.