Mara Riley has been interested in historic costume for as long as she can remember. She has undergraduate degrees from Mary Washington College in History and Religion. She is a database manager and lives in Waldorf, MD with her husband, two dogs, and an increasingly large collection of costume books and fabric.

Mara's recently published book, Whatever Shall I Wear: A Beginner's Guide to Assembling a Basic 18th Century Woman's Costume, is available from Graphics/Fine Arts Press.