showing the change in fashion across the period, with crucial details of the construction, accurately drawn to scale. These books are regarded highly by museums, theatres, reenactment groups and students. She went on to write A Handbook of Costume in 1973, a comprehensive guide to research sources in the topic of costume study.

She helped ensure the accuracy of costumes for film and television, as well as ensure that museums had accurate replicas of outfits. During the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Arnold worked on her opus Queen