Fashion Books

This is the best reference book out there, hands-down, bar-none, for those in the field of crafts artisanship. It is an indispensable bible of fantastic resources and, despite its high price tag, i highly recommend that anyone interested in costume construction buy it ASAP, PDQ! It was published in 2004, after years of grant-sponsored research and development, and thus may be the most up-to-date resource of its kind in the field of costume production.

It's divided into two halves, the first half comprised of materials and safety information, and the second half devoted to process explanation and documentation.

The first half covers an enormous range of products, divided by purpose (paint, adhesive, dye, etc.), type (cold process dye, acid dye, disperse dye, etc.), brand name, and so forth, and then goes on to test the efficacy of the product in a variety of situations (washfastness, lightfastness, dry-cleanability, etc.).

Moss lists proper protective equipment for all potentially dangerous materials, clean up information, and warnings if applicable (i.e. "Do not clean up with bleach!") She worked with industrial health and safety advocate Monona Rossol to make absolutely sure that the information in the book was vetted for safe process instruction. The book would be worth its weight in gold as a reference volume just on the strength of the first half alone. The second half, however, is the gravy on the biscuit.

The second half is a compendium of an enormous number of specific costumes--walkaround mascots, monsters, masks, wings, crowns, body padding, armor--with precise information on how they were built, often with process shots, original design renderings, construction methodology, and tips from the artisans who made them. Some you will recognize from film and television, theatre, dance, advertising, all kinds of sources. There is no better insight into the costume engineering process than reading about how someone has done something and seeing steps along the way. Many incredible-looking costumes are demystified--once you read the process outlay, you may frequently find yourself thinking, "Hey, I could do that!" or "Wow, so THAT'S what they used!"

Seriously, i cannot sing enough praise about the quality and scope of this textbook; don't be scared off by the title--it's not full of equations and molecules! It's a wealth of amazing, helpful, illuminative information for costume engineers, both veteran and aspiring. (Can you tell this is one of my required textbooks?)

This very lavish book is an wonderful reference for any student of Indian costume and textiles. Many wonderful color photographs show the interaction of textiles and costume in India. The text has a great deal of information about the historical development of sewn clothing across India. A very useful book!

This is dramatic history, hidden in the very creases of our jeans. As I kid on a farm, I picked cotton for my cousins and farmer families in the little known cotton kingdom of Florida; Santa Rosa County. The picking machines were just coming into play and school kids were being forced out of a labor niche to go save America from communism in Southeast Asia. We were further displaced to corporate America where few could relate to an ice cold jug of water at the end of a long row of cotton. The machines gained. The successful farmers became family corporate enterprises and bulked up with acreage and machinery. Between cotton and peanuts, the farming businessmen now make very good livings for themselves and many more whom they employ.
This book helped me to spin the story of my own youth into the yarn of America and the world. It should be a movie .. or better yet, a 5 part Discovery Channel series. The history channel is so stuck on war features, it may miss the huge story of war in this book because of its unasuming title. This is a book that every person in the cotton business should read and one that every student of world history and American history should read.
I hope to spread the word in my own blogs from me3tv.com.

Betty Cavanna is a very talented author. The Country Cousin is a lovely story of a young girl who is trying to find herself. She is taken under the wing of a spirited cousin who teaches her to trust and love herself. A marvelous story.

I love fashion books, primarily for the photos, but also for the content. This book has both. Anthropology was one of my college majors, and this book is somewhat of an anthropological guide to couture fashion in Canada -- but believe me, it is not boring! The photos are gorgeous, and the information contained in the book should be of interest to any fashion enthusiast.

I love all of joy Shih's books.... they are filled with gorgeous photos and great info!!! For a fabric collector this is a must!

I read this book in my reading class for a reading assignment. I liked the book a lot. That's why I rated it for five stars. It was really entertaining and the whole book kept me in suspense. I liked how the author wrote it.I can't type anymore because this school's keyboard is messed up.

Anyone who has more than a passing interest in cowboy boots will have seen Tyler Beard's books: The Cowboy Boot Book and The Art of the Boot. Beard writes a fascinating story about the history and culture of boots, but the color photographs of the boots by photographer Jim Arndt really MAKE these books. Now it is possible to get a collection of Arndt's boot photographs in a handy-dandy paperback book of post card sized photographs. They are drop-dead gorgeous by a great photographer who also loves boots. Of course the individual post card photographs can be detached to send to special people, but I'd recommend getting two copies. Some to send and a copy to keep! Buy this book, but try not to lick the pages!

One might argue that a cruising sailboat doesn't need and wouldn't benefit from a woman's touch. And I'd have to agree with you, your boat will sail on just fine without it. It'll sail on just fine without a woman too and I know some cruising sailors who have made that decision, some cruising writers too. However, in my opinion it's just better if you have a woman aboard and if like most of us, you do, then Janet Groene has written an essential book for her. One that will help you and your mate turn your floating home into a real home.

A note here: I am one of those guys who is currently sailing alone, but that does not mean I'm not looking. Plus, I'm the kind of guy who likes a homey looking boat, so even though I don't have a woman on board at the moment, I am making use of this fine book.

This entire crochet collection by Columbia Minerva is classic sixties Chanel-like suits, coats and sheath
dresses that will leave you breathless with it's high style. If you want to express the 'Jacqueline Kennedy-
Onassis' era with a crochet hook then this is the collection to do it. I feel giddy with the priviledge running
accross this collection by chance. If you see this collection again, grab it!