Costumes Books

Another wonderful walk through fashion history. "Deco" is a very worthy sucessor to Sue Langley's "Jazz", continuing through the second half of the twenties. Pictures were wonderful, and the text bubbled with delicious historical commentary. This book was even more special as I attended a show and signing in Manhattan where I could see the clothes closeup and hear all kinds of tidbits of the fashion trade. Wonderful - I look forward to whatever Sue Langley's next book!

Roaring '20's Fashions by Susan Langley is just wonderful. She has gone the extra mile by showing the advertisement or sketch and then showing an actual item that is as close to if not identical to the ad. I always looked at the magazine ads and wondered what the actual garment or accessory really looked like. Now I know. I will gleefully await her next book! The photographs are done well (good angles and lighting)and her commentary is lively. I would recommend to one and all! And I have.

The Roaring '20s Fashions Deco is a delightful book. A step into the world of Fitzgerald. Well written & researched and great photography

I agree with the comments of a reviewer of the author's companion book, "Roaring '20s Fashions: Jazz." Buy this book for the photos, which are excellent. Unfortunately, the text has been poorly edited, with an overabundance of exclamation marks and capital letters rendering the content and captions somewhat amateurish and even silly at times. The use of period photos and fashion illustrations, in addition to the great photos of the vintage clothing, make this book a worthy purchase.

I loved Ms. Langley's vintage hat book so well I was amost afraid to be disappointed by her new books on the Roaring 20s - I shouldn't have been. She truly surpassed herself with books that transcend the category of collecter's books. Yes, this book is organized and comprehensive. The clothes are fabulous and the photos of them due them justice. The fashion plates and advertisements are beautiful and greatly entertaining enhancements placing the clothing in context of the times. I must admit my favorite part of the book is the vintage photographs which along with the loving and witty narrative breathe a life and tenderness into this book that raises it far above a collector's guide.

At age 17 I wrote to Rudi Gernreich, imploring him to let me work for him & sending him my own futuristic fashion designs. I never heard back, of course; why would an iconoclast need imput from a teenager? This man prefigured so much that happened in later decades that most of what he did still looks cutting edge today. He saw himself as being a few years ahead of his time. More like a few deades. David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust owes more than a bit to Rudi's unisex designs, up to & including the shaved eyebrows. The look was startling & alien in 1973, imagine how it looked in psychedelic era 60s! Peggy Moffit's book is a godsend, & she is a Pop Icon extraordinaire. The future hasn't been nearly as groovy as Gernreich envisioned, but this book offers a glimpse of what it might have been. He was a true visionary.

I was given this book by my best friend, who thought I would like it. Love it is more like it, this man who I was dying for information on was a genius, artistic, innovative... Truly for those who are fashion mavericks and trend-setters. This book finally brings Rudi to light, by a dear friend of his and is written from an insiders point of view. It also tells the story of an artist trying to create in the commercial world. The topless bathing suit, trompe d'oeil in fashion, ohh and those clever sunglass that are round on one side and square on the other... Not to mention is introduction of PVC and knee socks back in the 60's - all Rudi's. Incredible photography (Peggy Moffat's husband rounded out their collaborative trio as the photographer). This book will inspire as you revel at how Rudi, a master of form and shape, comfort and style, with his deft imagination and sense of style just created movements in fashion that flow through to what you see on the street to the haute couture. He has been underground for so long yet is long overdue for this showing as he has a had a PROFOUND influence on fashion and everyone who sees the book cannot put it down. For [the price] it is a steal too. This is a book to cherish and hang out with when you need some inspiration. He is much why the 60's was considered modernist. Incredibly glamourous celeb pics such as the one of Barbara Streisand appear in all her glory as well as pieces on adrongny (wayy ahead of his time) and the rejoicement of one within their own body. Rudi was far far ahead of us all and I believe will become better known as time passes. This is a bittersweet book about Rudi and his muse, Peggy and her husband. Three people with immense imagination that together made it in this world without compromising. Makes a great gift, everyone I have given it to just adores it. Forget all about the vintage designers, he was a driving force in the 60's. He took those terrible frumpy looks and threw them out and looked at women as strong, beautiful creatures as they are and gave them a right to look gorgeous. This book is not about beauty in a conventional sense, it really really sets you free. Afterall, he boldly rejected the mainstream concept of women's old big skirted fashion and started all new styles, ones with his unique perception making stunning and hip fashion accessible to all. Rudi really was a fashion heavy - this remarkable book should not be missed.

Peggy Moffitt, with her raccoon eyes and pigeon toed stance, and Rudi Gernreich, one of fashion's most unknown innovators of the 60s, are lovingly profiled in this book by Moffitt, Gernreich's friend, model and muse. The photographs are by William Claxton, Moffitt's husband, who is well known for his jazz photos, in particular those of Chet Baker. From the topless bathing suit to the thong bikini; from the unisex look to men's styled underwear for women, Moffitt covers all of the fashion innovations of Gernreich that we now take for granted today. In full color and black and white photos, this book spans the creative, exciting and futuristic career of a fashion genius who was ahead of his time and has left an indelible mark on the world.

Until I read this book, I had no idea how many important contributions Rudi Gernreich made to fashion. He was a maverick in his day. His designs were so advanced, even for the wild-child sixties, that they still seem fresh. In fact, I recognized many current trends in these photos. This is largely a "picture book" with vintage publicity and advertising photos by William Claxton, as taken throughout the sixties. They're mostly modeled by Peggy Moffitt (she was also an innovator in her field, with amazing eye makeup). This book opens with an overview of Gernreich's career, and a really comprehensive essay about his most famous designs (like the topless bathing suit). It's a wonderful read, both entertaining and informative.

I was given this book by my best friend, who thought I would like it. Love it is more like it, this man who I was dying for information on was a genius, artistic, innovative... Truly for those who are fashion mavericks and trend-setters. This book finally brings Rudi to light, by a dear friend of his and is written from an insiders point of view. It also tells the story of an artist trying to create in the commercial world. The topless bathing suit, trompe d'oeil in fashion, ohh and those clever sunglass that are round on one side and square on the other... Not to mention is introduction of PVC and knee socks back in the 60's - all Rudi's. Incredible photography (Peggy Moffat's husband rounded out their collaborative trio as the photographer). This book will inspire as you revel at how Rudi, a master of form and shape, comfort and style, with his deft imagination and sense of style just created movements in fashion that flow through to what you see on the street to the haute couture. He has been underground for so long yet is long overdue for this showing as he has a had a PROFOUND influence on fashion and everyone who sees the book cannot put it down. For a little over $20 it is a steal too. This is a book to cherish and hang out with when you need some inspiration. He is much why the 60's was considered modernist. Incredibly glamourous celeb pics such as the one of Barbara Streisand appear in all her glory as well as pieces on adrongny (wayy ahead of his time) and the rejoicement of one within their own body. Rudi was far far ahead of us all and I believe will become better known as time passes. This is a bittersweet book about Rudi and his muse, Peggy and her husband. Three people with immense imagination that together made it in this world without compromising. Makes a great gift, everyone I have given it to just adores it. Forget all about the vintage designers, he was a driving force in the 60's. He took those terrible frumpy looks and threw them out and looked at women as strong, beautiful creatures as they are and gave them a right to look gorgeous. This book is not about beauty in a conventional sense, it really really sets you free. Afterall, he boldly rejected the mainstream concept of women's old big skirted fashion and started all new styles, ones with his unique perception making stunning and hip fashion accessible to all. Rudi really was a fashion heavy - this remarkable book should not be missed.

Whether you sew doll clothes or Victorian costumes, this book is the best resource to have! It covers the entire Victorian era, describing the chosen costumes in great detail. It discusses the general shapes of each period, what undergarments were used, what fabrics were popular, what details to add, what accessories to use.

There is a wonderful section on handsewing, showing you how to use period sewing techniques, plus sewing specific to the Victorian period, such as piping. Another section shows you how to finish your seams -- French seams, flat felling, etc. The patterns are clear and easy to size up or down. The diagrams are excellent, clearly showing you each step.

I make oaak fashion dolls, and sew Victorian costume for myself, and I find myself opening this book at some point during every project!

I have now tried most of the patterns in this wonderful book, and even with my limited sewing skills, I have been very pleased with my results. I have particularly enjoyed the tips for constructing clothes without patterns. The simple smock dress idea works well for my Ginnys, as well as for my composition baby dolls and small antique bisque dolls. I'm looking forward to learning to make hats and purses. I have a stack of old leather gloves just waiting to be made into the darling shoes pictured in the last chapter of the book.

The book is a must-have for anyone wanting to sew reproduction clothing for dolls.  This book includes wonderful color plates of the antique dolls chosen for the study.   You can clearly see every detail of the wardrobe.   There are many underwear items included : corsets, hoops, bustles, etc.   There is a large detailed explaination of each dress, listed by the color plate.   Then, there is a large section which not only tells you how to sew a duplicate of the original, but which includes much useful information about the period of time the dress represents.  Finally, there is a wonderful bibliography and an excellent section on how to hand sew the items, carefully detailing descriptions of each stitch used.

Sewing Victorian Doll Clothes is a wonderful source book for historical costumes with a wide range of workable patterns.
It is a wonderful reference for the doll collector who is interested in recreating historically correct clothes for china or bisque dolls. The range of styles in broad, and the instructions are clear even for the novice at sewing. Without question, this is one of the finest books on this subject that it is possible to find. It is worth every dollar spent.

This is a wonderful book with many illustrations. There are extensive patterns, wonderful details, could go a little more in-depth with the patterns and have a little more variety of Victorian clothing. A wonderful book, it is a must for the heirloom sewing library!

I bought this last year, and it quickly became one of my favourite books of all time. It's well written, and is packed full of information. But that's only the beginning. Pilbrow has chucked in years of experience and anecdote, not only from his own extensive career, but also from many other excellent designers. Whenever I'm lighting a show, I take this book with me. In a way, it is my own lighting assistant. This is a must, not only for lighting people, but also directors and producers. And that is because this book endevours to emphasise the 'art' of lighting, and not just the craft.

And it's about time.

This book helped me make the decision to go for lighing design as a career .... the first half has the info most of us in the industry have picked up on stage but orders it very well, the second has many wonderful anechdotes from his and many others careers. Its the only lighing book I have found that one can enjoy reading again and again.

I would easily say this is one of the top 5 books on Theatrical and Concert Lighting Design. As a young designer his advise in learning and developing the craft as well as the background he provides is invaluable. I'd recomend this book to anyone seriously considering the field.

Another person reviewed this book complaining that it wasn't effective because it didn't have an abundance of color photographs. He missed the mark big time! This isn't a book on lighting for photography, it's a book on lighting for the eye and a theatrical experience, two different things. A static photo doesn't give you the interaction with how the cue ran, what the actors are doing, how the audience is supposed to feel. The photo whould just be a picture of a person in a light and convey nothing.

True, the end product of lighting design is a visual medium, but the means of getting there are purely cerebral.

Lighting designs are drawn in black and white based on theory, knowledge, practical experience and the ability to visualize. This is a book on theory and knowledge culled from Pilbrow's extensive experience.

If you want to approach lighting design like a cake recipe or an auto repair manual then this is the wrong book for you and probably the wrong career.

If you are dedicated to your craft, want to add to your knowledge base and get more out of your work experience, buy this book. Reading this book is like sitting down with Pilbrow and asking him how he did this or that and why. As your career grows, you will find yourself rereading passages of this and getting more out of it each time.

When I received the book I was surprised that Pilbrow had written a 450+ page book on lighting and there were only 6 pages of color photos and scattered pencil drawings and black/white photos in select areas. This is analogous to explaining engine repair without detailed diagrams. The lighting designer is a visual person. It is a visual medium. Words are poor vehicles to carry the ideas of this art form. I think Pilbrow missed the mark. That's why I'm returning the book.

Sheila McGregor has a passion for documenting Traditional knitting patterns. However, she doesn't stop with what has gone before, but also shows how Fair Isle knitters are continuing their innovations. There is a friendly rivalry among the knitters to not repeat a previous pattern, but to embellish & mess about with what one did last year.
The history of how the countries on the North Sea, & farther East, interacted one with the other, is rich & fascinating.
I would not buy this if I wanted to just make a sweater. But, if I was comfortable with a specific sweater style, & wanted to use the stranded colour knitting of Fair Isle & her neighbours, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! I did!

This is essential for anyone interested in Fair isle knitting. The most comprehensive set of patternes I have ever seen.

Very pleased with the content: history and patterns. Great addition to my knitting library.

If you are a fairly experienced knitter and can create the garment basics (i.e. figure your gauge and cast on accordingly), it is indispensible. If you need a pattern with directions (e.g. cast on x number of stitches on size y needles), this book does not supply that. It gives guidelines for garments, just not full patterns. What it does supply is a fabulous history of this knitting art form, explanations of how it developed and how it was used. Lots of great pictures. The third part of the book is dedicated to patterns in graph form, which is just the way I like it, personally. I've enjoyed browsing through it and putting my creativity to the challenge of creating what I want to make. If it ever gets cold down here in Texas, that vest made of Harris tweed wool will be great. Luckily, I knit for the knitting more than for the finished product.

Sheila McGregor is a knitting goddess! I would NOT recommend this for a beginning knitter.. there are no direct patterns for sweaters, but the charts are numerous and authentic! just make sure you count the number of stitches in each repeat! this is a must have for any color knitter bored with the usual patterns out there!

This is the book you need if you are looking for a complete -and at the same time- condensed history of 20th century fashion and its most important designers.
It is very interesting and well written, besides... it has amazing pictures! Great value for your money ;)

VOGUE was launched in New York on December 17, 1892. This outstanding book chronicles more than just a century of fashion. Written with in-depth focus, this gorgeous book hits on the pulse of the attitudes, societal values, and social elegance that the designer's portrayed, as well as how American culture was reinvented decade after decade. This is one outstanding book, and shows just how far we've come. Special thanks to Linda Watson for an outstanding job in bringing the 20th century to life. Simply FANTASTIC!

i used this book to help me with a research paper on fashions reflections of society's morals. i loved the format and it was so useful. i learned so much and appreciated the truthfulness.

This is a very small book. It's about the size of a paperback novel. The first half is a very brief history of western fashion, focusing on each decade of the 20th century. The second half contains very brief biographies of many fashion designers. How brief? Sometimes there are 5 on a single small page. There are very few photos. I would have liked to have seen one or two photos of every designer's work. Instead there's maybe one photo for every fifth designer. The book is good for a quick lookup of "Who? Never heard of them before." It's not great if you really want to know about someone's work.

Vogue Twentieth Century Fashion - 100 Years of Style by Decade and Designer is another superb book, which we recommend. Written by Linda Watson it is very informative and also has the status of a coffee table book. The book contains the biographies of 245 international fashion designers and couturiers. It starts off with a description about the various fashion decades of the 20th Century. Entertaining are the quotes from old Vogue magazines about the latest fashion trends. The oldest Vogue, which is quoted is from 19 August 1909. Needless to say that there are many pictures and photos on each page.

I have long been an admirer of Adrian. It's a shame that Oscars for costume design weren't given out until 1949, because he'd have garnered many of them. He could design something as basic (yet revolutionary) as the "Letty Lynton" dress, or as dazzling as the costumes in "The Great Zigfeld," both in the "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" number, then in the "You Never Looked So Beautiful Before" stage show. I think his crowning glory was his work on "Marie Antionette." I knew little about Adrian after he stopped turning out his stunning creations for the movies, and went into private business. This is a beautifully produced book, with many pictures of his later coture creations, some insights about his married life with actress Janet Gaynor, and his passion for travel. For Adrian fans everywhere, this is a book to own and cherish.

Fantastic book - gorgeous photographs and behind the scenes antidotes give you the sense of actually being there in Hollywood during this glamorous age.

I've got to say that when I saw a book devoted to "Adrian," I got very excited, because I am a great admirer of his work during his years at MGM. However I must admit that I was disappointed with this book for its lack of actual content. If this were a simple photographic display of Adrian's works, I would have enjoyed the book more; it is the content that weakens the presentation.

The narrative starts out fine, giving the reader a sense of Adrian's struggles to delve into the fashion business first in Paris, then in America. Wonderful tidbits about the actresses like Crawford and Garbo are scattered throughout the initial 20 pages. But once Adrian's reign at MGM ends, so does the intrigue of the text. The interesting dichotomy of grand art and snappy human interest evolves into a verbose textual rendering of Adrian's creations, spanning about 15 years. Pages upon pages are spent lightly describing gowns from each collection, them not all having photographic companions to help the non-seamstress reader visualize these descriptions. In addition, the layout of the book causes confusion in that gowns described in the text are not necessarily juxtaposed on the same or corresponding page; then, too, some photographs are included that never were referenced in the text, making the reader wonder if they "missed" something.

I feel that this book's content could have been made stronger if more was included about Adrian's personal life, to give the reader insight into the genius behind the design. It is obvious that very little research, outside of photographic, has contributed to the content, which I think reasons its sketchiness. Critique and criticism by reviewing columnists as well as quotes by models or celebrities would surely have been a wonderful addition to the plodding text.

Because of the wonderful photographs, this makes for a great coffee table book. However its lack of content diminishes its viability as a strong read.

I love this book soooo much i remember all the old movies that Adrian desigend for .. so happy with this book thanks Robert

adrian, a/k/a gilbert adrian, was one of the few designers for the classic hollywood films that did not blow his own horn during his time in the fashion industry as both costume designer and couturier.

in his somewhat short life, he worked hard, played hard and draped some of the film industry's most glamourous bodies in uniquely beautiful designs. his creativity was unstoppable. yet, in a weird twist of fate, he was never to compete for an academy award.

it is a wonderful thing to see another book published about this genius/workhorse! there are some of his gowns that defy description, such as his 'letty lynton' dress with its wildly ruffled sleeves. or, his showgirl get-ups that were featured in 'the great ziegfeld' and re-used time and again for mgm's less lavish musicals. and his period designs for the films of garbo and jeanette macdonald (to name a few), while not painstakingly researched, supply great amounts of aura for these actresses and the films.

it would be nice for the academy to pay tribute to him, travis banton and many others one year. but as it won't get more people to watch, it probably won't happen.

but that's fine. let the books keep coming and let the reinvestigations of the makings of glamour, hollywood style, spark many a scholarly discussion as they should.

it was okay, i had hoped a bit more in depth to the periods but as a vauge overall view it was very nice- i was dissapointed my first queen concert shirt was not listed.I had purchased it as a gift for a customer but i don't think it is cool enough to give them , sigh

My boyfriend plays in a rock band, so I got the book as a surprise for him. We love looking through it and reading up on the stories of the how, why, where, and what of each particular shirt. Call us Rock Geeks if you want, but I think this book is "Chicken Soup for the Rocker's Soul."

If you are interested in band or rock tees- this is THE book. You can tell the authors are true music fans who really care about this subject. It is well presented with great photos on really nice paper. Almost every page is a photo- so it serves as a great catalogue of "the best of" band shirts. Interesting details on each shirt keep you turning the pages. They really did a lot of research. Good range of tees (not just rock). If you are interested in music, fashion, or art- you'll like this book.

This is a great mini coffee table book with heaps of great band t shirts for almost every genre of music. Would make a great gift.

Or I guess I had that one. It is great to be able to see so many shirts that I had or always wanted. I miss my RUN DMC shirt, and now can at least look at a photo of it. The photos are high quality, the selection is varied and impressive, and great stories about how some of the shirts/logos came about, that you don't usually get to hear.

The layout is well done. The image choices and arrangement demonstrate the ever changing womans form. There's not much hope of a book this small being deeply informative on such a broad span of history. But it is always disappointing when another book perpetuates the myth that steel corsets were common practice, and ribs being removed was equally plausible. The text history is anecdotal and amusing, much in the same way that a magazine would cover an entire century of fashion on one page, and make it interesting. This is a cute little coffee table book for parties. Would be fun at a sex toy party, or lingerie party, where the theme would get people in the mood to buy.

Very helpful, and has alot of wonderful information.

What a fun book! You get a heaping helping of history--Pedersen has really done her research--as well as gorgeous art. This would make a great gift for the fashionista in your life

Though this is a history of breast treatments (it includes binding and corsets which pre-date the bra), Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support & Seduction is also a social commentary, explaining what it must've been like to live in the various eras before our own. The art is amazing--and fun.

Although the cover insinuates tittilation, the information packed into this book is historically accurate and detailed, with photographs backing up information. The book is logically laid out and would be a perfect part of any woman's studies course or project for such a class. The presentation is such that this would also make a conversational coffee table book - espcially when combined with other Pedersen books like "Shoes". Highly recommended.

For a beginner, who knows nothing of buttons, I'm impressed with the depth of knowledge in this book. It's a must for collectors, or for those wanting to learn more about buttons.

This was a great book for photos and history, price guide would have been extremly useful, learned a bit about buttons, yet having the prices laid out in front of me would have been a great benefit.

I bought this for my mother who started collecting buttons that she was finding at yard sales and flea markets. She absolutely loved the book. It is very complete in terms of providing information on all sorts of materials and subject matters. There are lots of examples, great pictures, so you can compare your buttons with the ones shown to get an idea ofthewir history/origins as well s some pricing info. Definitely the best book I've come across for buttons as I was looking for this gift for my mom and she's gotten great use of it. (Now I get to hear from her about "oh and this button..... and that button..." It's fun :)

I have always been drawn to buttons, but didn't know very much about them. This book has very clear photos and descriptions. There are many "museum quality" buttons that are wonderful to see, but I was especially excited to see everyday buttons that I am more likely to find.

I needed to price and identify over 100 pounds of vintage buttons with very little background in the subject. This book taught me everything I need to know in a very short time. Excellent photos and examples. Highly recommended.