1 comments about Mad About Shoes.

1. It's very boring, pictures of old shoes , i think they picked the worst shoes from late 90's.

No comments about Tapestry (Agile Rabbit Editions).

1 comments about Magnificent Molas: The Art of the Kuna Indians.

1. My wife is a fiber artist and I am the webmaster of her site. We own nearly 4.000 books and we have gladly added Magnificent Molas by Michel Perrin to our collection. It is difficult to imagine that anyone could do better than Perrin. His Magnificent Molas is a remarkable book in every sense: illustrations, text, layout and printing are all of highest level and come together in a well documented and passionate praise of the magnificent textile art of the kuna indians and their culture. It is even well written, so it makes pleasure to read. This book is a must for those who are interested primitive and textile arts.
   Gösta & Agostina Zwilling, Verona, Italy

1 comments about Pierre Cardin.

1. A "must read" for people who are interested in today's fashion. I am a fan of Mr. Cardin. Having worked with Mr. Cardin and his amazing crew for more than 3 years as house model in Paris before going to college, it's easy for me to understand why he is always a leader in fashion. This book documents his powerful journey so wonderfully!

3 comments about Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s.

1. I got this book and I have to say that I read the introduction off of Amazon and wanted to read more stories such as that of the author's Grandmother. The book was WAY too dry and academic which is not necessarily a problem but the author seems to have lost focus. By the closing of the book, the author seemed not to be sure just how to tie up the book. While some aspects of the book were interesting with very good illustrations within, other aspects such as the end chapters dealing with the bathing suit controversies and the chorus girl criticism seemed overwrought with angry feminist analysis from the author. It seemed as if one was trying to figure out if this was the author's own personal opinion or one based off of careful research into the topic. The author was trying to make the case that the 1920s was not an age of hedonistic freedom that is sometimes presented in other books on that time the fact is that from much of her illustrations and footnotes it can clearly be seen that in contrast to the age previous (the Edwardian) age the 20s was in fact an age of Hedonism which has of course been exposited in other books only to come to an end with the economic crash of the 30s. The author failed also to actually analyze the biographies of actual "flappers", chorus girls and others to actually posit her thesis which really failed miserably. Her analysis was simplistic.



2. This book reads like a dissertation. It's a great topic, and the cover and title promise much more than it delivers. I strongly suspect this was the author's dissertation project. That's fine because it's well-researched, and the author definitely is an expert on women in the 1920s. But it's a wet subject, and the auther serves it up dry. There's good information in here, but it'll be slow going. On the positive side, there are many great black-and-white illustrations.



3. The author's basic premise is that in the 1920s, women used display to resist, while at times seeming to conform to, those who would have squeezed them into the molds of how society would have them appear. In the first few chapters, she does a good job of this. Especially insightful is the example of her own grandmother, who as a young woman in this time period, disguised both her bobbed hair and her married state so that she could continue in her chosen profession as teacher.
   
   However, in the latter two chapters of the book, the author seems to focus more on the exploitation of women by the theatre industry and it's effects. In this, she seems to stray too far from her theme. It would have been better if she had had more examples like that of her grandmother which supported her theme, rather than diverging off of the topic.
   
   I really do recommend this book at least for the initial chapters, which are an interesting look at the attitudes of an era that has been very much stereotyped. It gives you an idea of the some of the restrictions that would have been felt by a woman who was, not a Gretta Garbo or Clara Bow, but an average person trying to live from day to day....

5 comments about Fashion Sourcebooks 1960s (Fashion Sourcebooks).

1. I expected more of a range of styles in this time period. A bit disappointed.



2. I throughly enjoyed this Fashion Reference book, but this comes with a few flaws. The illustrations are rather sparse and unentertaining. If you want to know anything about male fashion in the 60's please leave this book alone. But this is very good reference book for designers and vintage buyers who want to know about some general aspects of female 1960's clothes. The author orders the book by specific year, which is helpful to get further understanding of 1960's clothing.



3. This is a great tool to see an overview of a decade of fashion. It makes it easy to see the evaluation of style. The illustrations are distinct and well organized, with pages for daywear, evening wear, sports and leisure, wedding and underwear. There is a page of accessories for each year. There are not many men's fashions.
   There are detailed descriptions of each illustration is in the back (in a tiny font.) I have all Peacock's decades now and I know they will be used often.



4. Although the illustrated people are not in perfect scale, I nonetheless feel that the fashions... and their absolutely perfect accessories... are exceptional representations of what was worn during each year of that wonderful decade. Not only has the author accurately pinpointed which fashions were popular year by year, he has left this reader with a great many fond memories.



5. I was extremely disapointed after viewing this book. The illustrations are so bad, it's hard to look past it to see the clothing design. I wish the author would have hired an experienced fashion illustrator to compose the drawings in a sketching style of the time...1960's. I do have to give the author credit for the layout of the design progression per year. The book did contain many design references/illustrations for accessores. This is rare, as there are not many accessory design referece books.

   last words; Okay reference for the 60's era of clothing & accessory design resource, but horrific illustration!!!

   m donat fashion designer

2 comments about Costume Jewelry: Identification And Price Guide.

1. One of the books I use for reference that is accurate and easy to understand. Selling estate jewelry and knowledge of jewelry pieces is a must!



2. Another beautiful book for collectors of costume jewelry by Leshner. The pictures are mouth watering and the topics digress from earlier books that are solely devoted to rhinestone jewelry. This book includes other types of jewelry like plastic jewelry, silver and beads. The vintages go through the 1960s with a good sampling of many styles. Leshner produces some of the very best books on collectible costume jewelry available that are a joy to look at as well as educational for the collector.

1 comments about Metric Pattern Cutting.

1. this book is great for the novice dressmaker. It provides guidelines for taking accurate body measurements and includes a comprehensive step-by-step guide for drafting patterns for today's modern designs. However, for those of who are totally new to the idea of sewing, you need to buy a book which tells how to piece together the pattern pieces.

   Otherwise, it's a great buy!

1 comments about Designs for Printed Textiles in England From 1750 to 1850 (The Victoria & Albert Museum's Textile Collection).

1. Any book I have used from the V&A collection of titles has been a valuable source of information and inspiration, well worth a look! Why not try collecting the entire series?

No comments about Fashion Trends: How Popular Styles is Shaped (The World of Fashion series) (The World of Fashion).