No comments about Navajo Weaving: Three Centuries of Change (Studies in American Indian Art) (Studies in American Indian Art).

No comments about Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and Art.

5 comments about The New Professional Image: From Business Casual to the Ultimate Power Look.

1. It seems that in our ever-increasingly casual society, we have lost some of our common sense when dressing for the office. This book has no surprises - there are no hidden secrets for compiling a work wardrobe - if we put a bit of thought into it, I'm sure most people could determine on their own that belly tops, sandals, frayed jeans, see-through blouses and poor grooming are potentially career-limiting moves.

   The information in this book is pretty basic. Save your money - you can probably get this quality of advice from Mom - for free.




2. If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to making a positive impact through appearance, this is your book. I am a recruiter with a Fortune 100 company in the US, and a professional image consultant recommended this book to me when I originally began my position. As a person who was looking for solid guidelines around professional dressing, as well as a reference for others who are looking to improve their appearance, I have found no other book to be comparable.

   There are many aspects which make this book such an important resource for professionals:

   1. The author provides specific guidelines around what items should be in a professional wardrobe, even going as far as to outline what quantities are particularly helpful of each piece of clothing.

   2. The book is filled with "before and after" pictures, which allow the reader to see first-hand how the author's recommendations can make a startling appearance alteration.

   3. To reflect the variety of workplace formality levels, there are six levels of workplace dress covered in the chapters. For those people who work for companies that have never successfully defined "Casual Friday", this book gives a lot of great hints of how to dress casual but still remain professional.

   4. Two separate chapters outline accessories and generic grooming guidelines, and I have only found those hints in this particular guideline book.

   5. For people looking to improve their wardrobe on a limited budget or a first job out of school, the author does not suggest spending a fortune on designer clothing. Rather, she suggests some key pieces to acquire first, and then others that can be obtained after your finances begin to improve.

   Overall, I see the negative impact every day in my position from candidates who do not make the extra effort to go from "dressing up" to "looking professional". I strongly suggest that you make the $15 investment in this book, since it could help you to acquire the high paying career of your dreams!




3. This book is an excellent guide to dressing for the workplace regardless of where you work. I especially liked the sections on business casual (for both men and women). This section helped me to see that, though I am a manager in my firm, I was dressing like the delivery man. There are so many options for dressing these days and dress has become so casual that we lose sight of the impact that our clothing has on others and the subtle signals we send. The authors do an excellent job of demonstrating how important dress is, especially for women. And, it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to dress well, it just takes conscious buying and this book as your guide. If you feel like you are not making the impact at work and maybe in your life that you would like to make, get this book. Perhaps your appearance is sending a different message.



4. As a young woman entering the workforce, I recognized the need to make a strong first impression. What I lacked was the concrete rules to pull this off. This book is outstanding! Given to me as a present, it will surely serve as my dressing bible for years to come. I was especially helped by the dress/grooming guidelines given for specific occasions and the tips for creating a more polished overall look.

   Just be forewarned that the women's photos show fashions which are about five years out of style, but the overall ideas are still applicable to everyday life. Men's fashions are a lot more constant so their section is still current.




5. I am currently beginning my second career and needed the Zero to 60 information, now, to level the playing field. You may think, gee, this guy should know all the rules--but my first career was 25 years in the military. Susan Bixler and Nancy Nix-Rice have me confident that when I walk into the interview, I will have the external factors covered (the first 30 seconds)--they even give you hints on how posture, speak, and express the internal you--your knowledge, skills, and ability. I notice people much more now--I look for the suit and tie color, suit make, belts, shoe style, etc., to see the type client the individual is playing up or down to. If you're at all uncertain--this is your next book--you will not be sorry.

4 comments about The Spec Manual.

1. Great, great, great! I have not found many references on specs, which are very difficult to do in an amazing way. Before purchasing this book, my specs were mediocre/ average first year fashion student. After thoroughly working with this book, however, my specs were fantastic! I highly recommend this book.



2. I have been looking for a book like this for a while. I find most books with information on spec sheet writing complicated and unorganized; not this one, this book separates garments into different chapters such as how to spec a blazer, pant and shorts, a vest, a turtleneck, etc. A simple glance at the glossary and I am able to quickly find the category of clothing I need to build a spec sheet for and have all the information neatly presented in bulletin style with clearly drawn samples of flats indicating how to correctly measure the garment, which is invaluable since so many books tend to assume the reader already knows how to establish measuring points. There is also a handy basic spec sheet template included for every category.
   
   Easy to read and easy to learn --this is one book I am keeping around for a long time.



3. A comprehensive, user-friendly guide to the skills and techniques for measuring garments and creating spec sheets. It's an excellent resource book which provides the fundamentals for building, developing, streamlining your flats and specs library. It's a neat and concise reference book you would find so useful that would like to own and keep at hand at all times. Furthermore, the enclosed CD-ROM makes it even more versatile for it offers you the possibility to save, send, print, alter (and carry!) all the information. I find it extremely helpful.



4. This book is great for anyone new at drawing flats and specs, or if you have been in the industry for years, it is a great brush up. I have also taken a class by one of the authors and she made flats easy...just the way the book does it!

4 comments about Mistakes Men Make That Women Hate: 101 Style Tips for Men (Capital Lifestyles).

1. Let me start by saying that this book is somewhat funny.
   The title makes no sense. The book is written by a man and has more to do with what is professional than what is fashionable. The title should have been "Mistakes Men make that Employers hate." It is a pretty good guide if you are looking for a job and don't know how to dress yourself. Otherwise, don't waste the money.
   The only reason I even gave it 2 stars was because of the humor.



2. The advice in this book is so basic and obvious that you would have bigger problems than fashion if you actually learned something. The title is pure marketing. There is nothing in the book that targets women's opinions over other men's opinions. I'm sending it back.



3. Kenneth Karpinski's little book is a quick read and has its better moments.
   
   But his humor is sarcastic, his tips are very basic, and the project has little or nothing to do with what *women* hate. They're simply matters of good taste and self-awareness. Men don't learn well by being made fun of. We carry enough weight already.
   
   This book makes a convenient stocking stuffer and is good for a few chuckles in that way. However the Rutledge Press 'Gentlemanners' series is more helpful if you really intend to elevate your game.



4. I saw this book at a local bookstore and had to pick it up as an early Father's Day gift for my dad. Kenneth Karpinski uses humor to pass along clothing and style advice to men. The tone of the book is joking, not negative or condescending, so no one should get offended.

   This book is the perfect gift for any man in your life!

2 comments about The White T.

1. Edited by Alice Harris, with an introduction by Georgio Armani and dedicated to "all of the men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS," THE WHITE T is a tribute to the cotton shirt, from its humble origins in the U. S. Navy as an undershirt, to its steady growth as a garment for the working-class male to its position in high fashion. The actor Don Johnson made a fashion statement in "Miami Vice" by combining the T with an Armani flowing suit. It is not unusual to see the T-shirt worn that way now at weddings, funerals and other dress-up events. There is enough verbage to tell you more than you ever needed to know about its history and photographs of people from every walk of life clad in a T. Ms. Harris incudes both the round-neck, short-sleeved T shirt and the other one known in the streets as a "wife-beater" in her collection. There are photographs of sailors (1945) and other military types and men at work, along with the rich and famous. The crew that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima is included just before their mission in 1945 as is the famous photo of Lee Harvey Oswald wearing a T-shirt just before he was killed by Jack Ruby (1963). We also get to see Elvis in his U. S. Army-issued T-shirt as he is getting innoculated at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas (1958). What we do not see, although he is incuded in another photograph, is Marlon Brando, in what must be one of the most famous T-shirt images ever shot, in the torn T-shirt scene from A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Nor do we see Clark Gable all teed out. We do see him, however, from the movie "It Happened One Night" (1939) where he removed his shirt to reveal a naked chest without a T-shirt. According to the accompanying text, Gable's bare chest "created economic havoc in the world of underwear, sending sales plummeting." There is a raft of actors and other famous people includng U. S. presidents here: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Richard Gere, John Travolta, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, the very young Truman Capote, Picasso, Jimmy Carter, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan et al. Visual artists are represented as well: Paul Cadmus, David Hockney, Tom of Finland.
   
   Photographs by Herb Ritts, Sebastiao Salgado, Greg Gorman, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Duane Michaels and Arthur Tress show up here. My three favorites are "Bosnia" by Sebastiao Salgado, an incomparable shot of a small lad (p. 131); the photograph of Paul Cadmus and Jared French in 1938, photographed by George Platt Lynes--offering proof once again that no one lights a scene better than he-- and "Three Graces," the shot of three Giants baseball teammates photographed in 1958 by Robert Riger.
   
   An American classic well presented.



2. I never thought why the white t-shirt is the most popular piece of clothe of the world and of all times, and this book make me view this new type of fashion.

3 comments about Fashionable Mourning Jewelry, Clothing, & Customs.

1. This was a very informative book. Information about this era is hard to find, either about the clothing or the jewelry. This book has it all!
   Good photo's as well.



2. Explore 19th century traditions, history, and objects in a blend of historical overview and collector's price guide in Fashionable Mourning Jewelry, Clothing & Customs, featuring jewelry, photos, clothing, writings, and more. This fascinating survey does include the good-sized color photos and price guide collectors will want - but also a large dose of 'mourning history' makes the book a top pick both for collector's libraries and for college-level collections strong in American social history and culture.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. A fascinating review of the customs of days gone by. In depth research by the author makes it easy to jump the 100 year gap between the Victorian period and present day time.

No comments about Theatre De La Mode.

No comments about Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and Analysis.

5 comments about Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters.

1. Without a doubt, this is book is a definite winner that belongs in your collection if you love to crochet. There is something for everyone here, from beginner to expert -- and each sweater can be something of a learning project taking you on to more complex achievements.
   
   Major plus: the photography is absolutely wonderful, and inspires you to devote yourself to this wonderful craft. There are so many ideas here, that it's one of the best purchases you can make if you love to crochet!
   
   You will not be sorry if you purchase Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters!



2. Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters. The title says it all. Here is a sweater for every season, more than 35 projects to keep your crochet hook busy all year long. As you leaf through these pages and admire the striking photos, you'll have a hard time deciding which sweater to begin first. Shall it be a charming Fair Isle crew neck in delicate pastel hues or a lusciously soft turtleneck to warm you through winter's chills? Perhaps it should be a dressy cardigan for an upcoming event or a casual vest to wear on spring strolls in town.
   It hardly matters which you make first, be- cause if you're like most people who love to crochet, one sweater will lead to another. And another. Soon Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters will be your most frequently consulted source for designs, and for good reasons:
   The exquisite photography captures the true colors, textures, and details of the sweaters and makes them seem to leap off the page. The clear, step-by-step instructions and helpful hints lead you expertly from the first stitch to the last. Diagrams and charts help with the more intricate patterns. And all projects are keyed to degree of difficulty and arranged by chapter according to stitch patterns, so novice, average, and expert crocheters all enjoy an impressive array of projects.



3. This is the best crochet book I've ever purchased. I want to make beautiful sweaters. I usually gravitate toward knitted sweaters because the knitters seem to have more pattern selections in beautiful sweaters. Most of the crochet sweaters patterns I have seen so far have not impressed me. But now I have the perfect book - exactly what I wanted! This book is a must have, if you can find a copy. I will have to go search out all of the other work that this author has produced now. I hope she's done something for children!



4. This is one of the best crochet books I've ever seen and has the most attractive sweater patterns that I've been able to find. It even includes Fair Isle and Tunisian designs. Unlike many crochet books, "Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters" uses readily available yarns and has great color pictures of each project. It also includes some fairly unusual techniques that I've been able to incorporate into some of my other crochet projects. I would love to own a copy of this book but have had to settle for using a copy I found at the library. "Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters" belongs in every avid crocheter's personal library.



5. About a year ago, I happened to find a copy of BEAUTIFUL CROCHETED SWEATERS in my local library. Since then, I've been hooked! Borrowing the book from the library was no longer a choice. I wanted my very own copy. I searched for a copy of Patricia Bevans' book in all of my local bookstores, but, unfortunately, the book was out of print.

   Recently, however, I found a copy of the book, and I am, to say the least, ecstatic! I haven't stopped crocheting since! BEAUTIFUL CROCHETED SWEATERS is exactly as its title implies -- beautiful! The book offers over 35 sweaters, vests, cardigans, and short & long sleeved pull-overs for women. All the projects in the book are categorized according to one's expertise. For example, there are beginner, intermediate, and advanced projects. There's something for everyone. Also, the pictures of the sweaters are very pretty and entice the crocheter to want to start the project right away. Personally, I'm really happy that I now have my very own copy of Patricia Bevans' BEAUTIFUL CROCHETED SWEATERS. I highly recommend it. :-)