No comments about The Englishness of English Dress.

1 comments about Fast-Folded Flower Quilts and Bags: 30 Projects for You and Your Home.

1. I'm having a blast making the projects in this book. These techniques are really fun and interesting. I just wish I could contact the author for the professionally made templates. I'm having trouble making them myself. The web site listed in the book isn't correct any more.

No comments about Fashion in Art: The Second Empire and Impressionism.

No comments about The Art of the Shoe ( Magnus) (Magnus Series).

No comments about Narciso Rodriguez.

5 comments about Samurai: Arms, Armor, Costume.

1. This book is an excellent guide to better understanding the various clothes, armor, as well as dress practices of the Samurai from the late Hein period throught the Edo. What it is however is not a guide on the Samurai's way of life. It is purely a guide to his dress for both war and peace. It is meant to be a guide for film directors, or documentory creators. The book makes this perfectly clear in the introduction but does give some background history for the reader. This work is not meant for someone to learn about every aspect of the Samurai but again rather his clothing and armor attire. The photographs are vividly rich and provide a close look at everything mentioned. As a historian in the process working the long road for the PhD, it is important for me to study all aspects and cultures and not just famous people and events but dress attire and every other aspect. If one is seeking to learn about the Samurai and his practices, their are some excellent Osprey titles written by Stephen Turnbul that will be a major asset. However, for someone who is wishing to better understand the Samurai's armor and dress and the termonolagy of each piece of armor, this is a perfect guide. But remember, this is not a guide to culture or religous practice.



2. Just a brief note of my own to agree with one reviewer in mentioning that one is disappointed with the content matter of this book which begs to be edited properly and could be a bit more descriptive in regards to Japanese armor in general. There is a market for a well-put together book treating this subject as the number of collectors of "samurai art" grows every year, not just armor, but parts of armor such as masks, cuirasses, helmets, and we could use more information re. the different schools of armorers, methods used in making armor, terminology, etc. Maybe someday we shall see such a book in the English language (because in Japanese there are many).



3. Well. It's big and red and shiny and has lots of very pretty photographs of live human beings posing in armor and costumes. It has a gushy description on the inside of the dust jacket about how historically authentic everything is inside!!!!!
   
   It also has a preface by its author in which he mentions "the curator of a private museum in Kyoto." He finally rambles around to mentioning the "Japanese costume museum in Kyoto." He never, ever thanks or acknowledges Izutsu-san by name either. Nor does he identify any of the collections or reproduction sources of any of the arms or armaments.
   
   Dr. Kure is a doctor of medicine. He got interested in researching samurai militaria while painting models for gaming. This led him to re-enacting. Great, as a hobbyist myself, I applaud that. It's just that if you're going to embark on "an obsessive quest for accuracy," how about telling us where you found this stuff so we can come along for the ride?
   
   Not a single footnote. (Am I weird for reading footnotes?)
   
   Not a single corroborating image from period artwork.
   
   No bibliography whatsoever.
   
   I am willing to cut some slack on some truly clunky prose descriptions of outfits as Dr. Kure is not writing in his first language. However, there's an awful lot of inconsistent spellings of phonetically rendered Japanese words. Utiki becomes uchigi and uchiki and wanders back again, for example. Clearly, while Dr. Kure was busy copying information off costume diagrams from the KCM, he wasn't actually reading them. Nor was the lady he credits for "correcting my poor English." This is sloppiness, plain and simple, and it's EXACTLY the sort of thing that's going to confuse a novice costumer or armorer and hinder their obsessive quest for accuracy.
   
   Dr. Kure could have concentrated specifically on armor and male dress, but no, he includes several women's outfits - and confusion runs rampant. "This samurai lady is wearing a blue uchiki coat on top of a violet hitoe. In being fastened on her upper chest, the obi belt differs from that of later periods." Click here for a similar outfit from the Kyoto Costume Museum.) WTF does this mean????? Well, yes, she's wearing a kake-obi. Now look at the fold in her outermost robe at about the tops of her thighs. What do you suppose is holding up the hems of her layered hitoe and uchigi so she can walk in them? I'll give you a hint. Two syllables, starts with "O." Why the kake-obi? To keep all that excess overlap lying neatly while she's out and about because her waist obi is under two or more layers keeping her hems out of the mud. Kake-obi make even MORE sense when one is using a kosode as a veil as shown here. I admit that women's pre-Edo period clothing is my area of focus, but if similar things are going on with the armor and militaria, this book is a minefield.
   
   It's not completely useless. The pictures do show a degree of detail that the ones at the Kyoto Costume Museum website do not. But even the translated "explanation" windows at KCM are better than the muddle that is Dr. Kure's text.
   
   Very disappointing.



4. As a self-taught artist, I'm always looking for more visual reference material, and when I went shopping for some good books on armor, this one immediately caught my eye. I wasn't disappointed in the least. Samurai: Arms, Armor, Costume is a great visual reference book for anyone looking to learn about how armor and feudal Japanese costume was worn.
   
   Within this book, you'll find many sections on different sorts of armor (starting with the earliest sets and moving forward) and daily costume for both men and women. While so many books on samurai and samurai armor tend to rely either on period block prints (which are highly stylized and rather unhelpful) or photographs of armor on display racks, this book shows armor and costumes worn by real people, with each outfit posed in several different ways. I was very pleased with this book, and I think it will be immensely helpful. The only think keeping this book from receiving my full 5 stars is that some of the outfits' colors art so dark that it makes it difficult to determine the folds and drape of the fabric, making them dubious resources. However, this is only a minor quibble.



5. This book is decent, if you know what you're getting. It's primarily a picture book, with a wide variety of both military and civilian Japanese dress from various periods (primarily military dress/armor). The pictures are all actual modern color photos of reenactors with blank white background to them, and brief descriptions of the costume and purpose (some of which is actual antique, but most is reproduction).
   On the good side, it's a great book for actually seeing what the stuff really looked like on real people. On the downside, there was apparently no editor with English as a first language, so bad sentence structure, grammar and spelling are rampant; but no big deal as it is brief and still gets the point across. You can also see the guys with the distinct samurai hair cuts are wearing obvious rubber bald-caps, and the same few individuals throughout. Also, the author oversteppes the bounds of his knowledge once or twice when attempting to compare things to Western equivalents.
   
   It's worth the money if you know what you're getting.

3 comments about Fast, Fun and Easy Fabric Bags: 10 Projects to Suit Your Style (Fast, Fun & Easy).

1. As the others have said, this book is terribly edited/written. The ideas and pictures are good, but often the text would directly contradict the pictures illustrating the point being made - picture says cut two, text says cut one, sewing directions are for something quite different altogether. I was very disappointed. Pictures say blow up 200%, but then don't blow up to the correct size (there are measurements on it as well). This is the third C & T book that I've bought that has not been edited. I won't be buying any more. At $16.95 they need to do better.



2. I bought this book online, admittedly a bit suspicious based on reviews of the "Fast, Fun, & Easy Fabric Boxes", but the pictures looked enticing. Unfortunately, that's about all this book has going for it. The instructions, if you could call them that, are more like suggestions and sometimes very vague at best. I had a hard time figuring out whether the book or I missed a step - or three! I had to skip back and forth through the book searching for what I thought would be a logical next step. I did wind up making a lovely little handbag, but it had almost nothing to do with this book!
   
   I have a lot of experience sewing and quilting, and not only would I not recommend this book to a beginner, I would caution anyone against buying this book if they were looking for good instruction; inspiration, yes, "how-to", no. C&T books are generally very good, and I will credit the book with lovely photos and a few basics to get you started on if you are already competent with reducing bulk in seam allowances, setting zippers, beading, and embellishments. However, this book would have been much more successful if it offered detailed and sequential instruction on just one or two basic patterns, then branched out with options on shapes, fabrics, closures, handles, etc. My suggestion... keep browsing.



3. On first glance, this book looks like the perfect venue for an inexperienced crafter to create very functional bags. I can sew a seam, but I'm not an expert, so I purchased this book for the projects. As promised, the projects looked quite nice. However, the book itself lacks a level of detail necessary for the novice crafter to successfully complete the projects.
   
   For instance, one of the projects is a box-type bag. While the point is to provide a guideline for creating many different bags using a single technique, the directions were confusing, there weren't enough illustrations for the 'tricky' aspects of the seaming and construction, and the directions didn't take you through a sample project with precise directions and specifications. For beginner projects, this is essential--you want to make the first project using the precise directions. Once you master the technique, THEN it's time to branch out and use your creativity.
   
   I liked the projects in this book, but I wish the author and the editors took the time to consider their audience and not assume specific experience and knowledge of sewing. There are better books to look at--try "Mary Mulari's Accessories With Style: Quick & Clever Sewing Projects to Wear & Carry."

5 comments about Sarah Moon: Coincidences.

1. This book is almost a course in artistic photography, from page one to the end.
   Her "de-focusing" technique is superb, it metaphors "a-temporality" or the aeternal as most of her work. Her subjects and themes are very original and the color section is astonishing.
   Do not miss the opportunity to have this jewel on your library.



2. Hmmm... "too much technique"... very interesting, this reminds me of the reaction of the art world to the inclusion of photography as an art form back about 40 years ago.. "not enough technique"... But, now we have an artist, using photo graphic images she has taken, and manipulating them in the most incredible and extraordinary ways. These go way beyond photography, yet have the sense of caught moments in early photo history using silver plate technique.
   Regrets? Yes, the cover, though handsome, seems cheap and too fragile to include with the excellent quality of the photo reproductions inside; and I would like to have more information on her "techniques." I feel that Sarah is probably afraid to discuss it since she will likely be snubbed by the photographic world, especially if she does anything outside of a dark room with conventional tools, very sad.



3. I wanted to like this book and I probably would have liked it more if it had been about 1/3 as long. The technique weighs down the images and I could only take small doses. Not that it's a bad technique, it's just too redundant for my taste when presented in this quantity.



4. Sarah Moon creates enchanting visual poetry in an exquisitely produced book.



5. The previous reviews cover the quality of the images in this book. I cannot say it any better. So, I'll touch on one little pet peeve I have.

   I'm puzzled that Arena Editions would release this book with such an inferior cover. The compressed, uncoated cardboard cover just invites disaster! Not only is it prone to staining, it is also VERY susceptible to moisture and denting... much more than the average hardcover

   I know, I know... "you should be careful when handling books... blah blah blah" That doesn't do away with the fact that this book demands to be handled! The images are too good to let this simply be a "coffee table" book. This is a sure fire page turner that must be protected in some way.

   Before purchasing this book, I STRONGLY suggest you also purchase some soft cotton gloves and a book cover of some sort; and most of all, don't out it on the coffee table!!!

1 comments about Teen People: Celebrity Style Guide.

1. What is the deal with the pasted on heads? Could they not find enough photos of stars in fun outfits & had to paste their heads onto other bodies? Or did they blow up the size of the heads on purpose? Weird.

5 comments about Vanitas: Designs.

1. "From the theatrical to the whimsical, Gianni Versace's designs have something for everyone. On these pages, his sketches and finished works of haute couture, ready-to-wear, accessories, jewelry, and opera and ballet costumes as well as artworks created by and for Versace are interpreted by top photographers such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and Bruce Weber. The pictures are accompanied by three very different kinds of writing: commentary by Hamish Bowles, Style Editor of American Vogue; a new short story by Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti, an Italian journalist and award-winning novelist; and a text by Lady Julia Trevelyan Oman."



2. 
   Gianni Versace - just the name brings to mind visions of high fashion, haute couture, incredibly beautiful fabrics swishing by on colt-like mannequins with arched eyebrows and the highest cheekbones. Vanitas: Designs is glamour between covers as it presents the designs, ready-to-wear, accessories, jewelry and costumes by Versace.
   
   The almost 300 folio-size, full-page startlingly colorful picturers are accompanied by texts penned by Hamish Bowles, Lady Julia Trevelyan Oman, Andre Leon Talley, and Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti. Quotes by Versace enliven the already quick paced commentary.
   
   The section on embroidery, from buttonholes to ball gowns, features garments decorated with threads of gold and silver, bugle beads, all reflecting Versace's eye for the imaginatively stunning.
   
   Here is a beautiful, bold, sometimes brash collection of some of the most opulent designs in our world of fashion.
   
   - Gail Cooke



3. I am 14 years of age, and thought this book was excellent. Any Versace fan would love this. The book is so bright with beautiful Miami inspired colors, very artistic illustrations, and wonderful pictures of his great creative designs. Though this is only up to his 1994 designs, it shows many of his best of all time. In this book, there are pages of his designs, theater designs,and more. This book is great. You never get bored when either reading the few pages to read, or when you are looking at the pictures and illustrations. It is a must have for the fashion lover, especially for the Gianni fan.



4. I am 14 years of age, and thought this book was excellent. Any Versace fan would love this. The book is so bright with beautiful Miami inspired colors, very artistic illustrations, and wonderful pictures of his great creative designs. Though this is only up to his 1994 designs, it shows many of his best of all time. In this book, there are pages of his designs, theater designs,and more. This book is great. You never get bored when either reading the few pages to read, or when you are looking at the pictures and illustrations. It is a must have for the fashion lover, especially for the Gianni fan.



5. This is my favorite book on Gianni Versace! It does an excellent job of showing excellent examples of the beautiful embellishments that make Versace what it is...SPECTACULAR. The art work is beautiful and the full color pictures are why this book is on my cofee table. It sums up Versace's work wonderfully!