2 comments about A Closet Full of Shoes: Simple Ways to Make Them Chic.

1. I've read a woman can never have too many pairs of shoes. And in this respect, I am all woman. I probably have far too many pair, none too much alike, and who cares?
   
   For my business, which involves Scottish wedding themes, I'm always on the lookout for ways how to further develop Scottish-ness and have fun using Scottish roots to celebrate a wedding.
   
   So I bought A Closet Full of Shoes to see what ideas the authors had and how they might evolve with tartan, Celtic knots, and other Gaelic motifs.
   
   Personally, I don't wear anything with a heel over 1 inch, so I glad to see so many ideas for lower heels and flats. The stiletto heel ideas shown are great, glittery and glitzy...if only I could.
   
   From cover to cover I thoroughly enjoyed the read, the photos, and the creative ideas. It was nice to get directions about "how" to fasten the decorations on the shoes...and stockings!
   
   Eleven creative women contributed photos and directions. There are 49 ideas for ladies, 6 for little girls, 5 work of art displays, and many more photo ideas showing slippers, sandals, flip-flops, sneakers, boots, every day shoes, dressy night-out shoes and wedding shoes.
   
   Embellishment ideas include silk flowers, feathers, glitter and sequins ~ ribbons, trims, fabrics, and lace ~ applique, stencils, beads and buttons ~ computerized photo transfers and painted designs ~ jewelry, including brooches, charms, trinkets, and clip-on earrings. And combinations of these media.
   
   Quotes from Imelda Marcos, Sex and the City, Bette Midler, Oprah Winfrey, Marilyn Monroe, Teddy Roosevelt, Allan Sherman, and Cinderella add a whimsical humor.
   
   My favorite quote was anonymous, "When life gives you rain, splash in the puddles," with a pair of girls rain boots. How long since you've run and splashed in the puddles? Too long, I'll bet.



2. I loved this book from the moment I first opened it. I'm a wearable art artist and the more sources I have the better. This book gives me a new source of options. All my shoes will be having overhauls on them very soon!

1 comments about Jean Paul Gaultier (Memoirs).

1. As with the other books in the Universe of Fashion series, the Gaultier edition is mainly a photo look-book into the world of the designer. There is a short introduction about Gaultier, as well as a timeline of major events and collections in Gaultier's career. The photos used in the book are a good representation of Gaultier's clothing from his entire career, highlighting key pieces, and often showing them in interesting ways (a women's velvet cone bra dress is worn by male model Tanel in one photo for example). A great book for any Gaultier or fashion afficionado.

No comments about Gingham Aprons of the '40s & '50s: A Checkered Past (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1 comments about Guido Mocafico & Victoire de Castellane: Belladone Island.

1. This is a wonderful book that will provide clues into the thought processes a designer, in this case Victoire de Castellane, goes through when creating a new collection.
   It is easy to understand why her Dior fine jewellery collections are admired and sought after world wide.
   This is a book for any design afficianados library.

No comments about Beading with Lizzie McGuire.

1 comments about The Disney Book of Knitting.

1. Considering the title, you would think that this book would be filled with patterns made exclusively in children's sizes. However, although there are some children's jumpers included in this book, this is actually, primarily, a book of patterns for adults (males and females), and speaking as a 27 year old adult, these patterns are works of art that I would not be too embarrassed to wear in public (in spite of the fact that they have Mickey and his friends on them).
   
   This book contains patterns for knitting 20 items, including a Bambi sweater, a Cruella DeVille dress, a Tweedledee and Tweedledum cardigan and a Snow White pullover, among others. This book is authorized by Disney, so all of these patterns conform to Disney standards, (the book even recommends that you include the copyright information on your completed item), and the patterns really do the Disney characters justice. This book is in full-colour, including intarsia charts, making it very easy to use.

No comments about African Gold.

1 comments about Masks of the World.

1. I enjoy this book every time I look at it. The culture of Papua is beautifully told and well illustrated. A good introduction for me about a
   country I will never be able to visit.

4 comments about Women's Shoes in America, 1795-1930.

1. A must have for anyone with a collection of pre 1930s shoes; well organized and illustrated; invaluable for analyzing, dating, and describing women's footwear.



2. This is the book that you want to own if you have a collection of women's shoes to catalog. The front matter of the book includes "Fig 1. Parts of the Shoe" which features 16 illustrations drawn by the author diagramming the terminology for common parts and pieces of shoes, basic types of front-lacing footwear and common heel types. Part Two, Dating Women's Shoes, 1795-1930, offers steps for dating a shoe and five chapters devoted to every aspect of the shoe: upper patterns in shoes, upper patterns in boots, heels and soles, variations in lasts and materials/decorations. Part two alone has over 400 illustrations of individual shoes elegantly drawn by the author with a caption to explain the style/type described. The text of each chapter tells you everything you wanted to know about uppers, heels and decorations in an energetic, meticulous and succinct writing style. Each illustration/shoe is further described in a credit section at the back of the book. Appendixes discuss: "How leather is made" and "How shoes are made", and include a "Partial Listing of Shoe Manufacturers as compiled from Labels and Advertisements," which is particularly valuable when trying to decipher worn labels. The glossary of 15 pages is thoroughly written so that one can feel confident using the correct terminology. Part I, A History of Women's Footwear in America includes the chapters: A Brief Look at the American Shoe Industry, Women's Shoes and Female Stereotypes, a Chronological Overview of Shoe Fashions, The Correct Dress of the Foot, and Shoes Adapted for Sports and Protection. Every aspect of the subject matter is laid out before you so that a beginner can feel confident dating and describing a shoe while those interested in fashion and costume history will treasure the wealth of information and the precision with which the author covers her subject. I can't imagine anyone writing a better book on the subject than this one.



3. This great book is a very interesting reading and one of the most valuable sources for dating the shoes. If you work with historical shoes or just love shoes you cannot just read it once - you will be always using it! On many occasions this book actually helped to date the shoes correctly.



4. Since I received my delivery of _Women's Shoes In America, 1795-1930_ from Amazon earlier this week, I have been unable to put down this extraordinary book. Nancy Rexford's work is a magnificent contribution to the field of costume history. I understand that it took Nancy 14 years to research the information for this book. I have no doubt that she will soon be acknowledged as the leading expert on the history of American shoes. Women's Shoes in America is divided into two main sections. The first section is "A History of Women's Footwear...". This section includes chapters on the rise of the American shoe industry (fascinating), cultural stereotyping, sporting shoes, etc. The second section of the book is "Dating Women's Shoes, 1795-1930". This section is a well organized and easy to follow guide on how to date shoes by their various parts; eg. heels, soles, uppers, trimmings, etc. This is a book every museum, dealer and fashion lover will cherish. You will be wowed by the author's breadth of historical knowledge, thorough research, clear organization, easy to follow identification key and her beautiful illustrations. For me, the icing on the cake for this book is that it is also so very literary; simply a delight to read!! I highly recommend it!

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No comments about A New Order of Things: How the Textile Industry Transformed New England.