2 comments about Amanda Goes West: A Journal of Fashion History Through Paper Dolls (The Amanda Series, Bk. 1).

1. I think this book is great. It illustates pioneering in a unique way. History buffs of all ages will enjoy it.



2. All three of these paper doll books are wonderful, they combine history and art to create an interactive experience for the child to treasure always. I highly suggest getting two copies, one to cut out and one to treasure forever :)

1 comments about Cloth And Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England, AD 450-700 (CBA Research Reports) (CBA Research Reports).

1. In this book, Professor Rogers has used her substantial archaeological knowledge and experience to give the reader clothing reconstructions for the early Anglo-Saxon period that comport with the most recent evidence. Richly illustrated, the book is a prime example of how archaeology can (but seldom does) enrich the study of costume. If the book has a flaw, it lies in the fact that Professor Rogers's use of period art to support hypotheses about period costume is not quite as skilled or persuasive as her archaeological analysis.

No comments about The Reality of Owning and Operating Your Own Clothing Line. Vol 2.

No comments about From the Kitchen to the Parlor: Language and Becoming in African American Women's Hair Care.

5 comments about Mommy Dressing : A love story, after a fashion.

1. Lois Gould's memoir of growing up as the daughter of American designer Jo Copeland strikes a rare balance. Gould's childhood was often harsh, lonely, and bewildering, yet also thrilling, if only in the looking-back on it. The creative juices flowing all around her were abundant, and must have informed her own artistic bent. Gould is a poetic writer, and while she doesn't flinch from revealing the nastier aspects of her childhood, she also doesn't fall into the oh-woe-is-me psychobabble so popular today. She comes to a hard-won understanding of and compassion for her beautiful, brittle, dazzlingly talented mother. The book is also a rich history of American social and political life in the first half of the 20th century. Highly recommended.



2. This was a Christmas present last year that I just re-read and loved even more for the texture of Lois Gould's rarified existence and the terror and mystery of her mother's unbelievable life. All my favorite topics are combined in this remarkably dry-eyed memoir: fashion, mother-daughter relations, Park Avenue life, how to pack a steamer trunk when going off to the Paris collections...



3. I was so looking orward to this book, but was sadly disappointed with it. The author had emotionally charged and complex family relationships. She related heart-wrenching accounts of her family history. Yet the emotional foundation for those stories was poorly developed. The book would have ben enthralling if the author had helped me to know her characters more. Instead it left me a bit flat.



4. Lois Gould's biography of her mother, and in no small part her own autobiography, is written with the novelist's touch. The prose is spare but evocative; the observations through a child's eyes clear but heartbreaking. It's a beautiful "read" although a sad, sad story. Lois Gould, however, bears no malice and allows us to judge Jo Copeland, which we do ultimately with compassion.



5. Gould's flawless memoir captures the complexities of a family, an era and a place beautifully, and anyone who reads her book is richer for it. As with the autobiography Angela's Ashes, Gould is able to recreate her personal history with fascinating detail. The fashion sketches and photos of her mother enhance the text. The book is a captivating armchair journey. I admire Gould for her ability to write of her parents with unblinking perception, conveying her compassion despite their tremendous shortcomings.

1 comments about Snaps.

1. I should start by saying that this review could be slightly bias, as Ellen Von Unwerth remains my favourite photographer. Generally, the combination of the large size of the photos, printed to the very edges of the pages, and a seemingly different texture ont he paper makes for an incredibly attractive book. Then to top it off, the book is packed full of some of the most interesting black and white photos I have seen so far. The photos are a mix of models in hotel rooms, and people on the streets, with all the glamour and darkness of the subjects blending into one another really well. The contrast in the photos is remarkable, and yet in some photos there seems to be an uncanny lack of depth. The definition and detail is fantastic, but as the background becomes darker, it can almost seem to disappear. It is a great book to sit back with at night, and have a few glasses of good red wine.

3 comments about Men In Style.

1. The beautiful illustrations of men's haberdashery produced for "Esquire" magazine between the 1930s and 50s by Laurence Fellows, Leslie Saalburg, and Robert Goodman remain vital references for men of classic tastes today. From Alan Flusser's great books to various menswear blogs, the attentive reader still encounters them all the time. That's what makes "Men in Style," assembled by Woody Hochswender, such an essential reference work ... and what makes it so unfortunate that available copies are evidently so hard to find.
   
   While great for reference and education, though, what's surprising about "Men in Style" is how entertaining a read it is. That's because -- unlike many of the others who reproduce these images -- Hochswender has included the editorial copy that accompanied the illustrations as they appeared in the magazine. As a professional copywriter myself, it was a joy to read (as Hochswender describes it in his introduction) "the crisply explanatory writing, dictatorial without being annoying, [arising] from a time when standards of behavior were inextricably linked to conventions in clothes. The editors were extremely uncompromising in their point of view, but at least they had one." Arnold Gingrich, founding editor of "Esquire," apparently produced much of this copy himself in the early years, and is to be commended for his distinctive and entertaining voice.
   
   If there's anything wrong with this book, it has to be that it's far too short. Hochswender had two or three decades worth of "Esquire" to work from, and I wish he had picked two or three times as many of these illustrations to include. Still, it's easy to tell someone else they should have worked harder, and I have no complaints with the outstanding work he did do. Among men who appreciate and try to maintain classic style -- a Nockian Remnant in a world where every day is "Casual Friday" -- "Men in Style" is a book to return to again and again for both spiritual uplift and practical application.



2. This book should NOT be out of print. Based on Esquire's coverage of fashion in the '30s and '40s, it not only shows how little men's fashion has changed over the years but also WHY the male of the species is so adverse to radical innovation.

   Mr. Hochswender is, arguably, the best living writer on this subject. Besides an encyclopedic knowledge of the field, his style, witty and easy to comprehend, makes for a great read.

   If you can acquire this book somehow, please do it. You will have deeper insight not only into fashion but also into male behavior in general.




3. This book is elegantly illustrated and shows the timelessness - some might say "sameness" - of men's fashion from the 1930s to the 1940s. This is the kind of book you don't lend to friends, because you'll never get it back. Speaking of which, does anyone have a copy to sell? I loaned mine to a friend - soon to be an ex-friend - and the book is out of print.

1 comments about The Common Man Through the Centuries: A Book of Costume Drawings.

1. This book would be excellent for beginning art or fine art
   students/enthusiasts. It depicts the common man in penciled
   art renditions over the centuries. For instance, the following
   depictions are made:
   - English peasants in the 12th century
   - Building workers 1400-1450
   - Sailors in mid-15th century Flanders
   - German peasants of late 15th century wearing a gorget
   - Pomerian peasants of the 16th century where a woman sports
   Burstling which is a short sleeveless bodice garment
   
   The acquisition would be worth the price for the student in your
   house.

5 comments about I Am Iman.

1. Tell lots about Iman. I bought for an african model friend of mine..Even tho she was too young to know her..very nice pictures..



2. This book I first read at my local library and fell in love with it. Not only does it have beautiful, colorful pics, it also somewhat empowers African American women in the fashion industry. Over the recent years the fashion shows and some of the fashion designers have made a "comfortable seat" casting white models. This book is a refreshing to read and look at the fashion industry through Iman eyes. My favorite part of this book is a photo spread of all the popular African American models togther. Good read and beautiful photos!



3. Interesting pictures. Very few stories. I was hoping for a better book from IMAN



4. This book, although brief, is a better than average book by a model.
   
   Iman adds more than just the basics; she provides her insights into what it means to her to be a black model as opposed to how society views it.
   
   It should not be expected to be an in-depth biography. Iman describes important events in her life: her early life, leaving her country, entering the modeling world. She does not tell many minor stories or go into excruciating details about why she feels the way she does about certain things or why specific people were chosen to add to her book.
   
   This book is that of an artist. The comments from friends and colleagues add to the pages and they way they are displayed is artistic and grabbing.
   
   The photographs, many which are nude or "artistic nudes," are beautiful and abundant.
   
   Overall, this is a book that people interested in models should read.



5. I loved this book, and it contains amazing photographs of a beautiful woman.
   She is a legend and it's easy to see why...
   
   
   A+++

4 comments about Patrick DeMarchelier: Forms.

1. This is real impressive in term of b&w photography. I like his creative composition and expression of forms. It is more than beautiful pic and model, and impressive techniques. The variety of subject is another good reason to get this one.



2. What Galen Rowell does for mountains, Patrick Demarchelier does for living subects. He captures the character, the inner self, the most basic essence of a subject and capture it on black and white film. It's as if he breaths on his photographs and they come to life. He does it for Hillary Clinton, he does it for giraffes--all mesmerizing to look at. I wish he could photograph everyone in the world--it would be a so much more interesting place if all the static, cliche portraits were replaced with his vivid work. The book includes color and magazine shoots, too--which prove the range of his talent. Who else could capture a different facet of the exhaustively photographed Linda Evangelista in every shot? Or make the form, the line of a model reclining on a whitewashed wall as interesting as the model's beauty? A really great book of pictures whose character, form, lines will entrance any viewer.This book -- or should I say Demarchelier's work--deserves more than five stars. How about ten?



3. Patrick has done it again! Pictures from recent harpers bazaar shoots and the beautiful portraits of Princess Diana are in this book. Everybody should purchase this book.



4. Patrick Demarchelier's mastery of tecnique and abundance of creativity is unique and deserves to be fully explored in this unmissable book. Fashion photography lovers must thank Harper's Bazaar's genius for its continous stimulation of our senses. Thank you, thank you Pat.