1 comments about High Fashion in Shakespeare's Time: A Study of the Period Costume With Pull-Up Scenes (History & Costume).

1. World of knowledge here... and fun pictures too. Great details and accurate info.

2 comments about Wearing Ideology: State, Schooling and Self-Presentation in Japan (Dress, Body, Culture).

1. A very detailed book about uniforms in Japan, with major focus on school uniforms, but the book also deals with post-school uniforms in the work place and even in the home. Lots of examples and a solid foundation set on past studies, books and surveys. The author also shows the anti-uniform culture, which sometimes ends up being just as uniform. Formal uniforms vs. the cult of playful kawaisa (cuteness).
   Really interesting, seeming to follow the changes within the life of the Japanese, from school uniforms, to the college rest period (where you wear whatever you want), to the uniform (and job)they will be wearing the rest of their life.



2. McVeigh examines how clothing in Japan, specifically the uniform, acts both as social control and socializing mechanism, and also functions as a site for protest and differentiation. Along with the first part, which deals mainly with uniforms, there's also fascinating discussion of Japan's "cult of cuteness", an aesthetic which is fundamentally Japanese and which ranges from Hello Kitty to hardcore .... Did you know that some Japanese schoolgirls actually choose their schools based on how "cute" the school uniform is? Too much. Cool book.

No comments about Skin Tight: The Sensibility Of The Flesh.

5 comments about Revolution in Fashion: European Clothing, 1715-1815.

1. This is an excellent pictorial guide to 18th and early 19th Century clothing explored through very creatively put together displays of actual clothing. If the reader is looking for a book crammed full of quality photographs and little text this is it. However, the book is out of print and hard to find at a reasonable price. Most of the photographs are repeated in a newer book, also by the Kyoto Institute, called FASHION, so it is worthwhile considering the latter book instead, given the high price of Revolution in Fashion on the secondary market. Interestingly enough the new book "Fashion" is now published in a boxed set of two books, the 18th Century dealt with in the first of these.



2. This is my favorite of shelves-full of costume books, not only because of the quality of the photography and the beauty of the items in the Kyoto exhibition, but also because it captures the experience of silently moving through the exhibition itself. I've used this book extensively as a visual reference for recreating 18th-century gowns -- no amount of description can accomplish what detailed photos can.



3. Some of the photos from this superb exhibition may be found in "Fashion", also put out by the Kyoto Costume Institute, published by Taschen. (Available through Amazon.[com])



4. This is the best book on the costumes of the 18th century that I have ever found. Page after page of gorgeous garments are clearly photographed and beautifully displayed. It is inpirational.



5. This is an outstanding exhibition catalogue from Japan (thankfully written in English). It has the most fabulous, clear photos of 18th, early 19th century costume.

   If you have any interst in European Fashion during this period try and get your hands on a copy of this outstanding book.

   It has worthwile text, but the photos are the real find.

No comments about Visionaire No. 50: Artists Toys (Visionaire).

No comments about Mallarme on Fashion: A Translation of the Fashion Magazine La Derniere Mode, with Commentary.

No comments about The Fashion & Print Directory, Vol.3: Image Makers Source of the Madison Avenue Handbook.

No comments about Clothing appearance and fit: Science and technology (Woodhead Publishing in Textiles).

No comments about Visionaire No. 45: More Toys Blue (Visionaire, 45).

No comments about Kangas 101 Uses.