No comments about Princess Dianas Latest Fashion.

1 comments about Art Deco Jewelry Designs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. A typical Dover reprint of public domain material, but in this case well done. Original drawings from the Le plus bel album du monde pur les industries de luxe published in Paris at the height of the Art Deco period. These are the design drawings, not pictures of the finished pieces. There is a brief publishers note, but no other commentary to put the designs in perspective.
   
   A good resource for crafts inspirations, but not a book of patterns or designs. Since these are drawings it is not always apparent what the finished piece, if it was ever created, would look like, but perhaps that is all to the better as an inspirational source.
   
   I am confused by Dover's restrictive copyright since the material is public domain, but if you are interested in copying the designs for your own projects you should have no problem.
   
   Overall a fine example of the art deco sensibility expressed in jewelry.

No comments about Cowboy Clothing and Gear: The Complete Hamley Catalog of 1942.

No comments about Fashion Designers at Home.

1 comments about Creating and Knitting Your Own Designs.

1. I think that this book is better than the Knitter's Handbook because she has a good selection of pattern stitches. Yes, she is very opinionated about things--but then so is the Zimmerman crowd--in this book she delves a lot more into silhouettes and what is best for your figure type. If you ignored the knitting aspects, this could be used as an additional reference on pattern drafting. The color plates of the garments are pretty good, although all she gives you is yarn, pattern silhouette, type of collar, and stitches used. Not much to go on if you are used to detailed instructions!

   This is not really a book for beginners--her writing style and the editing makes it difficult to understand sometimes (just like the Knitter's Handbook) However, because she shows in detail how to calculate ease allowances and so forth, it will be a valuable future reference, especially for those who make more fitted knitwear.

   The empty graph paper sheets from 1.1 to 2.0 are a big bonus in this book as well, and even though we now have computer programs that will print custom graph paper, it is great for those of us who need to print out a sheet or two on the copy machine for travel. I wish this book were back in print as well!

No comments about Luxury Design: Luxury New Codes & Jewel Design.

No comments about Textile Motifs of India (Agile Rabbit Editions).

1 comments about The Male Mystique: Men's Magazine Ads of the 1960s and '70s.

1. The Male Mystique offers an illuminating study of the "real man" archetype on which so many of us guys were raised: a hostile, arrogant, emotionally crippled ninny, slowly destroying himself with booze and cigarettes while being fawned over by non-threatening, sexually compliant child-women who somehow manage to be even dumber than he is. Not a pretty picture. However, the most disturbing element of the book lies in the author's attitude: Boyreau seems to regard Madison Avenue's monstrosity as admirable and romantic, an ideal to be cherished. His pretentious text is mercifully brief.

1 comments about Fighting for the Union Label: The Women's Garment Industry and the Ilgwu in Pennsylvania.

1. My mother worked in the garment industry in PA her entire life and this book tells me the story of how that happened. My mom was a staunch supporter of the ILGWU and now I know why. I highly recommend this book to anyone who had family that worked in the early days of unionization. It's a wonderful depiction of some very courageous women and men.

No comments about Shoes (Mega Square).