2 comments about How the West was Worn: A Complete History of Western Wear.

1. This book has great images. I used it for clothing design inspiration and loved it. Lots of "full on" western clothes loaded with embroidery, sequins, etc. I did not read a word of the text, merely used it for the photos.



2. A wonderful wallow for a clothing collector! A source of inspiration for an obsessed person who is likely to make his or her own clothing! Marvellous images, beautifully printed, I love this book.

1 comments about The 1920s (Fashion Sourcebooks).

1. This book is fabulous. It has everything on fashion in the 1920s. My daughter was doing a project on 1920s fashion and she found this book very helpful.

5 comments about Photo Styling: How to Build Your Career and Succeed.

1. This book seemed really old and outdated. They are promoting to "photo style" and I had to laugh at how bad the photo on the cover was when I got the book. Not for the stylish.



2. This book is a joke. I think it's pretty important, when publishing a book about photo styling, that the photos are well-styled and well-shot. These are neither. There is something very elementary and DIY about this book. Not a good expenditure, and I recommend you search for something else.
   
   I am leaving a star, as Amazon doesn't give me the option of leaving no stars.



3. Being a professional photographer I have worked with many stylists. This book has lots of good info in it. I bought it for a friend who was interested in being a stylist. I looked at it and have barrowed it back several times to improve my own skills. It has lots of great ideas and skills you need.



4. This is a fantastic source of information for anyone interested in finding out what the career of photo styling entails but also offers lots of tips even for a veteran stylist like me. The author writes with insight, humor and obviously from a great deal of experience.
   There are illustrations showing how things are done, many tips and "secrets" and very useful lists and websites.
   The chapters on the business of styling and self promotion are alone are worth the price of the book.
   Get this book if you want to work as a stylist or if you are working as one now. You'll learn something useful!!!



5. This book has helped me time and time again and I've only had it for a month or so. I'm so glad someone finally wrote a book on such an important part of photography. I recommend anyone serious about fashion and photography to get this book, it helps a great deal and explains everything in such detail.

5 comments about Knit Couture: 20 Hand-Knit Designs from Runway to Reality.

1. As a graphic designer I was floored by the fantastic design of this book which included great color photographs, diagrams and instructions. My fav element was the inclusion of a few Vellum Overlay Pages directly above the color photographs that showcases the knitted garments patterns and sketch lines of the garment in the design phase. An inspiration to me to design my own knitwear! I absolutely love this book! I am a novice knitter, so I am glad to have found such good instruction to begin my knitting journey!



2. I purchased this book, not because I have any ability to knit, but for my love of Weardowney. It first came to my attention on the company's website, and it was purchased for the coffee table, more than knitting knowledge enhancement.
   
   However, I was surprised at how much this book engrossed me. It begins with an introduction to hand knitting followed by a look into the House of Weardowney, which in itself is intriguing. The first chapter `The Birth and Evolution of Knitting' is written in the style of essays on the Renaissance, complete with its art historical references and literary links, and is an excellent grounding to the rest of the book. After our background knowledge is in place, the second chapter looks into knitwear's move from practicality to high fashion. Coco Chanel, John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood all get a mention as `Knit Couture' sweeps the geographical and historical development of this `medium', and then discusses `Knit Today'. The writing is juxtaposed with luscious pictures of beautiful Weardowney creations, as well as high fashion examples from Kenzo, Jean Paul Gaultier and the like.
   
   `Knit Couture' then focuses on Classic and Diffussion designs, some sparkley, some comfy, all of which are truly stunning! I am told by friends who can knit that the designs are easy to follow, and if it is too much for novices, there is a very helpful section at the back entitled `Starting Knitting' which goes through `Casting on', `Knit stitch' etc.
   
   I could not recommend this book more to amateurs or experts. It is an enjoyable, insightful read and a visual feast into a side of fashion which is relatively unexplored. I found it a truly fantastic in its deviations. I may as an amateur attempt my own creations, or perhaps just leave the wondrous weavery to the experts!



3. I liked the patterns in this book. They were stylish with some in fine yarns (4 ply or fingering) and a few in thicker yarns (10 ply, aran or worsted). There are boleros, vintage inspired cardigans, skirts, dresses and camisoles in fine yarns and a few chunkier jumpers (sweaters). A few of the patterns are for small sizes but a lot go up to quite large sizing eg 124 cm bust. Overall very fashionable but they might not suit everyone.This is a British book so the knitting history does mainly cover British and European knitwear, especially haute couture not everyday wear.



4. I was really excited at the thought of a Weardowney book, but was quite let down by the reality. Half the book is a history of knitting.... hello? I expected lots of prose in KnitKnit, but not in this! (And KnitKnit does have lots of prose, but also has lots of projects...). And the patterns - well, boring, repetitive, and a bit 80s. Also - incredibly fine guage, which is fine if you like it. The photography is so stylised you can't make out much either. This is a pity, and unneccesary - Twinkle proved you can combine fashion photography with clarity of detail..... So this is going to be another dust collector. Oh well.



5. The first half of the book reads like an essay on the history of knitwear, and of those designers that the authors feel have contributed the most to the current popularity of knitting. While interesting in parts, I do feel that it is fairly biased and pontificating upon their own importance.
   
   The designs themselves are fairly repetitive; there is a camisole done in cotton, then again in Lurex, and finally also in Lurex, with a skirt attached to make a dress. The skirt itself can also be found as a separate pattern. The skirt is knit in a lace pattern (there are no charts), but you can't see the lace in much detail, as with most patterns in the book, since the photographs are all done in moody lighting with the models is contorted into unnatural poses. If you flip to the back of the book you'll find the garments photographed on a dummy, which is a nice idea, but the photographs are too small to see much detail.
   
   I haven't started knitting any of the patterns yet, but have already found a few mistakes; for example, one pattern uses Rowan Cotton Glace and the gauge given in stockinette stitch is impossibly tight (needles are only given in US sizes throughout the book), so either the yarn is wrong or the gauge is wrong.
   
   I do like that the patterns are mostly in finer gauge yarns, and the couple that I would like to knit appear to use a different construction technique to any I've seen before. There is also a photograph of a rather lovely lace tunic for which there isn't pattern given but, armed with a stitch dictionary, doesn't look too difficult to copy.
   
   If you don't like knitting with finer yarns, don't buy this book; you've probably already got patterns very similar to the couple that do use a heavier weight yarn, and you can get a better, unbiased history of knitwear elsewhere.

No comments about Style, Style, Style.

4 comments about Diana, Queen of Style.

1. This book will not change your life, but if you like to look at pictures of Diana in her lovely clothes looking lovely herself, this is a pretty volume, well designed and pleasant to browse through. The text will not set the standard for the industry, however, so if you are looking for more in depth reviews of her fashions or her biography, you could make a better choice.

   Bottom Line: It's a lovely treat to spend an afternoon with this book if you're not interested in anything new or innovative. Enjoy it for what it is, an attractive book about an attractive woman.




2. Prince Charles has said that he likes to see a lady well dressed; however, I don't think he was ever able to cope with his late ex-wife's beauty, charisma, elegance, poise, and humor. He could not accept the fact that people would rather see his radiant wife who was royal by marriage, but a far cry from the traditional, stuffy royal. I think his envy was one reason for the breakup of their marraige. This book covers every phase of Diana's multifaceted life.

   Even as a Sloane Ranger, Diana had outstanding tast in the style of clothes she wore and in the accessaries she chose to wear with each outfit. This book contains many beautiful pictures of Diana which have never been seen before.

   It's difficult to believe this beautiful, young princess is no longer alive because each picture of her radiates such warmth. Diana often recycled many of her dresses by having different little touches added or by having something deleted. Diana possessed the ability to combine the most expensive jewelry with costume jewelry. She, also, liked color and chose to wear colors which no royal before her had done. Diana like to shop and what modern lady doesn't? Again, something royals didn't do.

   Truly, Diana is "Queen of Style." This book is well written and shows that Diana could wear many varieties of color, dresses, jewelry, etc. with which no one before her dared to experiement. All pictures are in color except for a couple. This book is a must for anyone who collects books on Diana, Princess of Wales.




3. This book is good but not the best on this particular topic--Diana and her fashions. It makes many mistakes, such as identifying a Valentino dress as a Catherine Walker design. The text is mostly adulatory and simply describes things you could see for yourself by looking at the pictures (of which there are many). Topics such as her weight loss are touched upon, then dropped. The text needed an editor.

   The photos, however, are lovely.




4. Both interesting and informative, this book chronicles the late Princess Diana's fashion history from her engagement days through her last year. With details gathered from her favorite designers, photos describing each period show how Diana emerges from her look as a trendy Sloane Ranger to the style icon she became. This book is a 'must' for any collector.

2 comments about High Fashion Hats: 1950-1980.

1. More than a fashion guide, this detailed and authoritative reference compendium focuses on collectible designer hats from 1950-80 and is very highly recommended for both fashion collections in art libraries and collector's reference libraries with its fine survey of the hairstyles, hats and history behind them. The millinery glossary pairs well with period photos of the hats in use and the fine color photos throughout, making for an excellent collection of images, price guides and history perfect for either art or collector's references.



2. VERY DISAPPOINTING...Schiffer's fashion books in the past have usually been very well written with rare examples of clothing and accessories, and I had high hopes when I purchased this on-line and sight unseen, but overall..I found this a Highly Disappointing book. Strictly for the beginner or amateur hat collector. From the book's wrong title (there are almost no true high fashion hats in here) to the poor and too small photos, to the sparse, stilted, poorly written and sometimes inaccurate text, the book is not for the serious or educated millinery reader. The authors admit in thier bios, that they have no background in millinery, or in hat collecting, which shows, and makes one wonder why they were chosen by the publisher to write this book? Written on what seems a grade school level, without any new information to offer the reader. From the title, one would expect to find some classic and beautiful examples of real High Fashion Hats; those unusual,unique millinery creations by coveted designers that make your mouth water, and I was expecting that, but I found none.. save for a few, but none really impressed me. The book has mostly small photos of common, run of the mill lower end hats that can still be found today in second hand shops and tag sales. The writers did not seem to go out of their way to find any truly special hats, and that is not hard to do if you know where to look and what a REAL high fashion hat IS. Mostly showing small photos of inexpensive ready-to-wear hats that originally sold in Pennsylvania and Pocono Mountain mid range department stores that catered to the middle classes and rual communities, and many photographed on styrofoam wig heads (YES!!) the book really disappoints anyone looking for examples of fine millinery. As a dealer in antique and vintage millinery in New York and Los Angeles for over 25 years, and a 35 year long collector of hats, I can say that the price guide is totally useless, and way off, with values placed much higher or lower than the hats are worth, which I feel would hurt and misguide a beginner dealer and or collector. As an example, a small cello straw pillbox with a smidge of veiling, no other trims, circa 1960's with NO label..priced at $45.00? Wool mass produced hats from the 1970's for $75.00 or more? And hand crocheted and hand knit home made caps (please.. these do not belong in this book) referred to as High Fashion Hats? You get the idea. There are some inaccuracies in the text (what little text there is) and glossary of terms as well. .....The 1950's was an exciting time for hats and millinery; from the New Look, the Romantic Post War Revival, The French influences, New York's millinery shops and milliners, Los Angeles and Hollywood milliners and costumers, American couture millinery, Chicago's fantastic millinery artists, St. Louis' hat centers...Southern shops, etc, etc....all very important influences in thier day, but most or all are sorely lacking or not found at all in this book...and any true collector of that time period's hats will surely find this book a complete waste of time and money. Sorry, but this, and other Schiffer fashion books have not been up to their usual high standards lately. It might be fun to leaf through the book, as it only took me 10 minutes to read the entire thing..but certainly not worth purchasing for any serious or seasoned millinery lover.

5 comments about Rendering Fashion, Fabric and Prints with Adobe Photoshop.

1. I have found this book to be very informative and easy to follow for a beginning student of fabric design. Photoshop has so many applications and the author of this book really streamlined the information to apply directly to what I need to learn regarding fashion/ design applications. I refer to it constantly.



2. Okay, this book has some great bits in it, but it's also full of a lot of "fluff." I wish it was more concise. I don't think it's worth what I paid for it. I can't say I would recommend it unless you are completely lost and want sections devoted to definitions, the textile industry, other printing methods, etc. I'm a Fibers student looking to go into the textile industry as a repeat artist, and I was hoping this book would cover more computer/program techniques. I learned better shortcuts and methods on my own than I did from this book. Do yourself a favor and find someone (or another book) that can cover Photoshop for you.



3. Absolutely not worth the price it is being sold for. i agree with other reviewers that half of the information is totally not required.Plus the CD's are a mess as half of your time is wasted in searching the relative images in the CD for the excercises and some of them are completely missing!!! I could not render half of the fabrics as per the instructions since as they are very unspecific & confusing.So many pages have been wasted in giving a brief of textiles which is a different subject altogether and the one who would want to use this book has to be thorough with textiles. The information on textiles also is too brief & confusing.Aslo there were too many examples & mini biographies of people who are successful CAD/Textile designers which was totally not required.I hopped & jumped & skipped throughout the book expecting something useful but in vain.I finally gave up and returned it.Please do not waste money on this book.I really would like someone to come up with a more specific and useful book for using such important softwares like Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop specifically for rendering fashion as I desperately want to learn this. I expected that this book would be a good substitute (as this is the only book i hv found till now that uses photoshop to render textiles) for the highly expensive CAD courses here in NY. But unfortunately i was thouroughly disappointed. Can someone please suggest me any other good books related to Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop for rendering fashion, textiles & prints?????Suggestions are welcome - nins25@gmail.com



4. this is one of only two refrences currently avlaible on the subject. (a third is coming soon)
   there are a lot of editing problems, and missing files. extremly frustrating when you are trying to work thorugh the exercises.
   but, i took the basics that it offered and ran with it.
   
   it is a pricy book, but i would recommend it (as it's cheaper then the other book available) as of now, and seen the new book. hopefully a new addition will be released minus the mistakes. so that it can be more useful refrence for those of us intrested in this subject.
   
   i'd also like to see some information on advanced techniques. and more info on using a drawing tablet.
   
   the title is also misleading, as all you learn is how to render textiles.



5. This book should have been 1/2 the size and 1/2 the price. I nearly returned it, but since there are so few instructional books on Photoshop geared towards textile/surface design available on the market, I stuck it out.
   I'd throw out half the content. Too much text is spent explaining the textile industry. While it is important to understand the textile trade/printing process, that's not what I wanted when I bought this book. Much of the book focuses on "Basic Design" principles, putting together a portofolio, presentation boards, the future of digital printing etc... like a Textile Design 101 class. Some people might find this helpful ... I found it infuriating.
   This book is NOT about inspiration. The exercises are drab, the illustrations and sample files are plain and artless. Sometimes key information about where to look for tools is missing or mis-labeled. One section refers to a Demo plug-in to use, but it doesn't name the plug-in and there are no plug-ins found on the CD. There are product placement "advertisements" that annoy me. And the author assumes from the get-go that the "student" has access to a flatbed scanner and other expensive hardware; clearly a textbook geared towards a shared studio/lab classroom situation.
   The CD is a disaster. NONE of the file folders or names referenced in the text relate to the CD content. Most of the files are there, but not in any logical order and with different file names. When the author references a file in an exercise, you can spend more time looking for the file than actually performing the exercise. There are multiple copies of some files and it's missing other files altogether. Chapter 3 is the first chapter where exercises with CD files begin, but the Chapter 3 folder is empty! There are tons of images of "Student" work that is completely uninspired and seems more like a way to get the author's favorite student "published".
   This is an unsophisticated and horribly uninspired text. I kept it because there is so little available geared towards textile design.
   My background is in Fine Arts with an advanced understanding of textiles including weaving, sewing, handprinting textiles and traditional croquis painting. I am very computer literate and am not afraid of software. I've never been able to merge my hands on painting etc to the digital realm and have been looking for instructional aids to help with that. I had high expectations and wanted a fairly sophisticated reference book. I feel like I'm sifting through a lot of chaff for a meager meal. I guess I'm hungry.
   I'm determined to break through to learn to utilize a very sophisticated product (Photoshop) for my needs. I'll get my inspiration elsewhere. I gave this book 2 stars only because there is some value in working through the exercises which are specifically geared towards pattern and textile design.
   > If you are looking for inspiration, don't buy this book.
   > If you know you'll be dissuaded and frustrated by disorganized and missing references to files and tools - don't buy this book.
   > If you're new to design and don't understand textiles, I'm not sure you will be well-served by the presentation of the "Basics".
   > If you buy this book, glean what you can and ignore the discouraging mediocrity.

No comments about Snow Country: Mountain Homes and Rustic Retreats.

4 comments about Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags: 30 Designs (Beadwork Creates series).

1. Another excellent book put together by Interweave, a must for all beaders, so many patterns, so little time to do them all.



2. I agree with other reviewers that this shape of book is not the easiest to read, but I flattened my copy and put a weight on it to hold it open while working... no big deal. It's what's inside that counts!
   
   The 30 exquisite purse and bag designs in the book, shown in full color photographs, are contributed by different artists, and each is extremely unique in its design and method. Several of the purses are knitted, and some are crocheted. Some have strands of beads couched onto fabric. Some are created with peyote stitch or on a bead loom, then sewn together. One is sewn onto a metal purse frame. One I partricularly like has strands of beads glued (using special sticky tape) onto a purchased tote in a gorgeous design. Some are large and shopping-baggish, and others are small amulet bags or clutches. Every one of them is gorgeous, and you will not find anything like them in any store, unless it is an expensive boutique. They look like collectors' items.
   
   There are no quick and easy projects here. They require time, commitment to read through the instructions and follow them step by step, and skill with the hands. The written instructions are fairly easy to understand, but experienced crafters will follow them more easily. There are illustrations, but a few more would be helpful.
   
   The last section of the book shows how to do all the different stitches and techniques used in the projects, but for knitted bags, you will already need to know how to knit. Hand and machine sewing skills are required for some of the projects.



3. I have to first say that the photos and projects in this book, as well as the others in the Beadwork series, are gorgeous. They are not your typical jewelry items: they show unique colors and mixtures and ideas. Love that part. What I hate about the book is the format...it is long and skinny with a tough spine. In other words, extremely difficult to hold, much less do a project from. It's so narrow that the inside page closest to the spine often cuts off certain words. I tried going to office max to have one drilled to be loose leaf, with the spine cut off, but it still makes for awkward work. Why they couldn't make this a full size book with a lay flat spine is beyond me.



4. Jean Campbell edits Beaded Bags, a survey of 30 bag projects designed to appeal to all levels of beadworkers. These aren't just the usual rectangular bags; they are especially notable projects in presenting a diversity of bag styles and designs, from clutches and drawstring purses to wrist bags and market bags. Techniques range from embroidery and loom weaving to bead crochet, with plenty of colorful photos and step-by-step clear instructons.