In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine

Book Description

In Vogue is a fascinating look at the history of the world's most influential magazine. The complete compendium is illustrated with hundreds of covers and archival interiors of past Vogue editions, featuring the work of some of the twentieth century's most respected artists, cover illustrators, and photographersâfrom Edward Steichen, Toni Frissell, and Erwin Blumenfeld to Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Bruce Webber, and Herb Ritts. In 1909, an entrepreneurial New Yorker named CondÃ© Nast took charge of a struggling society journal and transformed it into the most glamorous fashion magazine of the twentieth century. In Vogue traces the history, development and influence of this media colossusâfrom its beginning as a social gazette in the late nineteenth century, to the exploration of modern fashion photography and new visuals in the mid-twentieth century, to its status as the top style magazine today. The book explains the makings of the magazineâfrom runways, to editorial meetings, to the pages of Vogue.The thoroughly researched story incorporates first-person accounts, interviews with editors and photographers, and excerpts from stories written in the magazine by many world-renowned writers, including Truman Capote, Aldous Huxley, Richard Burton, Federico Fellini, and Marcello Mastroianni. Unparalleled in its scope and exceptionally illustrated, In Vogue is sure to be among the most important publications on the subjects of culture, art, fashion, photography, and media.

Customer Reviews:

A Taste of Owners' Plans, Editorial Direction, Style, Fashion, Great Photography, and Memorable Models.......2007-07-16

What attracts you to Vogue? Chances are that element is represented someplace within the pages of In Vogue.

To me, the photographs are the main appeal of Vogue. Since its founding on December 17, 1892, Vogue has attempted to capture current and future fashion through its images. The magazine has been blessed by talented work done by most of the world's best fashion photographers since then who brought us the most interesting society women, celebrities, cultural icons, and, of course, fashion models. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book contained at least a few works by each of the greatest photographers to appear in Vogue. Most of the images were known to me, but a number were new. My main disappointment was that the photographers I like the most didn't have more photographs in the book. But the book is very bulky and heavy as it is.

To my interest in the photographs came many essays about why the photographers were selected and what the editors asked them to accomplish. The interaction of the art directors and the photographers was particularly noteworthy in regard to covers.

I have also spent many years as a management consultant in the magazine industry. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there's a pretty complete overview of the management thinking and decisions that led to Vogue becoming so successful.

But the most interesting surprise came in the extended views into the editorial philosophies and working styles of the magazine's editors. Creating a fashion magazine is very demanding, and Vogue has been fortunate in its editors both for their energy and their vision for the reader.

If neither business nor editing interest you, you'll still find lots of marvelous images to help you trace the development of fashion and style in the United States over the last 100 plus years.

Here are a few of my favorite photographs in the book:

Helen Lee Worthing by Baron Adolphe de Meyer, September 1, 1920 (p. 61)

White by Edward Steichen, January 1, 1936 (p. 67)

Mademoiselle Koopman by George Hoyningen-Huene, September 15, 1933 (p. 69)

Mary Taylor by Cecil Beaton, May 15, 1935 (p. 73)

Lisa Fonssagrives by Horst P. Horst, August 1, 1938 (p. 76)

Decor by Horst P. Horst, March 15, 1938 (p. 77)

Corset by Horst P. Horst, September 15, 1939 (p. 78)

Coco Chanel by Horst P. Horst, February 15, 1954 (p. 79)

Cover by Horst P. Horst, September 15, 1940 (p. 89)

Loretta Young by John Rawlings (p. 111)

Twelve Beauties by Irving Penn, 1947 (pp. 116-117)

Cover by Horst P. Horst, May 15, 1941 (p. 131)

Cafe Society by Cecil Beaton, 1948 (pp. 136-137)

Concentration Camp by Lee Miller, June 1945 (p. 143)

Jean Pachett by Irving Penn, February 15, 1949 (p. 144)

Atelier of Pablo Picasso, November 1, 1956 (pp. 156-157)

Twiggy by Richard Avedon, July 1967 cover (p. 172)

Marisa Berenson by Berry Berenson, 1969 (p. 179)

Marisa Berenson by Irving Penn, April 1970 (pp. 186-187)

Lauren Hutton by Richard Avedon, January 1, 1969 (pp. 198-199)

Celebrity covers, 1965-1971 (p. 202)

Cheryl Tiegs and Rene Russo by Helmut Newton, 1974 (p. 215)

Cybill Shepherd by Helmut Newton, 1973 cover, (p. 216)

Kim Basinger by Irving Penn, September 1978 (p. 217)

Beverly Johnson by Albert Watson, October 1977 (pp. 218-219)

Charlotte Rampling by Helmut Newton, 1974 (p. 221)

Eveningwear by Arthur Elgort, 1978 (p. 222-223)

Lisa Taylor by Arthur Elgort, October 1976 (pp. 228-229)

The Right Moment by Arthur Elgort (p. 230)

Lisa Taylor by Helmut Newton, May 1975 (p. 233)

Winnie by Helmut Newton, 1976 (p. 234)

Daryl Hannah by Helmut Newton, 1984 (p. 235)

Bathhouse by Deborah Turbeville, May 1975 (pp. 236-237)

Satin and Leather by Peter Lindbergh, September 1991 (pp. 252-253)

Color and Opulence by Peter Lindbergh, October 1997 (pp. 254-255)

Tribute by Annie Leibovitz, November 1999 Cover (pp. 272-273)

Linda Evangelista by Steven Meisel, September 2001 (p. 274)

Shape by Annie Leibovitz and Patrick Demarchelier, April 2002 (p. 278)

Lisa Cant by Irving Penn, September 2005 (p. 283)

Cindy Crawford by Helmut Newton, December 1991 (p. 287)

Haute Couture by Irving Penn, December 1995 (p. 292-293)

Epic Proportions by Irving Penn, April 2004 (p. 297)

Swimsuits by Mario Testino, May 2000 (pp. 298-299)

Portrait of a Lady by Steven Meisel, March 1995 (p. 307)

Mad About You by Steven Meisel, October 2003 (p. 313)

Naomi Campbell by Herb Ritts, May 1996 (pp. 314-315)

Barbarian Chic by Arthur Elgort (p. 325)

Near Bora Bora by Patrick Demarchelier, December 2004 (p. 330)

Golden Girl by Annie Leibovitz, April 2006 (pp. 345-346)

Condoleeza Rice by Annie Leibovitz, December 2001 (pp. 358-359)

Kate Moss by Irving Penn, September 1996 (pp. 368-369)

Hillary Clinton by Annie Leibovitz, December 1998 (p. 372)

Nicole Kidman by various photographers, September 2003 (pp. 378-379)

Models and Supermodels by Steven Meisel, September 2004 (pp. 380-381)

Ben Stiller and Stella Tennant by Annie Leibovitz, October 2001 (pp. 388-389)

Mario Testino, April 2006 (pp. 392-393)

Take a close look!

Just OK........2007-06-28

I liked the information and photos about the early Vogue, and wish there was more of it. I was not so interested in the later stuff, as it seemed overly self-important. Instead of presenting fashion, the current Vogue seems to commision special clothes for its photo shoots. What's the point if you can't buy that? Plus the photos don't even show what the clothes look like. I have better books on fashion, but this really was about the history of the magazine, and as such it succeeds. I just don't happen to like the magazine as it never shows anything I'd want to wear.

Magnificient overview of an iconic magazine.......2007-06-22

Ten gets you one that when you ask someone to name a fashion magazine, the first answer you get will be, "Vogue". That's how much of an institution the magazine has become. While "Elle" and "Women's Wear Daily" might dispute the contention, "Vogue" seems to have become the periodical of record for worldwide haute couture. As such, as the authors note in their introduction, a basic history is past due. With a great deal of help from the Vogue staff itself - Anna Wintour, the magazine's longtime editor (and so prominent a figure in her own right that Meryl Streep's spoof of her in last year's movie "The Devil Wears Prada" was instantly recognizable), is prominent in the list of contributors - Angeletti and Oliva, magazine historians both, have assembled an informative text and a gorgeous array of imagery which effectively covers the century-plus history of Vogue, from the cover of the very first magazine to the latest photos of Nicole Kidman. The book is certainly a highly display-worthy item, as another reviewer has suggested, but more than that, it's meant to be leafed through and read. You can find it brand-new at a wide variety of prices, but even if all the Amazon Marketplace sellers were somehow sold out of their copies, it'd still be worth the list price!

A travel through time by book.......2007-05-14

The authors of In Vogue composed a diversified chronicle of the appearance and the development of Vogue from 1892 until today. The photographs chosen portray the history of fashion photography wonderfully, each of them either a ravishing new sight or a spectacular recognition. The structuring by Decade, introduction of publishers, contributing editors, photographers, etc interposed by special contributions and excerpts of resumes offers the reader a diverting journey trough publishing history in general and the publishing of fashion in particular.

InVogue: The Illustrated History of the World's most famous fashion magazine.......2007-03-28

great extensive fashion history on Vogue magazine: superb pictures, designers, models....

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Average customer rating:

Not sure whether it wants to be a biography or fashion
what a great read
Queen of Fashion
queen of fashion
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
Caroline Weber
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805079491
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinettes "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queens tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailless rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Webers queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion -- the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs -- was also the means of her undoing. Webers book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of historys most controversial figures.

Customer Reviews:

Not sure whether it wants to be a biography or fashion.......2007-08-27

I found queen of fashion to be not enough queen and not enough fashion. It pairs a less than adequate biography of Marie Antionette with a smattering of observations on how her fashion choices both represented her role as well as influenced events around her.

What I found problematic was that the fashion highlights jumped around in terms of time periods. There would be a detailed explanation of a time, then a gap of several years before another touching base. I'm not sure if this was due to a lack of source material for the intervening period, but it made for very choppy reading.

If you've read a lot on Marie Antionette, you can skim this to pick up the fashion pieces. If you haven't read a lot about her, pick up another biography first.

This might have worked better as a series of essays than as an overall biography.

Disappointing -- 2&1/2 stars.

what a great read.......2007-07-26

So I picked this up just because the title intrigued me and what a pleasant suprise! It is very readable, interesting and balanced. You won't regret this purchase.

Queen of Fashion.......2007-06-29

I've found that if you want to get a really good feel for the history of a period, read something like this book that concentrates on some interesting aspect of a major figure. An example (besides this well written book) is A Scented Palace by DeFeydeau, which also has amazing insights and stories that you never read in more biographical type treatments. For instance, an anecdote in this book about how Marie Antionette gave her jeweled fan to a pretty village girl, that I never heard anywhere else, really colors the way I now perceive her. But it's an astonishingly "like-you-are-there" inside look at life at Versailles during a (or the) most interesting period in it's history...

queen of fashion.......2007-06-27

I haven't got a chance to read the entire book yet but it is very good and interesting. It is especially useful if you are a Marie Antoinette fanatic or history buff. This was a package that got lost in shipping and It only took one day to get a replacement one. I was surprised at how fast the costumer service was and very pleased.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution.......2007-06-04

This is a well-researched, engaging, and poignant read. When is Weber's next book coming out?! I'll purchase for sure.

Average customer rating:

All about Coco Chanel & her world!
Entertaining book with mostly pictures
Chanel and Her World
Coco Chanel: The French self-made woman
A designer of authentic beauty

Chanel and Her World
Edmonde Charles-Roux
Manufacturer: Vendome Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0865651590

Book Description

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) is a fashion icon unlike any other. She invented modern clothing for women: at the height of the Belle Époque, she stripped women of their corsets and feathers, bobbed their hair, put them in bathing suits, and sent them out to get tanned in the sun. She introduced slacks, costume jewelry, and the exquisitely comfortable suit. She made the first couture perfume-No. 5-which remains the most popular scent ever created.

In this beautiful volume, the glorious life of the incomparable Coco Chanel shines again through hundreds of illustrations and the lively prose of Edmonde Charles-Roux, her official biographer and close friend. Chanel knew and collaborated with the likes of Picasso, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Cocteau, Jean Renoir, and Visconti-even as she matched their modernist innovations by liberating women from the prison of 19th-century fashion and introducing a whole new concept of elegance. The staggering collection of photographs amassed by the over decades of friendship with Chanel sheds new light on one of the great stories of the modern age. AUTHOR BIO: Edmonde Charles-Roux began her journalistic career at Elle and ultimately became editor-in-chief of French Vogue. She has published three novels, among them To Forget Palermo (Oublier Palerme), which won the Prix Goncourt in 1966.

Customer Reviews:

All about Coco Chanel & her world!.......2007-05-28

I paid almost full price for this book and I don't regret it. I found this coffee table book just lovely.

I am not a fashion expert. I'm just a reader interested in interesting people, so I was looking for a book on CHANEL that gave a brief background on her life and photos of Coco and some of her fashions. Well, this book seemed to fit the bill---for me. I was not disappointed.

I have enjoyed this book very much and it sits on my living room table , ----for the book to be browsed by others.

Entertaining book with mostly pictures.......2007-04-08

I was looking for a book showing photos of Chanel's clothing designs and styles. This book focuses more on her life and the celebrities and cultural/social trends of her era (spanning 1910's - 1950's), so if you are looking to see her clothing styles and designs, you will be disappointed as there isn't that much coverage of the actual clothing. However, it is a very absorbing, encyclopedic, pictorial collection of the people of Chanel's time and you can spend many a lazy Sunday afternoon thoroughly exploring les temps perdus. There are many many pictures of Coco Chanel - like Madonna, she looks different every few years, a real chameleon. It retails at $65, so the $37 Amazon price is a good deal. It is a heavy thick book with glossy pages.

Chanel and Her World.......2007-04-06

I was disappointed in the text. I guess from the title I should have expected some world history. The story line is somewhat incoherent and doesn't seem to present her life very well. I had to use the index to find a couple lines of reference to her "Boy", a romance started in the story and then dropped, only to be finished much later and with no real detail. Either Chanel was very closed mouth about a lot of her life or the author didn't know her that well. Also, there are a lot of pictures of rather irrelevant items. I wouldn't purchase it again.

Coco Chanel: The French self-made woman.......2006-06-01

From an orphanage in France to the Ritz hotel in Paris, Coco Chanel created an entire style empire that lives on. A French fasionista version of Eva Peron for the couture world. Coco remains an icon and legend.

A designer of authentic beauty.......2006-05-26

This is a substantial book in both size and pictorial content.

As an ideal complement to the Metropolitan Museum's Chanel exhibit last spring (2005), this book actually exceeds - and outlasts - the exhibit itself.

More than just an intelligent, fascinating woman, Chanel was a fascinating opportunist in the way that she manipulated and transformed the trends of her times (and many men of her times), turning them to her advantage. She was as much a businesswoman and social and cultural politician as a fashion designer, and to see her in this book's big, beautiful photographs, modeling her own creations, is an inspiration to any woman who disbelieves that humble beginnings and a less than conventionally perfect countenance can lead to high achievement.

The best photograph of all - the photograph that tells all - graces the book's cover: one look at that face of intelligence, intensity, self-composure, and elegance, and one knows what the book is all about (philosophically as well as biographically) even before opening it.

The classic Chanel endures as a legend and lesson in the achievement of authentic beauty, i.e., defined by compelling creation rather than passive, taken-for-granted standards of acceptance.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

High Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World's Best Designers: A Step-By-Step Guide to Sewing Stylish Seams, Buttonholes, Pockets, Collars, Hems, And More (Rodale Sewing Book)

Average customer rating:

I am torn on this book
great idea book
If you're still learning about sewing - BUY This book
Wow!
Pretty Good Stuff

High Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World's Best Designers: A Step-By-Step Guide to Sewing Stylish Seams, Buttonholes, Pockets, Collars, Hems, And More (Rodale Sewing Book)
Claire B. Shaeffer
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1579544150

Amazon.com

If you want your notched collars to lie smoothly like Ellen Tracy's, your pants zippers to be as invisibly fused with the inseam pocket as Giorgio Armani's, and your topstitched facings to have the impeccable look of Chanel, this is the book to have. Home sewers need and want exactly the kind of painstaking construction tips that Claire B. Shaeffer provides. She not only tells you how to add designer details such as those mentioned above, but also how to copy any garment, alter a sleeve, change seams to darts or folds (or vice versa), and make a basic pattern. This is one of the best intermediate sewing guides on the market.

Book Description

Internationally known sewing expert Claire Schaeffer reveals the secrets of high-fashion legends such as Geoffrey Beene, Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Liz Claiborne, and Calvin Klein. Claire's illustrated, step-by-step instructions let you duplicate the design details made famous in expensive ready-to-wear. Plus, Claire's timesaving patternmaking and copying methods can be used to create one-of-a-kind, original garments.

Only a few simple tools and patternmaking skills are needed to copy your favorite garments.

Customer Reviews:

I am torn on this book.......2007-09-24

It does have some great tips, and instructions on copying clothes etc. but one cannot deny that many of the "secrets" are indeed dated. For example, I can promise you that you will never need to know how to make a Double Flounce collar (page 79). Many of the designers highlighted here hit their popularity in the 80s and much of couture sewing in general (but especially couture of 20+ years ago) is just not relevent to every day style. Definitely use the "Search Inside" feature to see what I mean. Still, it is not very expensive and I believe that overall there is enough in here to warrant having it in my library.

great idea book.......2007-07-27

The book is good. The service fast. -just not exactly what I had expected for the type of book.

If you're still learning about sewing - BUY This book.......2007-03-30

There's a lot of books out thee - but if you're still learning a lot of the more advanced tricks - BUY THIS BOOK. Seriosuly - I am usually happy to get half a dozen new ideas out of a book - usually makes up for what I spend - but that is all this book is about. New Tips and Tricks.

I was estatic to see some of the coat lining techniques used in one of my Amrmani coats broken down and described so well. Its like "OH Ok - thats how its down" Its full of stuff like that.

Maybe if you've been sewing for 30+ years and have a college degree in fashion - you might know everything from cover to cover already - but if your a still new or an intermediate still learning - this book is an ideal find.

Wow!.......2007-03-17

This book packs in so many tips and techniques! The author could have written 10 books with all the material in it. This book is geared towards advanced sewing, and would be over the head of anyone looking for basic information. In addition to an unbelivable amount of information on finishing details, there is a section on pattern making. I thought this was kind of an odd subject change, but if you're doing advanced sewing, there does come a time when you just can't find what you need in a comercial pattern. I really liked this book, and would recommend it for anyone moving to the next level in sewing.

Pretty Good Stuff.......2007-03-09

This book is much more basic than Shaeffer's Couture book, and some of the style and design suggestions are a bit dated (copyright is 1997), but all basic instructions can be applied to more current and/or trendy styles and details, with just a bit of imagination and determination. Excellent construction, no matter how "now" your design may be, will always add that bit of flair, so the book is helpful in improving and adapting your sewing skills to produce garments that avoid that "home made" look.

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

Average customer rating:

Great Read
Good, but light-weighted
Can you understand global economics?
Doesn't take sides; just informs.
Good, casual read offering good perspective

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade
Pietra Rivoli
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0470039205

Book Description

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy takes the reader on a fascinating, around-the-world journey to reveal the economic and political lessons from the life story of a simple t-shirt. Over five years, business professor Pietra Rivoli traveled from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory to a used clothing market in Africa, to investigate compelling questions about the politics, economics, ethics, and history of modern business and globalization. Using the story of the t-shirt to illustrate the major issues of the globalization debate, this uniquely entertaining business book offers a surprising, enlightening, and balanced look at one of the major topics of our time.

Prize or Award

Business Book of the Year 2005, Finalist
AAP Awards for Excellence in Professional and Scholarly Publishing, 2006

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2007-09-24

The book is a good read, since I am taking my international trade class, this is actually one of the require reading. If someone who is very liberal, or cuddle to grave type of mentality, this book does not offer the cuddly senstivitive that the faint hearted people are looking for. But it is quite realistic. If you can look pass the sweatshops and all, this is a good read.

Good, but light-weighted.......2007-09-11

The book is an advocate of free market and a defender of the globalization. Basically the author portraits non-market forces to be bad (examples: artificial constraint on the labor worker's mobility, international trading protection, and restriction of new technology applications). She also proposes that free trade is good (example: used apparels in Africa). It is an interesting angle with which to examine the globalization phenomena. By recognizing that there are non-market forces at play, one should, or so the author seems to suggest, attribute negative effects (such as sweatshops) to these forces and work on eradicating such forces. The ideal situation would be, as author implies, an absolutely free market operating in bringing everyone maximum benefit.
While there may be novelty in this theme, I do not feel that it merits all the details and tidbits as presented in the book. In fact, I find this book more like a research log than a final product. The stories and observations are definitely interesting and well-written. However it is not always clear where they lead to and what conclusion they are designed to support. I think the book can be reduced to 1/3 of its volume and still be able to make the same points.
On the other hand, many conclusions are not well supported. For example, about trade restrictions, the author argues that US quota systems impact how capital and labor flows in the world, and shape the economy of other countries. While it is obvious that all US trading partners would behave under the influence of US trading policies, more quantitative evidences are required to ascertain the extend of such influence. Such details are lacking in the book. As another example, the book stated that China lost more textile jobs than the US. Therefore, the US jobs are not going to China, but are just disappearing due to technology advances. Such claim is not well-supported, either. These two forces (technological advances and job relocations) can both contribute to the job loss. Their relative importance in the US cannot be indicated by how much textile jobs are lost in China. (In addition, the book does not point out that most Chinese factories operate at a lower technological level than their US competitors. Therefore, the job loss rate due to technological advance is not the same in US and China.)
On a more grand scale, the book fails to address the following issue, which is very relevant to the topics at hand. Globalization in essence is a process of integrating many previously local markets into a unified global market. Previously, each market has different states of balance and is supported by different Government infrastructure. After integration, capital, labor and product flow to maximize profit for the capitalists. Such flow disrupts all local balances before a global balance is reached. For example, the labor cost in the US today is reasonably high because most people have the choice of working as blue collar or white collar workers. Some people are willing to work for lower wage to avoid the extra training and investment required for white collar jobs. However the difference in wages cannot be too large. In China, on the other hand, the pool of unskilled labor is huge and opportunity of getting trained and advancing into white collar jobs is very limited. Therefore, the unskilled labor cost is very low in China. Moreover, the tradition and culture in China allows for lower safety standards and environmental standards as imposed by the Government. Now the current state of balance in the US is the result of adjustments over generations and is relatively optimal. In a global market, however, the US cannot keep its balance until the whole world reaches the same balance. In the long run, such re-balancing is not a big problem and is even desirable. However, in the short run, it brings shock to the US markets, and such shock is unevenly bore by the arguably most vulnerable population: the workers. To me, this is a very important issue in globalization. Economically, globalization is win-win and everyone eventually will benefit. Humanitarianly, however, there are people who suffer in the process and it is the duty of the society to help them and (God forbid) protect them.
Overall, I'd say that this is a very interesting and thought provoking book. I enjoyed reading it at my leisure. However, I don't consider it to be of the caliber of an Economics textbook.

Can you understand global economics?.......2007-07-05

It's all about the money, someone said. This wonderful book starts with the growing of cotton subsidized by the US government, the spinning and weaving in China, the T-shirt making in Bangla Desh or wherever, its wear in the United States, and its ultimnate fate as second-hand clothing in West Africa, the only free market found by the author.
A simple and elegant account of interconnected global economics, of who gets value, who adds value, and who gets the money. Fun to read.

Doesn't take sides; just informs........2007-05-14

An intelligent, fair minded, well-researched, and very interesting book. I was assigned to read it for a class, so I had to force myself to open it, but once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. The book is not only informative, it also reads like a good story. The author is an economics professor whose writing style is friendly and accessible. Rather than being yet another abstract book about the global economy, it's about how everyday people function in, and are affected by, the global economy. The book doesn't take sides, it just informs the reader about something that affects us all.

Good, casual read offering good perspective.......2007-01-15

This book takes a pretty balanced approach to questions of globalization by tracing how a T-shirt is produced, from raw materials to the folded T-shirt in a department store, to the used T-shirts that are reprocessed or go to developing countries for a second life. Probably everyone can learn something from this book, and the narration is fairly engaging (it was good plane reading for me). The writer tries to keep the book agenda-free, putting forth both economists' and anti-globalizers' perspectives and describing how, to a certain degree, an effective global economy needs pushes from both camps.

Average customer rating:

We might be Fruits too.
Nice!
This is a great photo book.
A Birthday Gift
Colorful World

Fruits
Shoichi Aoki
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0714840831

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki's book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A best-of collection from the fanzine of the same name, and published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favorite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Garçons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men's silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL (elegant gothic Lolita), and a swathe of tartans, pinks, and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.

One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy's delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll and is currently preoccupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their "point of fashion" and "current obsession." The scope for sociopsychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilization, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks, and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl. --David Vincent

Book Description

If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki's book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A best-of collection from the fanzine of the same name, and published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favorite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Gar+ons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men's silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL (elegant gothic Lolita), and a swathe of tartans, pinks, and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy's delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll and is currently preoccupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their "point of fashion" and "current obsession." The scope for sociopsychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilization, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks, and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl. --David Vincent

Customer Reviews:

We might be Fruits too........2007-09-26

My high school art class, Costume Design, LOVE this book. It's fun to see teenagers in another culture taking western fashion and personalizing it. Every time I pick up the book I see something new. We've only had the book a couple of weeks and it is already dog-eared.

Nice!.......2007-03-27

Great book, made my girlfriend quite happy. She is very into Japanese street fashion and this book just captivated her, she looked through it about 20 times the day i gave it to her.

This is a great photo book........2007-02-04

Even if you aren't particularly interested in Japanese youth culture, this book is just a great example of fashion or humanity and the expansion of western culture into the eastern. The photographs are all high quality and just about every page also has a little questionaire filled out by each subject so you get to know a little more about them then their outrageous fashion sense.

A Birthday Gift.......2007-01-10

I got this for my 14 year old son who is into Asian pop culture.
He enjoyed the book but thought it had too much FASION aspect.

Colorful World.......2006-09-30

I had the good fortune to run into this book on vacation. As soon as I got home I ordered both Fruits and it's companion. As a self motivated student of fashion and all of it's off-shoots, I immensely enjoy this book. It is a plethora of individuals, and not a duplicate picture in the book. It features mostly youth (teenagers) but that is to be expected. But it doesn't limit itself to just the very young. There are a few family photos and "older" individuals. It is a monument to anyone who creatively clothed themselves. It gives brief details: name, age, point of fashion, fashion brands and makers. A lot of the "point of fashion" remarks seem like nonsense at first. After reflection, I think they are just 'smart allec come-backs', much like what you'd get from someone in the American Gothic culture if you asked one of them why they wear black all the time. Even with brief details you can start to see patterns in clothing styles seperating themselves out from one another. By age particularly, and by preference to designers within a group of friends. The only problem I had was reading some of the bubble gum colored print that it was done in.

Average customer rating:

World of Fashion
Jay Diamond , and Ellen Diamond
Manufacturer: Fairchild Books & Visuals
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1563671808

Average customer rating:

excellent reference on women's historical costuming
Costume in Detail: 1730-1930
costume survey
Very detailed
The BEST

Costume in Detail: 1730-1930
Nancy Bradfield
Manufacturer: Costume & Fashion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0896762173

Customer Reviews:

excellent reference on women's historical costuming.......2006-10-31

Excellent reference for illustrators and animators. However, "Costume in Detail" only covers women's costuming, which is unfortunate considering the attention the author paid to the material.

Costume in Detail: 1730-1930.......2006-08-11

I bought this as a gift but I want a copy for myself. Can I say better?

costume survey.......2006-07-05

the best of its kind. library copies constantly used by local stage costumers. a brilliant piece of work!

Very detailed.......2002-11-23

I would have loved to had seen the pieces of the garment drawn in their pattern shapes, but otherwise an excellent book with much detail written about each garment. Only other problem was that sometimes the writer's handwriting about the details on the drawings were a bit hard to decifer.

The BEST.......2002-09-19

Until this book dissapeared from my local library I must have borrowed it for over half its shelf life there, in all of 15 years this book has been THE reference for me, no mean feat to hold my attention since I was 11.
I love it because of the minute detail of the fabric patterns which although hard to find today similar items can be found for those wanting to recreate the dresses.
The value for money is unreproachable, you just have to buy this book. Thank the publishers for reprinting in the U.S and here in U.K !

No Lifeguard: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel

Average customer rating:

Craptabulous!
Enjoyed it
Great book
This is a woman who needs professional help!
no lifeguard on duty

No Lifeguard: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
Janice Dickinson
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0060566175
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Book Description

A rollicking memoir by one of the greatest (and most outrageous) supermodels of the 1970s.

Janice Dickinson was not only the first of the supermodels, she endured a nightmarishly traumatic childhood at the hands of a sadistic, sexually and emotionally abusive father, and emerged in the early 1970s as the first lush–lipped 'exotic' brunette to break into a modelling world dominated by sunny California blondes.

Janice owned the modelling world in the 1970s. Animated by a fierce desire to be recognised, a fearless spirit, and an insatiable hunger for alcohol, cocaine, sex, and fun, Dickinson appeared on every magazine cover, worked with every major designer and photographer (from Calvin Klein and Gianni Versace to Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon), was married three times, and had passionate affairs or one–night stands with everyone from Warren Beatty to Jack Nicholson to Mick Jagger. Though her career waned in the 1990s, her dramatic life story did not: in recent years she has fought a hotly contested paternity suit with Sylvester Stallone, survived a near–fatal car wreck during a tequila/marijuana blackout in St Bart's, and waged a raging battle with alcohol and drug addiction.

Customer Reviews:

Craptabulous!.......2007-08-24

So, I am a fan of crazy-gorgeous-extreme model types, because they are so much the opposite of me.

Take Janice Dickinson, for instance. Janice walks in a room, and everyone knows it. Maybe they smell her heady melange of booze, perfume, and cigarettes. It could be the obnoxiously loud string of foulness that always enters before she does. And perhaps it's because she's gorgeous and has those crazy -- as in substantially unstable -- eyes that demand attention in a Charlie Manson kind of way. I don't know. Whatever it is, I want it, as do millions of young ladies.

So I really wanted to like this book and experience a lot of "Oh no she di'int" admiration, but mostly, I was stumbling over the lackluster, disconnected writing. Does anyone believe celebrities of her caliber -- low, that is -- really write their own material? I suppose her "writing partner" is partially to blame for the poor quality, but having seen Dickinson in action (critiquing ANTM contestants and manipulating her way through the D-list dumpster that is The Surreal Life), I don't doubt for a second that she'd have creative control and final say on the content and style.

Janice does deliver some juicy bits. For example, way back when Sly Stallone was her man, Janice was regularly given mystery "vitamins" by the Rocky that, in light of recent events, may've been an early iteration of HGH. Hm. Plus there's tons of drugs and boyfriends (and girlfriends), although I could've done without the explicit descriptions of sex ham-fistedly sandwiched into random spots. (It's like she forgot she wasn't writing a Harlequin for a couple of pages.)

As in other memoirs by people who shouldn't necessarily be writing any, there's the usual childhood drama blown out of proportion. Being abused is drama enough -- why add the Lifetime Movie of the Week sentiment for fanfare? It feels a little... exploitative.

But I suppose that's the point. Dickinson made her career out of exploitation -- of her body, the camera, other people's bodies... you name it. I appreciate the candor she shows, and no-holds-barred "outing" of celeb secrets is balanced by kind words for others (for instance, Christie Brinkley is -- or at least was -- a saint). This could've been an excellent book if only she'd taken an intensive in English composition and pulled out a thesaurus. (At least it wasn't as bad as Iceberg Slim!)

Enjoyed it.......2007-06-28

I thought this book was v interesting & honest...a true look into Janice's Dickinsons life. She is a strong character & has survived a hell of a childhood - now i now why she still acts kinda crazy when you see her on tv!

Great book.......2007-06-27

This woman has balls. It is not a book written by someone who is afraid of looking bad, or offending people (I am looking at YOU Kimora Lee Simmons). Janice is one fierce b*tch. I must say she did start to get on my nerves after viewing her reality show, but if you are looking for a juicy book, get this one. You will be satisfied!

This is a woman who needs professional help!.......2007-06-13

This is truly a sick (emotionally & maybe mentally) and delusional woman.

It's amazing to me that this sewer-mouthed narcisist got as far as she did.

This book is trash!

no lifeguard on duty.......2007-05-24

this book is interesting when it talks about her life with family and friends but the rest of it is slow and boring i thought this was going to be great like her other book but its very boring and hard to keep reading,

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