Design has become our means of personal expression, whether we're buying Martha Stewart sheets at K-Mart, lining up for the latest Air Jordan sneakers or Manolo Blahnik pumps, or driving a Mini Cooper to our Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house. Wear Your Chair is dedicated to the proposition that all design disciplines are created equal--and all of them should be fun. They also overlap. The authors examine design history, trends, and ideas about creativity with the goal of expanding our understanding about how these overlaps work. We learn how influential designers work across many mediums and possess a design "tool kit": a respect for the past, an understanding of technology, the pursuit of creative and collaborative solutions, and a willingness to keep learning. We see how design, function, and form--from light fixtures to packaging to shoes--is grounded in innovation as well as a respect for the past. Aimed at design and fashion students as well as aficionados, this is a book about looking at the world without strict definitions--and about thinking outside of the box.

What's a djibbah, how long has the old school tie been around and do yellow petticoats really repel vermin? How have social and educational changes affected the appearance of schoolchildren? This book will provide answers to these questions and more, in an engaging foray into 500 years of British school uniform history from the charity schools of the sixteenth century through the Victorian public schools to the present day. In this cross-disciplinary work, Kate Stephenson presents the first comprehensive academic study of school uniform development in Britain as well as offering an analysis of the social and institutional contexts in which this development occurred. With recent debates around the cost, necessity and religious implications of school uniform and its (re)introduction and increasingly formal appearance in many schools, this book is a timely reminder that modern ideas associated with school uniform are the result of a long history of communicating (and disguising) identity. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47788/LYYA3304

In Gods and Kings Dana Thomas, author of Deluxe, tells the story of how John Galliano and Alexander McQueen changed the face of fashion In the first decade of the 21st century the fashion world was dominated by two different but equally successful and turbulent figures. Within twelve months, Alexander McQueen had committed suicide, and John Galliano had professionally imploded. Who was to blame? And how was fashion changed by their rise and fall? Spanning the 80s, 90s and noughties, Gods and Kings tells the story of these two charismatic figures and times of great change in the world of fashion, from London's raucous art and club scene to the old-world glamour of Parisian couture, and reveals the machinations of this notoriously secretive industry.

Consumers spend approximately $93 billion on denim products every year. This consumption comes at a great cost, with thousands of litres of fresh water, hazardous chemicals and energy contributing to just one pair of jeans, leaving the environment and the industry vulnerable to pollution and climate change. Using facts, figures, case studies and anecdotes, this book investigates why the industry has been so slow to adopt green technologies and offers practical solutions to designers and fashion executives who want to switch to cleaner manufacturing, including those working in the 'fast fashion' sector. It also offers advice to the eco-conscious consumer who wants to purchase denim more sustainably. Considering the full lifecycle of a pair of jeans from the cotton crop to disposal, it presents examples of how to go green at different stages. This book will be of great interest to fashion students and researchers, as well as designers, fashion executives, policy-makers and anyone who comes into contact with the world of denim.

After toppling the Ming dynasty, the Qing conquerors forced Han Chinese males to adopt Manchu hairstyle and clothing. Yet China's new rulers tolerated the use of traditional Chinese attire in performances, making theater one of the only areas of life where Han garments could still be seen and where Manchu rule could be contested. Staging Personhood uncovers a hidden history of the Ming-Qing transition by exploring what it meant for the clothing of a deposed dynasty to survive onstage. Reading dramatic works against Qing sartorial regulations, Guojun Wang offers an interdisciplinary lens on the entanglements between Chinese drama and nascent Manchu rule in seventeenth-century China. He reveals not just how political and ethnic conflicts shaped theatrical costuming but also the ways costuming enabled different modes of identity negotiation during the dynastic transition. In case studies of theatrical texts and performances, Wang considers clothing and costumes as indices of changing ethnic and gender identities. He contends that theatrical costuming provided a productive way to reconnect bodies, clothes, and identities disrupted by political turmoil. Through careful attention to a variety of canonical and lesser-known plays, visual and performance records, and historical documents, Staging Personhood provides a pathbreaking perspective on the cultural dynamics of early Qing China.

Who gets pockets, and why?

It’s a subject that stirs up plenty of passion: Why do men’s clothes have so many pockets and women’s so few? And why are the pockets on women’s clothes often too small to fit phones, if they even open at all? In her captivating book, Hannah Carlson, a lecturer in dress history at the Rhode Island School of Design, reveals the issues of gender politics, security, sexuality, power, and privilege tucked inside our pockets.

Throughout the medieval era in Europe, the purse was an almost universal dress feature. But when tailors stitched the first pockets into men’s trousers five hundred years ago, it ignited controversy and introduced a range of social issues that we continue to wrestle with today, from concealed pistols to gender inequality. See: #GiveMePocketsOrGiveMeDeath.

Filled with incredible images, this microhistory of the humble pocket uncovers what pockets tell us about ourselves: How is it that putting your hands in your pockets can be seen as a sign of laziness, arrogance, confidence, or perversion? Walt Whitman’s author photograph, hand in pocket, for Leaves of Grass seemed like an affront to middle-class respectability. When W.E.B. Du Bois posed for a portrait, his pocketed hands signaled defiant coolness.

And what else might be hiding in the history of our pockets? (There’s a reason that the contents of Abraham Lincoln’s pockets are the most popular exhibit at the Library of Congress.) Thinking about the future, Carlson asks whether we will still want pockets when our clothes contain “smart” textiles that incorporate our IDs and credit cards.

Pockets is for the legions of people obsessed with pockets and their absence, and for anyone interested in how our clothes influence the way we navigate the world.

Known for its evocative use of colour, proportion, and subversive fabrication, the New York based fashion house Sies Marjan, founded in 2016 by Dutch creative director Sander Lak, had a brief but influential life. Sies Marjan s pieces were marked by luxurious construction, the signature use of shining, jewel-toned hues, and effortlessly cool appeal the house s pastel coats, thrown over T-shirts, are still regularly seen in downtown New York and Brooklyn. Since its founding Sies Marjan has garnered a devoted fan base and praise from notable critics, celebrities, and fans alike in a city known for its endless affection for a darker palette. Rejecting the chronologies and seasonality of the typical fashion compendium, this exhaustive, richly illustrated volume is organized purely by colour. The trajectory through the colour spectrum traces the journey through the blazing life of the brand. Images featured within range from previously unpublished drawings, looks from iconic runway shows and ad campaigns, as well as found objects that reveal the inspiration behind the creation of these luxurious, chromatic garments. The flow of colour is punctuated by a number of interviews and reflections from Donna Tartt, Isabella Rossellini, Rem Koolhaas, Nia Dacosta, Hanya Yanagihara, and others.

Fashion branding is more than just advertising. It helps to encourage the purchase and repurchase of consumer goods from the same company. While historically fashion branding has primarily focused on consumption and purchasing decisions, recent scholarship suggests that branding is a process that needs to be analyzed from a style, luxury, and historical pop cultural view using critical, ethnographic, individualistic, or interpretive methods.
In this collection, the contributors explore the meaning behind fashion branding in the context of the contested power relations underpinning the production, marketing, and consumption of style and fashion as part of our global culture.

Newcomers to the fashion industry often base costings on the sum of a style's fabric, trims and labor-and to that they simply add their markup. However, every other activity of the business erodes that markup, and they find themselves with an unsustainable profit-or a loss. This guide will help you avoid these pitfalls to guarantee a sustainable profit. Apparel Costing details traditional and current costing methods for the fast-paced and e-commerce-focused fashion marketplace. You will learn industry-specific product/style costing that can be applied to garments produced both locally and globally. You'll also learn how to calculate line item percentages on indirect cost factors, such as factory sourcing, overhead, administration and product development. Key topics include: Target Market Pricing; Variable vs Fixed Costs; Direct vs Indirect Cost Factors; Cost-Based vs Value-Based Costing; Domestic vs International Production Costing; Effect of Sourcing on Costing; Sustainability in Costing; Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion

Hardy Amies epitomized understated British couture, emphasizing the cut of fine materials by tailored construction. Untrained in dress-making, he achieved headlines in Vogue in 1937 with his 'Panic' suit, a reconstructed design of a staple in every woman's wardrobe, wittily named to reflect current events. Evoking the glamour of pre-war London while meeting the demands of contemporary society's activities - town to country, morning to night - Amies designs drew a star-studded clientele. His war-time 'utility' designs revealed his design philosophy (and partly concealed his role as head of the Belgian Section of SOE), unveiling a needle-sharp intelligence and intuition for the changing world of fashion, his elegant execution of which was rewarded through the influential seal of approval by HM Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, in 1950. The first post-war international designer to visit the USA, Amies' luxurious style produced lucrative global business opportunities, including ready-to-wear, menswear shown as couture, and wide-ranging merchandising options.

The vast wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I is legendary: in her own time some of the richly embroidered gowns were displayed with other treasures to dazzle the eyes of foreign visitors to the Tower of London. The quantity of clothes recorded in the inventories taken in 1600 would seem to suggest sheer vanity, but a survey of work carried out in the Wardrobe of Robes throughout the reign reveals a different picture. It is one of careful organisation and economy. This copiously annotated work is illustrated with photographs of portraits, miniatures, tomb sculptures, engravings, woven textiles and embroideries. Two indexes are provided, the first of paintings, persons, places, and events, while the second, partly a glossary, enables the reader to quickly trace information on fashionable dress and accessories. An invaluable reference for students of the history of dress and embroidery, for social historians, for art historians working in the field of portraiture, and those with a general interest in the period. Case-bound in cloth with dust jacket.

Packed with key skills and friendly know-how, this essential guide is ideal for anyone taking their first steps into dressmaking. The latest title in Debbie Shore's Sewing Room Secrets series, this essential guide is packed with key skills and friendly know-how and is ideal for anyone taking their first steps into dressmaking. It covers the important basics such as: how to read and adjust a pattern; how to choose, mark and cut fabric; how to add zips, pockets and buttons; how to adapt old, misshapen or over-sized garments, and how to do some basic mending - all shown step-by-step. This book is a toolkit designed to equip you with all the dressmaking skills you need; it contains ten inventive projects for you to try your hand at using your own pre-loved clothes, and gives you all the knowledge you need to make your own clothes from scratch using the pattern of your choice.

Fashion imagery has existed for hundreds of years and yet the methods used by scholars to understand it have remained mostly historical and descriptive. The belief informing these approaches may be that fashion imagery is designed for one purpose: to depict a garment and how to wear it. In this interdisciplinary book, Sanda Miller suggests a radical alternative to these well-practiced approaches, proposing that fashion imagery has stories to tell and meanings to uncover. The methodology she has developed is an iconography of fashion imagery, based on the same theory which has been key to the History of Art for centuries. Applying Panofsky's theory of iconography to illustrations from books, magazines and fashion plates, as well as fashion photography and even live fashion events, Miller uncovers three levels of meaning: descriptive, secondary (or conventional) and tertiary or 'symbolic'. In doing so, she answers questions such as who is the model; what did people wear and why; and how did people live? She proves that fashion imagery, far from being purely descriptive, is ripe with meaning and can be used to shed light on society, class, culture and the history of dress.

Survey of Historic Costume Coloring Book highlights Western dress from the ancient world to today through fashion silhouettes. By coloring line drawings that parallel chapters from the Survey of Historic Costume, Seventh Edition textbook, students will learn to identify and retain specific details that make each historical period's fashion unique. Each chapter also includes activities and prompts to promote further thinking and creativity, including features like Draw-It Boxes and Modern Connections Boxes. Through these dynamic, hands-on exercises, students will develop an understanding of historic costume, increase awareness of world culture, and have fun through this interactive learning medium. Features: -92 pieces of line art to color, adapted from images in Survey of Historic Costume -Modern Connections Boxes, Draw-It Boxes, Activity Boxes, and Global Connections Boxes provide additional exercises to apply knowledge of costume history and design -Image Captions and Cross References give additional historical context and allow images to be looked up in the companion textbook for further study

From fashion aficionados to casual wearers, this sumptuous book is the perfect companion for Birkenstock’s loyal fans on the company’s 250th anniversary.

The Birkenstock brand is adored the world over for its function-first footwear and commitment to high-quality European production. Its sandals and famous cork footbeds have filtered into countless cultures and subcultures over many decades. The rich visual history of the Birkenstock brand and the creativity it has inspired over the years is gathered here in book form for the first time.

The Book of Birkenstock provides a lush, image-led history of the company, its family origins in shoemaking and its relationship with the health and fashion industries. It also offers a peek behind the scenes into the company’s German production and world-leading design processes that form the Birkenstock footbed, appreciated by millions of wearers. Enhancing this narrative, The Book of Birkenstock is not just a publication but a premium product in itself, mirroring the brand’s dedication to excellence. It boasts beautiful printing and finishing, with a debossed cover for a tactile sense of luxury. This attention to detail ensures that each page turn is an experience in itself, inviting readers not only to engage with the content but also to appreciate the fine craftsmanship of the book.

Published in 2024, a landmark year for Birkenstock in which it celebrates its 250-year family tradition in shoemaking, this project is a testament to Birkenstock’s enduring legacy and a celebration of its continuous influence on footwear and fashion.

"Why have you not sent the clothes which you were supposed to send from the province of the Frisians? For the sake of God the Almighty, send them soon."- from an anonymous letter to a cleric in Frisia in the spring of 748. In this work the author presents a pioneering cultural history of clothing from approx. 750 to 1050, which places the clothing and life of medieval people in their social context. The findings of this volume are based on the detailed examination and evaluation of written, graphic and archaeological sources. The author presents the clothing of the laity, the robes of the ruling classes and the habits of monks and cathedral clergy, and gives an overview of the changes in clothing and fashion. A more technical second section deals with raw materials, dyes, and production and processing technology.

In 1997, Jeff Staple walked into a boutique in New York City wearing a shirt he printed in his silkscreen class at Parsons School of Design. What started as a small T-Shirt line handmade by Jeff Staple, grew organically and began to gain visibility in NYC. In the process of building this burgeoning brand, Nike asked Jeff Staple in 2005 to create a special commemorative sneaker that would represent New York. The Staple Pigeon Dunk SB was conceived and led to much fanfare upon its release and exposed Staple as well as sneaker culture to the masses. With roots tied to Fader Magazine, a history of collabs with Shake Shack, and three separate projects with automotive companies. In Jeff s words, to understand is to see, and to see is to have clarity of mind. That clarity has helped develop his iconic Pigeon logo (and brand) into a global force that has graced the heels of almost every major footwear brand imaginable. This book offers readers a history lesson in streetwear and the sneaker industry while also uncovering design context to a series of Staple s most crucial projects. A beautiful visual reference, this book invites you to travel down an intricate maze of streetwear history told through an insider s point of view. Archival sketches, drawings, magazine covers, and a foreword by Hiroshi Fujiwara make this an indispensable volume for lovers of streetwear and design.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. We think we know the trench coat, but where does it come from and where will it take us? From its origins in the trenches of WW1, this military outerwear came to project the inner-being of detectives, writers, reporters, rebels, artists and intellectuals. The coat outfitted imaginative leaps into the unknown. Trench Coat tells the story of seductive entanglements with technology, time, law, politics, trust and trespass. Readers follow the rise of a sartorial archetype through media, design, literature, cinema and fashion. Today, as a staple in stories of future life-worlds, the trench coat warns of disturbances to come. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Founded in Los Angeles in 2014 by Kyle Ng and Ed Davis, Brain Dead is a collective of artists and designers from around the world. Employing a disruptive, graphic-led approach, the brand takes its cues from post punk, underground comics, skateboarding, horror films, and the spirit of subculture as a whole to produce an unmistakably bold, nonconformist vision that is wholly their own. Their erratic, internet-based designs and prints and distinctive collaborations with names like Magic the Gathering, The Academy of Motion Pictures, Marvel, and NTS Radio, brands including Reebok, Converse, A.P.C., The Northface, Asics, Dickies, Kiko Kostantinov, and Slam Jam, as well as musical artists including Dev Hynes, Belle and Sebastian, and Devandra Banhart, have quickly garnered the label a cult-like following that stretches from LA to New York, Paris, Milian, Japan, and beyond. This book chronicles the formation and development of the brand as they have engaged with and put a spotlight on alternative culture in their homebase of Los Angeles and around the globe and is packed Thoughtfully designed, while paying homage to classic underground zine culture, this volume is packed with Brain Dead s seminal output of graphics and interviews between the founders and collaborators sheds light on and gives context to the journey that lead Brain Dead s takeover. Not only essential for fans of streetwear and fashion, this volume is essential for graphic designers, audiophiles, and movie buffs alike.

In the last half of the 19th century, the women of America were beginning to develop their own sense of style. Although influenced by European fashions and the social and economic changes of the time, they made clothing choices based upon their personal aspirations and their practical everyday needs. Providing an overview of fashion influences for each decade from the 1860s to the end of the century, Everyday Fashion in Found Photographs presents iconic garments, using sources from the period, to provide commentary and detailed description of the styles of the time. Previously unpublished vintage photographs show women across the social spectrum wearing items such as the Garibaldi shirt, the cuirass bodice, the Mother Hubbard, bicycle bloomers, and much more. Names, dates and functions of garments are examined in detail, and ties are established between social and historical contexts and the evolution of clothing styles. This illustrated book is for readers who want to identify and understand specific clothing items as well as gain insight into the mind-set of fashionable women from Victorian-era America. Dress history scholars, costume designers, curators of costume collections, social and cultural historians and those who appreciate vintage photographs can learn about elements of late 19th century women's dress and thereby develop an understanding of what was fashionable, and why.

This new edition of the classic reference is enhanced with hundreds of new color photographs depicting a wide array of collectors' treasures. Victorian hatpins, required to fasten large hats, and the holders used to store them when not in use, are presented in close views with extensive text to interpret their use and place them among popular historical fashion accessories. Precious and everyday materials alike are found in hatpins, and the holders are generally glass or porcelain. This new book will be a valuable aid to collectors and all who are interested in period costume, jewelry, and memorabilia

Japanese Wonder Knitting offers the perfect foray into the techniques and application of Japanese-style knitting. Japanese knitting dictionaries have quickly become the favorite go-to reference for experienced knitters all around the world, and Japanese Wonder Knitting takes this trend a step further, giving step-by-step lessons in executing classic stitches the Japanese way. Like its companion volume, Japanese Wonder Crochet, this book introduces needleworkers to a whole new approach to classic stitches such as bubble stitches, herringbone, cockleshell, cables, smocking, entrelac and more. A swatch pattern is provided for each stitch to help knitters learn the mechanics of the stitch before applying them to larger projects. The personal and home accessory projects included provide something for every level of time commitment. A total of 23 projects are presented in this book, including: Cozy hats and neckwear Head bands for warmth and style Beautiful clutches and bags An amazing entrelac stitch shawl Clever boot liners/ankle warmers And so much more! An introduction by Japanese knitting expert Gayle Roehm explains the stitch charts as well as the differences and similarities between Japanese and Western styles of knitting. A guide to stitch symbols and extensive lessons provide visual guidance. With this book and a little practice, knitters who love Japanese knitwear and patterns will be ready to try their hand at the many wonderful fashions and home goods so many Western knitters love to make.

The Time of Discretion is an intimate, slow and relational time. It is also an artistic project. Besides Italy, it has been developed in the remote areas on the southeast border of the Gobi Desert and in the Guizhou Province (South China), in search of rituals, ancient textile practices or together as one. The research documented here crosses experience and representation, dramatically compares East and West, advancing a dense theoretical scenario in relation to globalisation processes.