Iain R Webb's Postcards from the Edge of the Catwalk is a personal photographic portfolio spanning three decades that documents the glittering brouhaha surrounding the ready-to-wear and haute couture fashion collections in New York, London, Milan and Paris. The photographs, snapped by the award-winning fashion journalist from the insider vantage point of his front row seat and invite-only parties, capture a world of show-stopping creativity and inspirational individual style.

These styles will ring a bell not only with America's baby-boomers, but also with current fashion trend watchers. Today's interest in retro fashions makes this book as current as it would have been more than thirty years ago, but the quality is much better. Using today's technology, it presents more than 400 color photographs of clothing styles for men, women, and children culled from 1964-67 Sears Catalogs. Images of mohair sweaters, cardigan sets, bloomer playsuits, madras jackets, checked gingham shifts with matching triangle scarves, ruffled rib-tickler tops and capri pants, Bermuda collars, wraparound skirts, maternity wear, and even days-of-the-week panties all combine to give us a look into what the average American was wearing, along with descriptions and original prices. Current prices are listed for some of the items for those interested in collectible vintage clothing from the era.

This beautiful and inspirational book written by a doyenne of British textile design explores the art of painting and making patterns on cloth. Fabrics bring colour and vibrance to our lives, adding inventiveness and charm to both our clothes and our domestic interiors. In this book, lifelong textile designer Sarah Campbell takes you through her world of pattern and colour to uncover the joys of design from dots, stripes and checks to more surprising decorative solutions. Beautifully illustrated with Sarah's colourful and internationally acclaimed work, her fabric designs show the comforting rhythm and universal language of pattern. - Learn how to create your own unique designs using a range of tools and techniques including brushes and potato-cuts, stencils and simple 'kitchen cupboard' resists. - Explore the delights of painting on different fabrics such as cotton, linen, silk and calico/muslin. - Develop your understanding of scale, colour, tonality and the organisation of pattern ideas, alongside suggestions on how to use your finished fabrics.

Enter an ultra-patriotic era of "military mood" fashions, replete in red, white, and blue. One in a series of books from Schiffer Publishing documenting fashion trends in America, this is an invaluable resource for fashion designers looking to revive and rework retro styles, for costume designers working to recreate an era, and for collectors and historians wanting to document vintage clothing. A visual treasure chest, this book offers more than 400 full-color photographs, with thousands of items of clothing, shoes, and accessories pictured, along with detailed descriptions. A guide to retail values for these items on today's market is featured as well.

If you love the designs, fabrics, and sheer beauty of 19th and early 20th century women's fashions, this book will be your guide and time machine. It presents over 450 enchanting color photographs of modern-day models wearing the dresses, waists, undergarments, and accessories of this elegant era, including daywear, sportswear, and formalwear. Unusual items such as fancy dress, aesthetic garments, and reform styles are explained and illustrated. This book will help both novice and expert collectors accurately identify and date their collections by evaluating the silhouette, construction, style, and details of fashionable garments. Sound advice for maintaining, laundering, and repairing them is also provided, as is an updated price guide.

Fashion is intimately tied to the material world. With a focus on diverse cultural practices, this book offers new insights into the dynamic relationships between fashion, bodies, and material culture. In a series of original case studies, both historical and contemporary, the collection explores how fashion and clothing affect articulations of body and self, experiences of time and place, and the shaping of social and local/global relationships. With chapters from leading international scholars, Fashion and Materiality takes the reader from the study of clothing and biography, and an early modern "foreign dress" collection, to Chinoiserie clothing in 18th-century Europe and fast fashion production in today's China. The book also examines fashion's role in nation building, and entanglements between fashion and migration across clothing donations for Syrian refugees in Germany and the circulation of "refugee chic" on international fashion runways. Scrutinizing the dense connections between fashion, clothing, materiality, and humanity, the book shows how the material interacts forcefully with the personal and political.

Christian Dior famously noted that "the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet." From the surprisingly sexy boots hiding under Victorian crinolines to the glittering T-strap heels worn by flappers dancing the Charleston, a woman's shoe choice has long been far more than a mundane practicality. Indeed, a beautifully shaped shoe can be a statement of wealth, style, or sexuality - and often all at once. This petite volume presents 250 eye-catching examples from the 17th century to the present, including many of today's top designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Roger Vivier, and Nicholas Kirkwood. Fashion historian Raissa Bretana introduces each new era with a concise overview of the period's fashionable styles and innovations. A must for shoe collectors and a delight for any fashionista, this Tiny Folio (TM) will inspire you to put your best foot forward.

A Cultural History of Color in the Renaissance covers the period 1400 to 1650, a time of change, conflict, and transformation. Innovations in color production transformed the material world of the Renaissance, especially in ceramics, cloth, and paint. Collectors across Europe prized colorful objects such as feathers and gemstones as material illustrations of foreign lands. The advances in technology and the increasing global circulation of colors led to new color terms enriching language. Color shapes an individual's experience of the world and also how society gives particular spaces, objects, and moments meaning. The 6 volume set of the Cultural History of Color examines how color has been created, traded, used, and interpreted over the last 5000 years. The themes covered in each volume are color philosophy and science; color technology and trade; power and identity; religion and ritual; body and clothing; language and psychology; literature and the performing arts; art; architecture and interiors; and artefacts. Amy Buono is Assistant Professor at the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University , USA. Sven Dupre is Professor of History of Art, Science and Technology at Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Volume 3 in the Cultural History of Color set. General Editors: Carole P. Biggam and Kirsten Wolf

A Cultural History of Color in the Age of Industry covers the period 1800 to 1920, when the world embraced color like never before. Inventions, such as steam power, lithography, photography, electricity, motor cars, aviation, and cheaper color printing, all contributed to a new exuberance about color. Available pigments and colored products - made possible by new technologies, industrial manufacturing, commercialization, and urbanization - also greatly increased, as did illustrated printed literature for the mass market. Color, both literally and metaphorically, was splashed around, and became an expressive tool for artists, designers, and writers. Color shapes an individual's experience of the world and also how society gives particular spaces, objects, and moments meaning. The 6 volume set of the Cultural History of Color examines how color has been created, traded, used, and interpreted over the last 5000 years. The themes covered in each volume are color philosophy and science; color technology and trade; power and identity; religion and ritual; body and clothing; language and psychology; literature and the performing arts; art; architecture and interiors; and artefacts. Alexandra Loske is Curator at the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton, UK Volume 5 in the Cultural History of Color set. General Editors: Carole P. Biggam and Kirsten Wolf

Here's the skinny on stripes: a zigzag tour of the form through seventy years of fabric design. Nearly 600 pictures of historic fabric swatches from all over the world provide a virtual treasure chest of design ideas, from the prim floral fashions of the 1940s to the outrageous color combinations and painterly couture fabrics released by the top design houses in Paris during the 1960s. Brilliant photographs provide a visual survey of stripes' many forms, from woven-in to imitation weaves, from wavy lines to prim and proper pin stripes. This is the largest full-color photographic album of textile stripes ever produced, and an invaluable reference guide for artists of every medium.

More than 300 colorful photos and behind-the-scenes details reveal the fascinating story of Japan's cotton and indigo, and their enormous contribution to fiber arts worldwide. Learn how Japan and its top fabric designers, quilters, scientists, and artists combine tradition and high tech to weave the thread, fabrics, and stunning designs that are so coveted in today's fiber art world. Take a tour of Japan's elite textile printing mills to understand why Japan is considered the world's finest producer of quilting cotton. Learn where all this cotton comes from, and its close connection to another prized plant, indigo. Dozens of beautiful fabric designs and quilts by Shizuko Kuroha, Keiko Goke, Yoshiko Jinzenji, Yoko Saito, and others are featured, as well as cotton and indigo folk textiles through the ages. This journey gives a deeper understanding of the connection between contemporary textile art and Japan's cotton, indigo, and traditions.

From one-of-a-kind hand made fashion to commercially made highly decorative apparel, wearable art has become an important category for both collectors of vintage costume and of unique contemporary fashion. This book, with more than 500 color photographs, is the first to cover both vintage and new wearable art. Chapters on different categories of apparel present this compelling topic at its best. Not necessarily museum art, but real wearable creations, from the antique to the present, the creations presented in this book complimented by an extensive illustrated glossary, bibliography, and a value guide will delight anyone interested in fashion, art, and the unusual and beautiful.

So you've mastered the basics in shirtmaking and you are looking to create your own couture blouses, dress shirts, or jackets... Well, you are in luck then. David Page Coffin, author of "Shirtmaking," is back to help you through amazing custom patterns for men and women Inside you'll find a helpful guide explaining specific concepts, structures, and styles, such as: Dress (or Shaped) Shirt Block, Sport (or Unshaped) Shirt Block, Knit (or Stretch-to-Fit) Shirt Block, Folk (or Rectangular) Shirt Block, and Shirt-Jacket (or Over-Sized) Block. "The Shirtmaking Workbook" also includes lists for further reading, suppliers, and references to help make your custom shirtmaking easier. With these shirtmaking basics, you'll be creating hundreds of fashionable designs in no time

Sneakers are more than just athletic shoes -- they are also fashion statements, status symbols, and cultural icons.This book traces the progression of sneaker design from the early canvas-topped rubber soles to the hi-tech innovations of the late 1980s. Over 450 colour and black-and-white images compiled from magazine advertisements that date back to 1940 explore a half-century of athletic shoe design for track, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, running, tennis, and casual wear. Included are designs by Converse, Keds, Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok, and New Balance, among other companies. Fashion historians, designers, and sneaker fans will all love this exciting book.

This book demonstrates how fashion brands communicate, why the practice is significant within wider society and how it can be perceived as culturally meaningful. Enabling readers to connect the tools and techniques of communication with their theoretical underpinnings and historical antecedents, the book shows how these methods can be applied in practice. The authors utilise social, consumer and cultural theory, and frameworks rooted in psychology, sociology and economics, as mechanisms to analyse and deconstruct current communication strategies used by fashion brands. The book presents insights and strategies for communicating authentic values, conveying a clearly defined aesthetic and visual language and generating shareable content that resonates with audiences. With insights into strategies used by brands including Burberry, Gucci, Dior, COS, Rapha, Warby Parker and Maryam Nassir Zadeh, each chapter outlines ways of maintaining relevant and consistent brand narratives in the 21st century. From how to sustain a dialogue with a brand's community, to the use of brand collaboration, co-creative storytelling and fashion spaces, the book aims to develop reflective communication practitioners who have a deep understanding of the cultural landscape, brand strategy and industry innovation. Written for scholars and practitioners, this book is a valuable blend of theory and practice across the fields of fashion, communication and branding.

'Handsomely illustrated and meticulously assembled' - Shahidha Bari, author of Dressed: The Secret Life of Clothes 'An exuberant romp through footwear evolution ... a cornucopia of footwear delights' - Flora McLean, Royal College of Art, UK 'A memorable walk through a story of innovation, fashion, invention and eroticism' - Giorgio Riello, European University Institute, Italy 'An elegantly updated and illustrated edition of an invaluable reference book' - Alicia Kerfoot, The College at Brockport, SUNY, USA From chopines to stilettos, Louis XIV to Louboutin, Shoes: An Illustrated History is the definitive guide to footwear. This revised, updated edition expands the classic work to include new content on environmental and sustainability issues, and increased coverage of more diverse, inclusive and contemporary designers - such as Rupert Sanderson, Sophia Webster, Nicolas Kirkwood, Charlotte Olympia, Amina Muaddi, Noritaka Tatehana. Shoes have always been more than just a practical necessity. They reveal the culture of the times in which they were worn - the sexual morals, the social power play, as well as the endless shifting of fashion. Rebecca Shawcross takes the reader on a fascinating journey - packed with social and historical detail - of making and wearing, of the spectacular and the everyday, of conforming and rebelling. Lavishly illustrated with a dazzling array of shoes from all over the world and now including a new closing chapter covering the latest developments in design and technology, the influence of social media and celebrity endorsement, this revision consolidates the book's position as the leading reference work and overview of this ultimate object of desire, from antiquity to the present.

Enter an ultra-patriotic era of "military mood" fashions, replete in red, white, and blue. One in a series of books from Schiffer Publishing documenting fashion trends in America, this is an invaluable resource for fashion designers looking to revive and rework retro styles, for costume designers working to recreate an era, and for collectors and historians wanting to document vintage clothing. A visual treasure chest, this book offers more than 400 full-color photographs, with thousands of items of clothing, shoes, and accessories pictured, along with detailed descriptions. A guide to retail values for these items on today's market is featured as well.

More Pattern Magic is the cult pattern-cutting text from Japan, partner to the original Pattern Magic book. Inspiring and exciting, this volume takes a creative approach to pattern cutting, with more step-by-step projects for fashion designers and dressmakers to enjoy. This book looks at creating interesting surfaces, optical illusions and curved shapes through pattern cutting. All the basic information you need to start pattern cutting is included, from the basic block to measurements and scaling. Each project is beautifully illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs showing the stages of construction, the muslins (toiles) and the finished garments. These easy-to-follow illustrations and detailed instructions make it easy to create stunning, sculptural clothes.

The decoration of church vestments, which are the ceremonial garments worn by the clergy at the celebration of the Mass, has always been a matter of high fashion. In the first place the crafts of silk weaving and embroidery, which provide the technical means for the decoration of these garments, have held a prominent place in the changing fashions in the arts since the early Middle Ages, and since that time have been used in the service of the church as well as for secular purposes. Secondly in a narrower sense of the term, both these crafts have been at the heart of fashionable dress through the centuries. Many silks intended for this market have also been used by the vestment makers, with the result that the vestments have remained in the forefront of each successive trend. This therefore is a book about the changing aspects of art history: its aim is to show something of the origins and use of the vestments themselves, but principally to trace the development of their decoration in the context of the arts of any one period. High Fashion in the Church is richly-illustrated as its subject matter rightly demands. It also contains an index, glossary and bibliography.

Selbstverstandlich is the German expression which, in the mind of Albert Kriemler, creative director at AKRIS, best encapsulates the aesthetic ideal that he wishes to accomplish with his fashion designs. For Kriemler, the embodiment of natural modernity is selbstverstandlich, evident in the wearer and also the use and functionality of the clothes. Taking the collections as waymarks, the book encompasses the entire one hundred years of AKRIS history and its location in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The unsurpassed quality of the fabrics and craftsmanship employed in the creation of Albert Kriemler's art-inspired designs is dedicated to the woman of today and tomorrow. She comes alive in her clothes, and with her body language and presence imbues them with identity. Jessica Iredale describes the uniqueness and forward-looking nature of AKRIS. Iwan Baan, photographer, illuminates with his photo essays the hometown and the inside world of the brand. The meticulous book design confirms the AKRIS mindset: selbstver- standlich, naturally.

The meanings originally communicated by Elizabethan and Jacobean dress have long been confined to history. Why, then, have doublets, hose, ruffs and farthingales featured in many Shakespeare productions staged since the turn of the 21st century? This book scrutinizes the popular practice of costuming Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan and Jacobean dress. It considers why this approach to design appeals to contemporary directors, designers and audiences, and how it has shaped the meaning of Shakespeare's works in specific performance contexts. Informed by original interviews with several prominent theatre practitioners, including Emma Rice, Gregory Doran, Jenny Tiramani, Simon Godwin, Stephen Brimson Lewis and Tom Piper, Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume explores how various 21st-century Shakespeare productions have drawn on myths and desires associated with early modern clothing. Its discussions range from the practicalities of historical reconstruction to the appeal of early modern sartorial culture as an embodiment of wonder, spectacle and the supernatural. Productions discussed include Shakespeare's Globe's production of Henry V (1997), the National Theatre's Twelfth Night (2017) and the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Tempest (2016). Ella Hawkins examines the minutiae of modern design -- how seams are sewn, whence fabrics are sourced -- as well as the widespread cultural movements that have produced our modern relationship with the period of Shakespeare's lifetime. This is the first book to explore fully the significance of Elizabethan-inspired design in contemporary Shakespearean performance. Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume reframes so-called 'period' costuming as a dynamic collection of practices capable of refashioning textual meanings, reflecting present-day political and societal shifts and confronting contemporary injustices.

Back in print, expanded, and revised, the second edition of Navajo Pictorial Weaving is devoted to all categories of antique Navajo pictorial weaving. The second edition includes 92 new images of weavings discovered in the last three decades, many never before published or exhibited. Through these nearly 300 photos and short texts, both the novice and advanced collector can reach a better understanding of the enigmatic and unusual body of Navajo pictorial weaving. Also featured is a one-of-a-kind comprehensive chart of the Navajo ceremonial system. Offering the newest discoveries, this treasury reemphasizes that Navajo pictorial weaving is a truly American folk art. Significant pictorials are organized into eight chapters covering all major categories, including these and many others: "Birds, Flora, Fauna & Livestock," "Transportation, Technology, the Railroad and Its Influence," "Yeis, Yeibichais, and Corn Yeis," and "Kachinas, Masks, and Images from the Hopi."

First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear is revolutionary fashion designer Claire McCardell's collection of fashion wisdom and philosophy and a vivacious guide to looking effortlessly stylishClaire McCardell, the revolutionary fashion designer credited with originating "The American Look," designed for the emerging active lifestyle of women in the 1940s and '50s. She was the originator of mix-and-match separates, open-back sundresses, and feminine denim fashion; she started the trend for ballet flats as a wartime leather-rationing measure. Spaghetti straps, brass hooks and eyes as fasteners, rivets, menswear details and fabrics-they were all started by McCardell. Her monastic and popover dresses achieved cult status, and her fashions were taken up by working women, the suburban set, and high society alike.First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear? provides a glimpse into the sources of McCardell's inspiration-travel, sports, the American leisure lifestyle, and her own closet-and how she transformed them into fashion while still approaching design from her chosen vantage point of usefulness. A retro treat for designers and anyone who loves fashion, both vintage and contemporary, the book is teeming with charming illustrations and still-solid advice for finding your own best look, creatively shopping on a budget, and building a real wardrobe that is chic and distinctive. What Shall I Wear? is a tribute to the American spirit in fashion.