Amazon.com

Bringing an entirely new slant to the concept of the coffee-table book, SUMO is a suitably enormous homage to 79-year-old Helmut Newton, the master of subversive and erotic photography. "I wanted to build a monument to the most important photographer of the 20th century," comments Benedikt Taschen, the publisher behind SUMO. He delivers. Weighing over 65 pounds, measuring more than two feet long, and breaking any previous size record in book publishing, SUMO contains 480 pages of every aspect of Newton's outstanding career in photography. Each copy of the book is bound by hand and numbered and signed by the artist. In order to showcase this colossus, the book is packaged with its own stand designed by Philippe Starck.

This outsized volume contains the body of Newton's controversial yet iconographic work, documenting fashion, fetishism, and above all an overriding obsession with voyeurism that can make the viewer feel complicit or uneasy by turns. Newton himself describes SUMO as "terrifying and outrageous. I don't even look at it as a book.... I look at it as an object." --Catherine Taylor, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (12)

a Monolith
Well, as everyone else says, there's no other book like it. I had a look at a copy in an art photography store and thought it was ok, but would I pay two grand for it? Nah, I don't think so. Admittedly, the cover shot from the series 'Big Nudes' is impressive when you first see it, but these pictures were never meant to be printed at this size. Newton shoots fast and produces grainy photographs; at this size the pictures start losing clarity because of the extreme grainyness. There are also slight scratches and imperfections on some of the negatives, which at a normal size are miniscule, but here the tiniest scratch is blown up into a great white worm crawling over the page.

Don't get me wrong, Newton is one of the great lensmen of recent decades. The work displayed here is of itself, brilliant. Even so, you could save yourself a packet and buy a quality 'normal' book of his work, where the pictures can be appreciated more easily. This book's merit lies in it being an art object in it's own right. If you actually want to savour and enjoy Newton's work, give it a miss.

Don't Let the Critics Wrestle Sumo
This book is not meant to collect dust on a coffee table but to lay open atop its stand the way Starck designed it. It's an interactive art piece that can be changed daily, weekly, etc depending on your mood (or the company you expect). How can these arresting and haunting images ever get boring? Would a Helmut Newton hung on a wall slowly become mundane? I can tell you from experience that the answer is a resounding NO.

A work of art.....
This book is by far a conversation piece....I have had company that spends hours turning the pages. Even after having the book for several months, I flip through it and see photos I don't recall seeing the first time. I absolutely love this book and would highly recommend it to everyone. According to the folks at the Taschen bookstore in Beverly Hills, CA, there are fewer than 100 books left out of the 10,000 printed.

A MUST HAVE!
ANY Helmut or June fan must have this anthology!!

Record sized & worth every $, more than a book...
coffee table book with it's own coffee table / stand,
emormous, the biggest book I ever seen,
big & heavy, record size, over 65 pounds,
expensive, high dollar item,
nothing for prude people, but - it's one of a kind,
even if you don't like nude photographie, THIS is the BOOK,
you got to have it...,
just great !!! ... Read more

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. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Coco Chanel - The Originator of Modern Women's Fashion
I am so glad this book is back in print.Written by the Senior Editor of French Vogue, who was also a close friend and biographer of Chanel, this is a must have for fashionistas.I own the original version which has all black and white photos.This new version, published 25 years after the original has new color photos and illustrations added.The book has also been revamped with all the new additions, but retains the original text.If you only get one book about Chanel, get this one.It is worth every penny.

The Big Beautiful World of Chanel
Visually pleasing and well-written, here is a book that would surely please Mademoiselle Chanel if she were still with us.

Fans of Chanel and "Fashionistas" alike will undoubtedly be delighted with this big, beautiful book and its vast number of Chanel photos, which document Coco's personal world of fashion.

Linda Painchaud-Steinman, Park Edge Books

Please bring this book back!
*Chanel and Her World* is a great document of a great woman!I've neverseen another Chanel book with so many pictures, and that's what it's allabout when it comes to one of the century's most important style-makers. It's a CRIME that it's out of print, because I MUST OWN IT. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A View Inside A Shrine to Self
The Windsors, while they were living, epitomized style, glamour, and wit. Ultimately theirs was a wasted life, empty of meaning in the end. From the heady days of their scandalous romance, life was all downhill, a private struggle to conserve their dignity in the aftermath of the abdication. To fill this emptiness and lack of purpose in life, the Duchess obsessed on perfection; of herself, of the things she collected and of the table she set. The Windsor's sous chef spent hours sorting salad leaves into leaves of exactly the same size to be set before their guests. Their relationship was a hollow recreation of the childhood the Duke never could leave behind. Moulin de la Tuilerie, their country home outside of Paris, was the York Cottage of Edward's youth reborn. Wallis herself was Queen Mary, obsessively arranging the display of small objets and cosseting the little boy who was King. A long time servant said, "They had nothing and no-one. They were just two lonely old people." Suzy Menkes takes the reader on an interesting tour through not only of the tangible objects of this relationship, but of the relationship itself. ... Read more

Book Description

The much-acclaimed biographer's unflinchingly honest, wise, and forgiving portrait of her own famous parents: two wildly talented Russian émigrés who fled wartime Paris to become one of New York's first and grandest power couples.

Tatiana du Plessix, the wife of a French diplomat, was a beautiful, sophisticated "white Russian" who had been the muse of the famous Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Alexander Liberman, the ambitious son of a prominent Russian Jew, was a gifted magazine editor and aspiring artist. As part of the progressive artistic Russian émigré community living in Paris in the 1930s, the two were destined to meet. They began a passionate affair, and the year after Paris was occupied in World War II they fled to New York with Tatiana's young daughter, Francine.

There they determinedly rose to the top of high society, holding court to a Who's Who list of the midcentury's intellectuals and entertainers. Flamboyant and outrageous, bold and brilliant, they were irresistible to friends like Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dalí, and the publishing tycoon Condé Nast. But to those who knew them well they were also highly neurotic, narcissistic, and glacially self-promoting, prone to cut out of their lives, with surgical precision, close friends who were no longer of use to them.

Tatiana became an icon of New York fashion, and the hats she designed for Saks Fifth Avenue were de rigueur for stylish women everywhere. Alexander Liberman, who devotedly raised Francine as his own child from the time she was nine, eventually came to preside over the entire Condé Nast empire. The glamorous life they shared was both creative and destructive and was marked by an exceptional bond forged out of their highly charged love and raging self-centeredness. Their obsessive adulation of success and elegance was elevated to a kind of worship, and the high drama that characterized their lives followed them to their deaths. Tatiana, increasingly consumed with nostalgia for a long-lost Russia, spent her last years addicted to painkillers. Shortly after her death, Alexander, then age eighty, shocked all who knew him by marrying her nurse.

Them: A Portrait of Parents is a beautifully written homage to the extraordinary lives of two fascinating, irrepressible people who were larger than life emblems of a bygone age. Written with honesty and grace by the person who knew them best, this generational saga is a survivor's story. Tatiana and Alexander survived the Russian Revolution, the fall of France, and New York's factory of fame. Their daughter, Francine, survived them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Memoir to Remember
Francine du Plessix Gray who, has written several fine novels as well as complex and satisfying biographies of the Marquis de Sade and Simone Weil, now tenderly explores the lives of her famously mercurial parents. "Them" is a success any way you look at it; the elegant writing and the loving way she examines the life she had with these completely self-absorbed people make this memoir worth reading.

Her parents were Tatiana Yakoleva, a renowned New York designer of hats, and Alex Liberman, who was one of the creators of modern fashion journalism at Vogue. The du Plessix in Francine's name comes from her birth father, a hero of the French Resistance who died early in World War II. Although he never adopted her, Alex Liberman was the father she knew and loved, the man she and her mother always saw as the one who rescued them from the horrors of war. Tatiana had already fled one revolution, leaving Russia to live in Paris as a teenager with her grandmother, aunt, and uncle. In her early 20s, she met the dynamic Russian revolutionary poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky during one of his visits to France. He wrote one of his most beautiful poems to her and begged her to return to Russia with him. But her fear was too great, and she married diplomat Bertrand du Plessix before Mayakovsky could return to again persuade her. Mayakovsky had been under growing scrutiny for his criticism of increasing oppression in the new Soviet Union, and he committed suicide shortly thereafter. His letters were one of the Tatiana's most carefully guarded items when she fled Europe.

Photos from the family's arrival in New York make them look like a tight-knit trio, but Tatiana and Alex were terrible parents. They shuttled off Froshka, as they called her, with all sorts of extraneous family and friends. A friend had to tell her that her father was dead. They failed to tell her when they got married. They were as ambitious and thoughtless as two people can be. But they loved her very much.

What makes this memoirs so remarkable is how warmly du Plessix Gray writes about all this. She does not see herself as a victim, which is probably why she has a close and healthy family life as an adult. Beautiful writing, fearlessness, and compassion make this a memoir that will hold readers captive from start to finish.

We cannot choose our parents . . .
"Them" is an engrossing read.Mrs. Gray portrays her parents in their full roundedness with no holds barred when it comes to revealing their faults as well as their virtues.In reading the memoir, I found myself saying "what fascinating people yet how obnoxious. . . how powerful an emotion love is to permit a daughter to see all her parents' faults and still treat them with respect."The book is also a portrait of a time and an industry (magazine publishing) and of people finely attuned to the needs of fashionable society.It's also about Change and how we all become outmoded when our work fails to meet changing fashions. ... Read more

Book Description

· While the Star Wars saga is famous for its elaborate sets and for revolutionary visual effects, it also features some of the most unique and ornate costumes in modern film. In this exquisite volume, the intricate and beautiful fashions that have appeared in all six Star Wars films are on display-from military gear to royal gowns and the iconic garbs of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Every costume is brilliantly displayed in intimate detail, from preproduction sketches to the final creations. Actors, including Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson, provide commentary on their experiences during principal photography, while writer-director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum contribute their thoughts on this exploration of Star Wars costume design. Accompanied by an exhibition at the The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Museum & Galleries at FIDM in Los Angeles, this unique visual treat is a must-have for any Star Wars fan. This limited-edition run of this book will be released with lavish gatefolds, fabric swatches, a special dvd, and a cast replica of a Wookiee belt-buckle, sure to be the ultimate Star Wars collectible.

Limited Edition Special Features

Hardcover with French-fold jacket encased in an elegant clamshell box with an Obi Wrap cloth overlay. Special features include six bound-in booklets and eight 6-page gatefolds, a costume index by character for all six films in the Star Wars Saga, 16 additional pages of color photographs and fabric swatches cut from the same bolts as the Saga's actual costume material originating from the Lucasfilm archives including swatches made from the same fabric used for Darth Vader's cape as well as a cast replica "Wookiee Belt-Buckle" symbolizing the valor and loyalty of these ferocious warriors. Also includes a Certificate of Authenticity for the Wookiee Belt Buckle replica and Costume Swatches.

Package Features
*Clamshell box wrapped in Japanese silk
*Wookie beltbuckle replica
*Darth Vader cape material
*Fabric samples (includes piece of Darth Vader's cape)

*Limited Edition Lucasfilm DVD

Edition Features
*Gatefolds (Six 6-page gatefolds)
*1.Jedi council
*2. Royalty: fabric details (embroidery, edgings, beading, sewn-in embroidery sheet)
*3. Military (featuring the Wookiees)
*4. Senators incl. Padmé outfit
*5. Rogues Gallery (Jawas, Ewoks, Cantina, Jabba's place)
*6. Farmers: Padmé outfit

Additional Signature
*Costume Archeology" (antique fabrics and pieces) | "Trisha's Scrapbook" of her travels w/passport stamps; 16 additional pages. Special Insert (accordion-fold )

"Building 37" - workroom, inspirations, pictures of JAK folders, pictures of fabricsamples, etc. of top 20 costumes, fabric samples. This special insert depicts costume evolution inside Trisha Biggar's workshop.

Eight (8) Bound-in Booklets and Inserts (loose)


1. Headresses
2. Classic character costumes
3. CG "Costume Booklet"
4. Footwear (in silhouette)
5. "Dressing Bail Organa"
6. Costume breakdown with transparent overlays
7. Jewelry
8. Darth Vader ... Read more

Book Description

A celebrity fashion stylist reveals the tricks of her trade and shows women of all sizes how to pull together their own polished, individual look.

Whether she’s petite, average, or plus size, every woman has experienced the frustration of searching for flattering clothes. In The Pocket Stylist every reader can have a consultation with her own personal stylist and use the author’s behind-the-scenes wardrobe wisdom:
- Taking her true measurements—from eight different body zones—to ensure an attractive fit based on the reader’s unique silhouette and the proportions that will flatter it best
- Why ready-to-wear isn’t, and how and when to use a tailor for a custom fit
- The best fabrics for your unique silhouette
- How to balance trends with the classic, indispensable pieces that are the backbone of any well-conceived wardrobe
- What "closet archaeology" can unearth and reveal about your wardrobe needs
- Why the right lingerie makes a critical difference in the fit of your clothes
- Tips from other experts on the beauty principles that ground your everyday look— Bobbi Brown and Sonja Kashuk for makeup and Kevin Mancuso for hair—offer backstage access
- Accessories that give an outfit an individual look and that no versatile wardrobe should be without

Best of all, The Pocket Stylist features specifically edited shopping lists for various body types.Four "styled" looks for each silhouette—from jeans-casual to cocktails—illustrate ideal proportion and fit. The reader becomes Kendall Farr’s client and will learn to shop and dress herself like a pro. The Pocket Stylist delivers the behind the camera expertise of a veteran stylist in one purse-size indispensable guide. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

This book is AWESOME!
I don't have anything to add to the positive reviews that have already been posted. Suffice it to say that this book lives up to its promise. I have been buying lots of book on fashion, but this is the book I refer to over and over. Whatever your personal style--trendy, romantic, classic, sexy--this book is pertinent for you. This is a refreshing change from other books, which I feel try to steer you toward one basic style or another. Farr gives you basic principles so that you can choose tasteful, flattering clothes no matter what your preference. I could see a teenager using this book or a senior citizen!

I now understand how celebrities look so good in their clothes. Her writing is clear and to the point, and specific without being confining.

A book every woman who wants to look her best should own
In the sea of so called 'fashion experts', Farr is a real standout. Her approach to style differs greatly in that it instructs women how to honestly assess their wardrobes and logically pinpoint their individual body type. She clarifies how to flatter any figure (including plus sizes), incorporate trends and individual style, mix and match pieces, shop on a budget and avoid falling victim to common fashion mishaps. The book isn't limited to just clothing - bras, stockings accessories and tips from beauty experts are also thoroughly covered. Best of all there are pages and pages of tips, places to shop and stylist secret weapons that even the most fashion savvy girl probably doesn't know. My favorite section of the book is 'Your Tailor is Your Best Friend' which details everything from having a garment fit to having a piece custom made. Unlike other guides I have read, this book is written without condescension and truly aims to make all women feel beautiful and stylish. This book is not only an incredibly useful tool but is also a great read. Farr writes with humor and gives the reader a number of hilarious personal, real women and celebrity anecdotes.
This is without a doubt the fashion guide to buy. I have given a few copies as gifts and my friends loved it too.

If you only buy one fashion book, buy this
Farr zeroes in on what's probably the most important truth in fashion: Understand your silhouette and which shapes flatter it, and the rest is really pretty easy. I've bought several books on fashion, but this is probably the best. If you buy this book and back it up with one of Leah Feldon's, you're covered!

great guide
The Pocket Stylist is one of the few fashion books I've found that lives up to its promise. It steers clear of the personal and lifestyle advice usually offered under the guise of fashion and provides a thorough guide to the little things that make you look better.

Ms. Farr offers simple clothing and makeup advice, but the real (and perhaps fleeting) strength of this book is its wealth of wardrobe care and planning resources. She names names and provides phone numbers.

This is not a glamorous book- despite its chic little illustrations. But its tips are the underpinning that can keep you looking elegant yourself.

A Required Addition to Your Style Library
This is a well-written guide to defining your style. Not since Simple Isn't Easy have I run across such an informative fashion advisor.

Add it to your library. ... Read more

Book Description

In his first book, photographer Michael Thompson offers a grand, almost fantastical vision of fashion, glamour, and style. A compelling yet enigmatic sequence of radiant images-plucked from his fashion spreads, portrait shoots, and personal projects-unfolds across these pages, transcending the original commissions to form a dreamlike narrative. Thompson, with editor Dennis Freedman, presents a surrealistic high-concept exploration of the theme of seeing with one's eyes closed, even as he seduces us with his photographic craftsmanship.

Invoking a pantheon of sources, references, and inspirations-from Vermeer, Man Ray, and Cocteau to Kubrick and Coppola-Thompson has turned the cool, austere style for which he is known upside down to reveal its lush, dark under-pinnings. This deluxe volume brings together Thompson's alluring photographs of some of the world's most celebrated subjects and beautiful models, including Claudia Schiffer, Sting, Kate Moss, and Britney Spears. The book reveals as never before the versatile and inventive vision of this stellar photographer. ... Read more

Book Description

A definitive and indispensable guide to the very best and most collectible sneaker designs.

Sneakers, trainers, tennis shoes, baskets—wherever you live, whatever you call them, however you wear them, it is impossible to escape this humble shoe's rise to global popularity. Sneakers have moved beyond sports attire to become a fashion staple that simultaneously transcends class and race yet defines who you are in today's urban tribes.

The world of the sneaker collector encompasses a huge international audience passionate for the rarest shoes, the latest designs, or reissued classics in a myriad of colors and materials. This encyclopaedic guide, with more than 500 specially taken color photographs, displays over 180 sneaker designs that have made a mark on sneaker culture worldwide. There are examples to delight both the novice collector and the hard-core sneaker freak, from acknowledged classics like the Converse All Star to the latest Nike Air technology to forgotten styles no longer in production but worthy of modern recognition, such as the Ewing Reflective.

The book features comprehensive reference sections for collectors, including histories of the fourteen leading brands from Adidas to Vans; practical tips on building and caring for a collection; a fully illustrated glossary and chronology; and a directory of shops, resources, and Web sites. Over 500 color illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

From antique shops to such upscale stores as Tiffany and Cartier, from flea markets to the chic design houses of Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel, charms are making a grand reappearance on the fashion scene. Drawn to these tiny treasures for their ability to express elements of the wearer's personality, today's charm lovers are using them to adorn everything from bracelets and necklaces to dog collars and diaper pins.

In The Charm of Charms, photographer Jade Albert and writer Ki Hackney tell the fascinating story of this ever-popular jewelry item. The stunning color photographs provide an up-close and personal view of hundreds of cherished charmed jewels, including pieces belonging to Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, the Duchess of Windsor, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige among other celebrities. The intriguing stories behind these beloved trinkets are told in the lively, informative text, which also covers the history of charms and amulets from prehistory to the present. Combining up-to-the-minute trendiness with nostalgic glamour, this gorgeous volume will appeal to fashion and jewelry enthusiasts both young and old. AUTHOR BIO: Jade Albert's work has appeared in Vogue, Time, and Parents magazines, and in advertising campaigns for Target, Polaroid, Sony, and other companies. She was the photographer of Cindy Crawford's book, About Face (2001). Ki Hackney is the coauthor of People and Pearls: The Magic Endures. ... Read more

Book Description

This quintessential guide to patternmaking offers comprehensive coverage, clear illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions, providing users with all the relevant information necessary to create design patterns with accuracy regardless of their complexity.Covers the three steps in the development of design patterns—dart manipulation, added fullness, and contouring—with a central theme that all designs are based on one, or more of these three major patternmaking and design principles. Includes a fashion sketch for each project with an analysis of the design, and focuses on pattern plot and manipulation for developing the patterns. Illustrates several methods for knock-offs, and dedicates new sections on fitting corrections for the basic pattern set and the four pant foundation; menswear;patternmaking for bias-cut garments; revised drafting instructions and standard measurement charts; how to modify the bodice to fit the different sizes of bust cups; constructed support for strapless designs, and more. Presents additional and more challenging design projects for the advanced reader.For dressmakers, home sewers, manufacturing companies, and professionals in fashion design and fashion merchandising. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

The textbook I go back to most often
This was one of my favorite textbooks from design school. It's the one I refer back to most often, because I know what I want will be there, and will be presented clearly. It is the most complete reference I have in my library for flat-patternmaking, and covers everything from making basic slopers from measurements (the book provides measurements for standard sizes, or substitute a real client's), through all sorts of bodices, sleeves, collars, skirts, pants, and other details. Also included are sections on knitwear, including swimwear, and a good portion of the book is devoted to children's clothing. Highly recommended and well worth the price.

Excellent!
This is a great book to learn how to make patterns and also a great reference if you already know how. The pictures and diagrams are very detailed and helpful and the instructions are easy to read. I highly reccomend it!

[Knock off]
Okay, this book promises good stuff, but ... could it be any harder to understand? You basically need two books to interpret how to make a single pattern. Very vague. We use this book at FIDM and I think it would have been better if the two books we use were put into one. Use it if you must, because it is a good reference for children's and body suits. Also, the illustrations are better than most.

It has its shortcomings
This is the book we use at my college. I can't compare it to other patternmaking books, but I know that Armstrong's has problems and really needs a good editor. Occasionally, steps are missing and measurements aren't accurate, and both my classmates and my teacher have found it frustrating.

The Teacher's Guide
I am living in Jamaica West Indies,We do not have this book here on the market so a friend who travel brought it and lown it to me .As a fashion desinging teacher i found this book very good,i need one for myself but i can notbuy it through this method.
So the bottom line is i used this book as my teaching guide.
Thank you.
I am,
Cynthia Mcdonald.
31 Aqualitavale Ave,
Kingston 20.
jamaica West Indes. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Expected alot more than received
being a fasion student in America I look for any resource that I can find pertaining to real Haute Couture, but this book was a real disappointment. It basically has everything that I've already learned expect for the roses thats a pretty good idea. But for home sewers its absolutely PERFECT! Home sewers will really get alot of experence from this book.

transformed me from a beginner to a confident sewer
I bought this book about 6 months ago and read it from cover to cover. I was fascinated, but I didn't want to write a review until I had actually tried some of the techniques.

Well, I've done the piped pockets, the bias cvered seams, and I'm working on the flounce collar (which happens to be fashionable again), and they look pretty good!!

But worth all the money, are the pages on manipulating patterns. With commercial patterns costing well over $10 today, this book enables you to play with what is already in your collection. Before this, I was a slave to the pattern companies, but now, I know how to make what I want. I eliminated a waist seam on a jumper for my daughter, and created an unusual skirt by combining two patterns.

My confidence in my ability to construct a garment, and have it look professional, has increased mani-fold.

Hidden bonus: pattermaking basics and garment copying
The gimmick of the first two-thirds of this book is that the author shows various designer ready-to-wear garments with an interesting construction method or detail, and then she shows you, step-by-step and in detail, how to reproduce it. Where there is a trick or shortcut that reduces the time to do something without lowering the quality she uses it, but on the other hand she includes many labor-intensive methods where the quality would be improved by such methods. She covers facings, hem, pockets, trims, fasteners, and more. The book is not so comprehensive in the number of things it covers that it could replace a reference-style book, but where it covers something, it does so in detail (an you need to read closely sometimes). The illustrations are excellent--way above average for a sewing book. The really interesting thing about this book is the last third on patternmaking basics. She covers the three basic ways to copy a garment (measuring, tracing, and rub-off), and tells you how to check your copied pattern pieces against each other, how to true them, etc. She then goes into pattern modification techniques. I managed to copy a Land's End buttondown shirt with a certain amount of success following her instructions.

Modesto CA
Anyone serious about sewing garments that look expensive should get this book. Lots of pictures and instruction that is very helpful in constructing top notch garments. A must have book for any sewing buff.

A Must Have like all of Claire's other books
All sewing books I buy should be able to teach me at least 1 new-to-me technique before I rate them. This one is a winner. Worth its weight in gold for the information you get.'I rate myself an intermediate sewist with patternmaking skills. It is a must for intermediate and advanced sewing enthuasiasts and if you are a beginner then you will need this book to inspire and guide you to becoming an advanced sewist. My friend's daughter wanted a dress made with a cowl neckline. I had never made this style before and had no idea how to. I drafted the pattern, fitted the muslin, corrected the pattern and was raring to sew! I went through all of my sewing books looking for information on sewing cowls. I have just about all sewing books....Claire's book not only showed me how to sew this but also how to "stay" the cowl. It was the best piece of information ever. The neckline was perfect and I could see without the "stay" how the neckline kept misbehaving!

Another bit of information was on lining a wrap skirt....cutting the back lining on the cross grain....wonderful information. How would I ever have the know-how without the experience? Claire's books are winners. ... Read more

Book Description

In Everything About Me Is Fake…and I'm Perfect, the hilarious and candid follow-up to the national bestseller No Lifeguard on Duty, Janice Dickinson tackles our society's unattainable standards of beauty and reveals the secrets behind her own lifelong struggle to achieve perfection -- from her bra-stuffing days as a flat-chested teenager through her career as the world's first supermodel to her ultimate comeback as a bestselling author and television star on the top-rated reality television hit America's Next Top Model.

most men don't seem to care about my age either. Once you hit the supermodel level, your numerical time spent on Earth doesn't matter to men.

Even as she graced the glossy pages of Vogue and Cosmo, Janice had to struggle to keep up the image of brazen self-confidence and bravado that became her trademark. Behind every smile and pose was a sea of self-doubt and insecurities. Now, after years of experience as a supermodel -- being stitched into clothing, starving herself, and undergoing cosmetic surgery -- Janice debunks the beauty myths and breaks down what's real and what's not. Drawing on her vast knowledge of fashion, beauty care, and fitness, Janice offers no-nonsense advice and tips on how to look and feel your best on your own terms.

you see on the magazine pages starve themselves for weeks on end, smoke up a storm, and scarf down enough diuretics to blast out the Pacific Ocean.

No one tells a story like the world's first supermodel, and Janice's eagerly awaited follow-up is filled with outrageous anecdotes from her personal life, including how she stole Donald Trump's heart after jacking his limo, her steamy date with JFK Jr., and the wonders and pitfalls of going under the knife. In a fabulous fashion that only Janice can deliver, she tells all about her bumpy and unpredictable road to a healthy self-image and pulls back the curtain on the modeling industry, as well as her own life, proving why, as Janice explains: "Everything about me is fake . . . and I'm perfect."

I think it's best to treat most men like they're pets. Treat 'em mean and you'll keep 'em keen.”

Reviews (18)

Janice does it again!!
If you read her first book, No Lifeguard on Duty, this will be just as much of a treat. She delivers advice and details about her life in her typical blunt, ballsy, take-no-prisoners style. You'll laugh more reading this book than her last, because her first was more soul-searching through the most painful moments of her life, this book takes a more light-hearted look at how her life has been since the first one, how being a judge on America's Next Top Model has affected her, and how being a full-time mother and supermodel hasn't slowed her down one bit.
She truly speaks from the heart and from experience. Janice gives it to you straight, whether you like it or not. No apologies. Yet she lets her vulnerable side shine through, like when she talks about her children, her family, etc.
She also gives good advice to women about how the fashion industry is selling us all lies with their airbrushed and digitally enhanced images of perfection(not a shock, right?). She really helps put it all in perspective.
If you're looking for a warts-and-all look at how a supermodel's life REALLY is, this is the book. Also read her first book, once you try Janice, you've GOT to go back for more!

I'm ADDICTED to PLASTIC!
I have to say that this is a great read! It's funny, has TONS of gossip about celebrities, and shockingly a BIG HEART! You may know Janice from the TOP MODEL show on UPN, or as a fashion model ... but the biggest shock is underneath her hard exterior is a woman who really cares. She tells things like they are, and she makes no apologies for some of her bad behavior! But she also lets you know that PERFECTION can be a disease, and she lets you in on how to fight that.

I love this book! It's not a literary masterpiece in conventional terms ... more like a gab session with one of your wildest friends. Definitely funny! Definitely shocking! And so much fun you don't want it to end.

I don't care if her modeling advice is suspect (as one reviewer noted), or if she's seen as just another washed up model. She's a courageous woman who deserves to be celebrated. I admire her for being who she is ... the super model with the SUPER MOUTH! :-)

Janice is scary...
Janice is really a sad babe. Abused as a child, she grew up, it seems hating everything and everyone. In this book Janice gives advise to women on how to get and keep their man, shares celebrity stories, and talks about how she manages to stay looking good.
The cover of the book is creative with Janice set up to look like a Barbie doll but the content of the book is weak. Janice shares good information in the beginning of the book when she explains in depth how artificial the looks we see in magazines are. Though real women compare themselves to models in magazines, these images are false as the models have been computer enhanced and in true life are most likely staying slender in unhealthy ways. The book goes downhill from there.
She rips apart fellow models for their wrongdoings like Christie Brinkley who moved in with Janice's boyfriend soon after they broke up. But then in typical Janice double standard fashion she sees nothing wrong with sharing her bed with other men who are already taken.
Janice does her best to treat the reader like they are her best buds and baring her soul but her rough, abrasive personality, and foul language permeate the book and its just not pretty. Her egotistical, "I am so hot and beautiful" nature is immature and becomes old quickly. Her photos reflect this too.
I really feel sorry for the worlds first self- professed "supermodel" a fact she reminds you of constantly throughout the book, and I feel sad that she bases her self worth on how many men desire her. Hopefully one day she will find true inner beauty and peace.
Meantime skip the book or borrow it.

Honest and Funny
I liked this book better than her first one, because she is more of herself in the writing. Although she does get carried away sometimes with the beauty tips and work out tips. Nonetheless, it is a page turner. I wonder what she is going to write for her third and last book in this trilogy, i am sure it's going to be funny. This one is a lot more lighter and her delirious personality shines through the series of her honest biographical anecdotes. I think in a way we can all relate to Janice and her insecurity. What it matters is how we deal with it and reading about her story helps.

Well I liked her first book....
I have to say that I was looking forward to this book. Boy was I disappointed! Her first book was filled with her life story, gossipy tidbits, and more. This new book of hers barely skims the surface. There's a few good modeling anecdotes about her's and other's experiences in that oh-so-glamorously-drugged-up-world, but most of the book seems to be her reapeating the same phrase in different ways over and over and over again just to fill up space! She repeatedly contradicts herself, and even her wit doesn't compensate for that. It's as if she was trying to write a self-help/mini-autobiography (unfortunately, it went terribly downhill....fast!). Basically, it was like a really long and really bad diary entry. So if you were looking for a great follow up to, No Lifeguard on Duty, you will be very disappointed. Also, Janice doesn't even come across as that super confident tough girl who she claims she is...in fact she comes across as terribly insecure and pathetic (her incestent rambling about how she is so confident makes this even more evident). ... Read more

Amazon.com

Madeleine Vionnet's greatest distinction as a designer was her discovery of the bias cut. Cutting patterns along the bias forces the fabric to cling to the body and move with it, which created her trademark look of draped, form-conscious clothing. When designer Issey Miyake first saw a Vionnet dress, it was like the first time he saw Winged Victory at the Louvre: "I thought then that the statue of Nike had been reincarnated in the dresses by Vionnet. She had captured the most beautiful aspect of classical Greek aesthetics: the body and movement." Vionnet's long career as a dressmaker and designer began with the 20th century. Always conscious of women's bodies and inspired in part by modern dancer Isadora Duncan, she soon dispensed with corsets and other constricting garments, and used barefoot models to present her first solo collection. Though simple, her dresses were never plain; the use of a Cartier necklace as a halter strap is a classic Vionnet innovation. This inimitable combination of comfort and glamour made Vionnet's clothes a favorite among European nobility, Hollywood royalty--notably Marlene Dietrich, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Katharine Hepburn--as well as socialites and other trendsetters. Close to a century after its introduction, the bias cut remains an important element in clothing design.

Madeleine Vionnet is a tall book that echoes many of the designs inside. It is filled with contemporary photographs of the clothing, period pictures shot by Man Ray and Steichen, design sketches, and, perhaps most interestingly, patterns for the clothes. The accompanying text traces Vionnet's evolution from an 11-year-old seamstress, through her days apprenticing at the famed Callot Soeurs couture house in Paris, and on into the design empire that secured her an enduring spot in fashion history. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Get it while it's been remaindered...
...as it will go up significantly in price when it goes out of print. A gorgeous resource, with excellent photographs of Vionnet's dresses and, notably, the inclusion of scale patterns for many of the dresses depicted. One of the best available monographs on a designer from this time period.

Simply Wonderful!
I knew that I would love this book, but I did not know how much. The format is great. The pictures are nice and clear, and BIG. This book makes me wish I was alive in the 20's and 30's. Well worth the price.

Exceptional insight into bias construction. Amazing book!
Probably the best book I have read on bias construction. Decribes many of the techniques Vionnet used, like rules for mixing bias with straight weaves. The scale patterns are a major plus.

Magnificent magnificent MaGNiFiCenT
I unwrapped "Vionnet" and thought I'd give it a quick flip-thru before getting on with my day. I spent the next 6 1/2 hours splayed out on the living room floor with this book. (I'll leave erudition to the other reviewers...) It is simply magnificent.

A book that does justice to the genius of Vionnet.
I make and design clothes for the Madame Alexander doll Cissy. In the process of doing this, I began to do research on clothing made in the earlier part of this century. It was then that I discovered the beautiful work of Madeleine Vionnet. I saw the best work of many others, but Vionnet's dresses were pure magic, flowing and exquisite, so unlike anything of their period. So, when I saw this book with 38 patterns, I knew it was a necessity, and it certainly impressed me. The text was informative, and the photographs clear and showing the clothing well. Unduly impressive. ... Read more

Book Description

Dressing the Man is the definitive guide to what men need to know in order to dress well and look stylish without becoming fashion victims.

Alan Flusser's name is synonymous with taste and style. With his new book, he combines his encyclopedic knowledge of men's clothes with his signature wit and elegance to address the fundamental paradox of modern men's fashion: Why, after men today have spent more money on clothes than in any other period of history, are there fewer well-dressed men than at any time ever before?

According to Flusser, dressing well is not all that difficult, the real challenge lies in being able to acquire the right personalized instruction. Dressing well pivots on two pillars -- proportion and color. Flusser believes that "Permanent Fashionability," both his promise and goal for the reader, starts by being accountable to a personal set of physical trademarks and not to any kind of random, seasonally served-up collection of fashion flashes.

Unlike fashion, which is obliged to change each season, the face's shape, the neck's height, the shoulder's width, the arm's length, the torso's structure, and the foot's size remain fairly constant over time. Once a man learns how to adapt the fundamentals of permanent fashion to his physique and complexion, he's halfway home.

Taking the reader through each major clothing classification step-by-step, this user-friendly guide helps you apply your own specifics to a series of dressing options, from business casual and formalwear to pattern-on-pattern coordination, or how to choose the most flattering clothing silhouette for your body type and shirt collar for your face.

A man's physical traits represent his individual road map, and the quickest route toward forging an enduring style of dress is through exposure to the legendary practitioners of this rare masculine art. Flusser has assembled the largest andmost diverse collection of stylishly mantled men ever found in one book. Many never-before-seen vintage photographs from the era of Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, and Fred Astaire are employed to help illustrate the range and diversity of authentic men's fashion. Dressing the Man's sheer magnitude of options will enable the reader to expand both the grammar and verbiage of his permanent-fashion vocabulary.

For those men hoping to find sartorial fulfillment somewhere down the road, tethering their journey to the mind-set of permanent fashion will deliver them earlier rather than later in life.

Reviews (25)

Timeless Style
For me the most interesting parts of this book were the historical photographs. It made me realize what an impoverished age we live in. It showed not that men were slaves to a fashion but rather that elegance can still allow for a lot of personal choice. The comparison to some of what passes for style today is striking. It is also rather timely, in that business casual is rapidly dying and many companies have raised the expectations for dress back to the pre casual days. I found the book an excellent guide both on a practical level as well as providing detailed historical analysis. I loaned the book to a tailor whose has been in the business for 50 years and he was very impressed with the detail and advice. Overall this book was an excellent investment.

ALMOST perfect
I say ALMOST perfect for it has 2 major flaws. But first let me get to the good stuff: a lavish volume full of wonderful vintage photos, illustrations and well-written advice covering color, proportions, patterns, suits, odd jackets, trousers, waistcoats, dress shirts, neckwear, hosiery, shoes, accessorites, formalwear, and business casual. This volume won't age as you do as you refer to it again and again over the years. However, this book has two puzzling flaws: the chapter entitled THE POWER OF COLOR, while necessary, simply is lacking in content and the color photos DO NOT fit in with the rest of the artwork contained in the volume. In fact the photos cheapen this otherwise superb book. This goes for the BUSINESS CASUAL chapter as well: it seems lifted out of another book of lesser quality and inserted into this one. This book probably isn't for the man just out of college, the man for whom a pair of khakis is dressing up, nor the man who considers J Crew to be height of fashion but highly recommended for the man ready to upgrade his appearance.

True to the Twin Pivots: Proportion and Color
As a web developer, I have recently had a run of men's custom tailoring customers. I found myself looking for an encyclopedic source of styling details and fashion fundamentals.

In my mind the name Alan Flusser is synonymous with taste and style. This book gave me everything I needed to build websites designed to appeal to the male buyer of custom suits and shirts. Unlike the fashion buyer, Flusser believes permanent fashion starts with being accountable to a personal set of physical characteristics.

The custom buyer's face's shape, neck's height, shoulder's width, arm's length and torso's structure, and the foot's size remain relatively constant. Once he relates the permanent fashion's fundamentals to his physique and complexion, he is on his way to building a stylish, cost-effective wardrobe that will withstand fashion's seasonable vagaries.

This book contains a large collection of photographs of stylish men. These vintage photographs illustrate the range and diversity of authentic men's fashion. Along the way, magnitude of options will equip the reader with both the vocabulary and options required to build a custom wardrobe. There is even a glossary at the end of the book to help with the journey.

My needs were unique, I admit. This book equipped me with the knowledge, detail and options required to build a website that appeals to buyers and the purveyors of custom men's clothing.

Helps organize men's fashion
When it comes to fashion, most men get nervous. Of course everybody wants to look nice, but isn't it complicated to know how to look good?

That's where I found this book to be especially helpful. Flusser's main point is that most of the elements of good style haven't really changed much at all in the last 75 years or so. Flusser asserts that the main goal of men's attire is to frame the body in order to display the man's face.

A great aspect about the book is that you only need to remember the "rules" for your specific skin tone/height/proportions. For instance, a man with gray/silver hair should wear silver/gray in his attire to properly frame his face, etc. Flusser also is very clear about how clothes should properly fit you, which is helpful when you are trying things on.

The illustrations and photographs (both new and classic) are remarkably well done and effectively portray Flusser's points (both good and bad examples). Other reviews here have pointed out some of the "doctoring" of the photos in some instances. I do see evidence of this, but I do not think it is really a substantive beef of the book.

Flusser's book certainly has some shortcomings. It mainly focuses on the men's suit and typical business dress. Although it does have a chapter on more casual dress (and the formal tuxedo), it is a small part of the book.

This is a great book for the man who wants to look nice. It covers a lot of details, from tying a tie properly to folding a handkerchief to wearing a tie clip. It's probably not for you if you wear jeans to work every day and only wear a suit two times a year.

Excellent Guide to Style--Poor section on color coordination
Flusser does a great job outlining the classical 1930's style of dressing that is the standard for well-dressed men in the US and Britain. His work is the definitive one, and his prose is interesting. The pictures are outstanding.

A couple shortcomings that caused me to rate it a 4--first, his section on color coordination is far too brief, although he does give the principles or coordinating color with hair, skin, eyes, etc. This is something that is usually overlooked in the mass of details on this subject in other fashion books. Second, some key points are hidden in his eloquent sentences while they would be more accessible if they were bullet-pointed. For example, I didn't realize that a dinner jacket should have one button, although I had read his section on the topic fairly carefully. ... Read more

Book Description

This new detailed guide to learning the skills and techniques of drawing modern fashion and figure is also a rich reference source for a broad range of modern garments and accessories. Extensively illustrated, this introduction teaches by example, the power of drawing as a means of communication and expression and strives to show students how to perceive things in order to be able to draw them correctly. The first section is dedicated to drawing the human figure, while the second portion deals with how to draw a wide range of modern garments and accessories and the types of techniques used to render them convincingly and elegantly in different fabric designs and textures.This volume offers a complete presentation of proportions of the croquis, draping the figure, accessories, flats, and features an encyclopedia of details, how to draw textiles and real clothes, the art of illustration, and computers and fashion drawing.For designers, fashion professionals, teachers and students of fashion. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A must for aspiring Fashion Designers!!
I attend the Fashion Institute Of Design and Merchandising where "9 Heads" is used to teach the students how to illustrate fashion. My teacher was also the author of "9 Heads" and she is amazing. My fashion sketching has improves so much along with other students. This book is extremely helpful and very detailed. A must have for anyone who wants to learn how to Fashion Illustrate. :)

Great for drawing women...only women
This is ALMOST the Bible of Fashion Design, save for the fact that it does not show you how to draw men's, juniors, children's, or infant's clothing. This is a must have in anyone's collection, but upon having Ms. Riegleman as a teacher I must warn the reader not to adopt the style in the book as their own but to use the book as a means to develop their own personal style.

If this is the best book out there,
drawing skills must truly be at an all-time low. I bought this book because of Amazon's 5-star rating, but I found the drawing style distinctly unsophisticated and melodramatically adolescent. The figures look like comic book characters, and the flats look, at best, ready to photocopy. Do yourself a favor and attend proper figure drawing and anatomy classes for instruction in the human form, then learn to draw fabrics, draping, shoes, and buttons from old-fashioned, time-tested observation and practice, practice, practice.

Best Fashion Book I Own
I am a fashion student at Parsons, and this book is the exact equivilant of two years of training. My drawings improved beyond belief even after just a few days of studying this bible. The drawings are informative and have a style and flair that only the best illustrators posess. Impressive -- A must have for any fashion student!!

Best Fashion Designer Book
Mrs.Nancy Riegelman was my teacher at Fashion Institute(FIDM)of Los Angeles,she is the best teacher that I ever had and her book reflect her talent. Now I am teaching Fashion Illustration too and I use her book as a reference for my work.Buy this book and you won't be deceived, you will learn a lot and keep on getting better. ... Read more

Book Description

The bag is one of the most universal and oldest objects invented by humankind. What began as a prosaic item for everyday use can now be a luxurious treasure that confers instant status. In this unique, lavishly illustrated volume, published to accompany the exhibition Le Cas du Sac, noted fashion historian Farid Chenoune and 24 experts present an unimaginable wealth of bags made for everyone from kings and celebrities to shamans and vagabonds.

This comprehensive book explores the bag as high-fashion totem; travelers' bags; bags for professionals; bags related to money and ceremony; and bags as talismans. The beautiful illustrations, including paintings, fashion photographs, and ethnographic and decorative objects, reveal the variety and importance of bags throughout time, from designer Philip Treacy's silk evening bag printed with Andy Warhol's signature Campbell Soup cans, to the pangu, the bags used by Bamum tribal kings of Western Africa for holding the sovereign's regalia. A co-publication with Hermès, the Parisian designer of luxurious bags and leather goods, Carried Away is sure to delight fashion enthusiasts and those interested in material culture from around the world. AUTHOR BIO: Farid Chenoune is a cultural and fashion historian. He teaches at the Institut Français de la mode and the Ecole national supérieure des arts décoratifs. He has written, among other works, A History of Men's Fashion; Beneath It All: A Century of French Lingerie, and a monograph on Jean-Paul Gaultier. He writes frequently for French Vogue. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Surpasses my expectations
There are reasons I like this book and reasons that I am disappointed.The reason that I am disappointed is that I thought that this book was going to have lots of pictures of purses from different eras.The reason I like this book is because it is more than just a book with pictures of purses. "Hmmmm..." you might be thinking."Whatever does she mean?"

I love looking at bags in fashion magazines.I thought this book was going to be like that...only longer.Instead, it contains the history of bags, the relationship between bags and culture, the psychological meaning of different bags, and dare I say it, the philosophical perspective of bags.Lest you think I am being sarcastic, I really think the author Chenoune does a good job covering these issues in a tongue in cheek manner."Carried Away" shows the bag as more than just a fashion trend.Although the book does show examples of the bag as woman's fashion accessory, such as the ubiquitous Hermes bag, the book is more of an art book.

"Carried Away" is divided into several sections. My favorite section is about purses in the movies.The author chose still pictures from certain movies.Then, Chenoune explains how the choice of the purse by the costume designer relates to the characters in the movie. Basically, what does the purse say about the psychology of the character and the mood in the scene?I also like the section that shows pictures of different bags and their uses in history, like the painter's bag.

I think for many people this is going to be a book that they pick up in the book store and browse, but not buy.However, I think that other people intested in the bag as an art form, a cultural indicator, or a historical benchmark will find this book interesting enough to read.Therefore, I would not recommend buying it sight unseen, but it is definitely worth a look. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Did the clothes make Jackie, or did Jackie make the clothes? Decide for yourself: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years is a stunning catalog of some of Jacqueline Kennedy's most important dresses as worn during her years as first lady of the United States. As visually sleek and elegant as Mrs. Kennedy herself, the book offers a beautiful analysis of the stunning, simple outfits that typified the Jackie style and brought a breath of sleek modernity to the White House after the somewhat frumpy fussiness of previous first lady Bess Truman. Released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Kennedy's "emergence" as a style icon, the book presents an eclectic selection of suits, evening dresses, daywear, and accessories from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum collection. Divided into cities where each item was first worn, the gowns, suits, and dresses are first presented alone in a full-page color photo. Each is then accompanied by various photos of Jackie wearing the item and detailed design notes, history, and anecdotes behind the outfit.

These photos give a wonderful context to the clothes, and it's clear that Jackie's carriage and persona injected life into these garments--which sometimes appear markedly different from what one might deduce as each item's "personality" when simply viewing it alone. For example, a pale cream embroidered silk Givenchy evening gown looks dull and somewhat dowdy when seen alone, but the accompanying photograph of Jackie wearing it while cuddling a newborn John Kennedy Jr. transforms the dress into something feminine and timeless. Or a very simple, innocently pretty pink shantung evening gown by Guy Douvier becomes arrestingly sexy when she wears it with nothing but white gloves and a Palm Beach tan. Contextualizing and interpreting Kennedy's style is an important part of this book. Featured are essays on Jackie and her effect on the world of style by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Kennedy friend Rachel Lambert Mellon, and the book's author and Vogue editor at large, Hamish Bowles. Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years accompanies an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. --Marisa Lencioni, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Jacqueline Chic
This is a "must have" book for anyone who loves the beauty, style and grace of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, fashion and history. The beautiful fashion photography with insightful essays showcases the former First Lady as one of the 20th century's fashion icons. Her clothing, simple and modern, yet classically elegant, created by major designers of the time such as Oleg Cassini and Givenchy, reflects her visionary fashion savvy. This book will make you ask do clothes make a person, or does the inner soul and outer beauty of a person, such as the former First Lady, make the clothes?

MOST EXCELLENT
Excellent EVERYTHING!!!
A must for jackie AND caroline fans...i figure she did a lot for this and chose some GREAT photos...esp. the last one, in my humble opinion.
THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
I LOVE IT!!! and was shocked when i actually saw it after the few not-so appreciative reviews.
TOP SHELF BOOK/TOMB.
THANKS to everyone who was behind putting this out. As my grandmother would say about such a great book, "It lifts you up." (she said that about the Sotheby's Auction catalog of JBKO's Estate.
THANKS and LOVE TO ALL!!!

Quality, Youth, Beauty, Style and Culture in the White House
Caution: If you like looking at lots of photographs of early 1960s designer dresses, you will probably like this book. Otherwise, this is probably not the right book for you.

During the presidential election of 1960, Ms. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy made an immense impression on American society. At 31, she was a dramatic contrast with the vice president's wife, Ms. Patricia Nixon, and recent first ladies (Ms. Mame Eisenhower, Ms. Bess Truman, and Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt). She was much younger than these women, was pregnant with her son, John, and seemed like someone who came from another world. Ms. Kennedy was highly cultured, interested in the fine arts, attractive in a way that showed up well in photographs and on television, and wore gorgeous clothes of the sort usually only seen in the best fashion magazines.

Once in the White House, her differences from other first ladies became more apparent. A major effort to redecorate the White House with authentic pieces ensued, Lafayette Square's appearance was conserved, entertaining began to feature people from the world of fine arts, the Rose Garden was redesigned, and the clothes she wore became even more magnificent. A great deal of the sense of Camelot certainly came from Ms. Kennedy.

I was disappointed in the book. For someone who had such a wide and important influence on America, the book barely seemed to scratch the surface. It is almost as though a decision had been made to create a book about her dresses on state occasions, and to mention and show all of the other influences she had as little as possible.

This book minimally and partially captures the impact she had on our national consciousness. The best essay is found in the foreword by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. who provides a good overview of the influence of Ms. Kennedy (as described above) and her husband, the president, more broadly on the arts (including efforts that helped lead to the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and providing a temple from Egypt to the Metropolitan Museum in New York). Most of the book is visually devoted to her clothing during state occasions, with notes about those who created the clothes. A typical section has color photographs of the clothing on mannequins, Ms. Kennedy wearing the clothes at an event, and a black-and-white image of how she appeared in the context of the whole event.

The clothing captures what was called at the time, the Jackie look. Most of the dresses are by Oleg Cassini, Givenchy, Chez Ninon, and Gustave Tassell. There are also lots of examples of her hats (often pillboxes by Halston). The outfits are usually as simple and conservative as possible in solid colors, made special by perhaps one elegant bow or sash. Unfortunately, these sections have little material about Ms. Kennedy's views on these apparel, designs for the clothing, or thoughts about how to coordinate them with shoes and accessories.

What was most impressive to me was the success with which she selected outfits that fit in with the nations she was visiting. In France, the elegance of Givenchy enveloped her. In India, bright pastel shades made her look like part of the jungle flora. I'm sure the host nations were delighted to see their specialness magnified in her efforts to be an attractively dressed guest.

But these clothes are unremarkable without Ms. Kennedy. Like a well-known fashion model, she enhanced the clothes enormously with her youth, vitality, personality, and trim figure. So, for me, the book's real value was in seeing the many photographs of Ms. Kennedy. I especially liked the candid photographs, either talking with guests or playing with her children.

How can we recapture a sense of uniquely American style and good taste in ways that will bring approval?