A good buy for those interested in learning about fashion in culture
935838
Excellent well referenced overview of fashion culture. A good, broad introduction to the area. Through the chapter headings you can pick your particular area of interest, or read the whole, as each ties in to the other. Language simple for those new to the area.
2031356
I have enjoyed perusing this New York department store Catalogue from the year 1898. It illustrates 127 pages ofclothing for the whole family; ladies, men, young adults and children. It includes many pages of ladies clothing from overcoats, ladies suits, dresses, blouses, skirts, wrappers, underskirts, petticoats, corsets, corset covers, chemise and drawers, hats, belts and many other items a lady might need. Many other household items are listed including linens, dinner ware, some furniture, and groceries. The quality of the reprint on some pages makes some words unclear but this does not detract for the illustrations and overall content.
3758719
I bought this book because I deal in vintage clothing and constantly need resources to help me date pieces that i sell. I was really impressed with the pictures in this book, they are really detailed and there are tons of variations and examples of 30s styles. Everything from lengerie, to hats, gloves, shoes, jewelry, dresses, skirts, pants -- you name it, and it has men's and children's fashions as well. It also shows seasonal trends.
Even though it's a bummer to have to buy three books just to get an idea of one decade, I think it is worth it. By breaking up the fashions into "early - mid - late" you really can see the progression of style and the subtle changes that define these decades. The book also has a lot of color pictures, which is extremely useful! I would suggest this book for anyone who loves the glamor of the 30s or is interested in this book as a reference. If you're looking for a lot of explainations and text--this isn't the book for you, it is mostly pictoral.
158753
The variety of projects in this book are what makes it worth the buy. Some of the fashion patterns are a little stuffy and outdated but there are scarves and purses that are cute. There are afghans, rugs, tablecloths, pillows, doilies, kids clothes. Not the best set of patterns I've got, but a pretty solid line up.
4649147
After finding a copy of Japanese Goth at a local Australian supplier selling for a ridiculously expensive highly inflated price I hunted it down on Amazon and was amazed to find it at less than 1/2 the price, including postage.
When I first began to fall in love with this book and then realised it included examples of Ryo Yoshida's doll art my mind was made up... I had to have it. Gorgeous illustrations and photographs covering a vast array of artistic and fashion related examples including the works of Illustrator Yoh, ball jointed doll artist Ryo Yoshida, illustrator and Lolita fashion brand Angelic Pretty's Kira Imai, Manga Artist Mitsukazu Mihara, the gorgeous illustrative art of Takato Yamamato, exampls of the works of fashion designer h. NAOTO, tthe doll art of Mari Shimizu.... just to name a few. A visually rich feast for the eyes, I highly recommend it.
1180525
The book is very informative and clearly set out  in chapters which group together different uses of the pattern. I didn't find  a collection of amateur photography here- in fact: established names such as Mario Testino showcase in this piece and add to a versatile mix. Great examples of contemporary fashion,  graphics and architectural design from some of the worlds top  designers as well as independent designers,  mixed with the wealth of  images which illustrate the text and create an educational read. I found this book very useful in my  work: The use of grids in  De Stijl and Mondrian, misconceptions about the history of tartans,  the development of gingham as well as pixel art and space invaders wrapped up in a text that will rope you in.
2606830
I throughly enjoyed this Fashion Reference book, but this comes with a few flaws.  The illustrations are rather sparse and unentertaining.  If you want to know anything about male fashion in the 60's please leave this book alone.  But this is very good reference book for designers and vintage buyers who want to know about some general aspects of female 1960's clothes.  The author orders the book by specific year, which is helpful to get further understanding of 1960's clothing.
4132365
These "Everyday Fashions" books are great. You not only get an idea of the types of clothing people wore during any particular decade, but in a few cases, you even get some pricing (too bad it's not all the time, but I digress).

The reason I've been getting these books is different from others who have posted here. I don't try to get ideas to sew clothes either on a personal or professional basis (like for a play or something). The reason is that I'm a writer, and I like to see what my characters should be or might be wearing for any particular decade, as I tend to write stories set in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s. What's nice is that the books do a year-by-year thing, so in this instance, you can see what a woman wore in 1919 as opposed to 1925 - and what a difference in women's clothing in just 6 years!

Yes, they're in black and white, but I remember a reviewer for one of these books stating that the Sears catalogs were typically in black and white anyway. Besides, I can just as easily imagine different colors for different outfits (and a lot of times, they will tell you what colors are available, as part of the ad).

The preface/forward for the 1920s (also includes 1919) is split among pre-flapper, flapper, and nudges into the Depression (1930). Utterly fascinating. And I felt there was a enough of men's clothing included here, too, though this was a fairly conservative era for men's fashions, so IMHO the suits, hats, and coats, etc., would necessarily look pretty similar.
1895778
Very nice summary on Bohemian style - The different examples showcase a nice variety of style and the crafts at the back are simple enough for a beginner and yet some are interesting enough for an old Bohemian like me to try.

I am recommending it to my students.
4313492
While overall this is an excellent book and a wonderful resource, its a little heavy on his early work (30s and 40s) and a little light on his later work (50s and 60s). Creatively, to me, it seems he broke more ground in his later work but the book glosses over alot of that. Still, I'm SO pleased with the book.  The photos are wonderful and pictorially tell a story of how Balenciaga evolved both as a designer and as a businessman, - and the book isn't shy about his faults and shortcomings, either, which is refreshing.  A good book to have for any serious student of fashion.
4557874
This book contains great photos of clothes, up close and in detail.  The book is divided into clothes categories, rather than by era, but it gives some detail about 20th century fashion trends in each era for each clothing item. Although the author imparts bits of history, she does not do this as if the book were an introduction to fashion history.  There is also some information and advice about wearing vintage pieces in general. The resource section is a nice bonus because it describes how to clean and care for items, as well as a glossary of terms, among other sections.
I think an assumption behind this book is that readers are not so much looking to wear all pieces from the same era like a costume, but rather they are looking to find unique pieces to wear, according to their own sense of style.
If you are searching to reproduce a specific era, I would seek another fashion book that was specifically written about that era.  However, if you are interested in fashion in general and vintage in particular, this book is for you.  I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially someone who wants to find unique clothing and learn a little bit about 20th century clothes.
578785
Written by a senior staff member of Sotheby's, this book offers an interesting overlook on the collections and personalities of some of the most important art collectors of our time. The text itself is a collection of short pieces on each  collector, describing the building and the highlights of their collection (which can be African art, Islamic art, modern paintings, rare books, old masters, contemporary art, etc). You will not find any real scoop here, since, but for a few exceptions, most of the people and collections described are already well-known , but it is still a book that is pleasant to read and full of good-quality illustrations of seldom reproduced works.
4787654
I got this book as a gift for my wife and she couldn't be happier :) she is a graphic designer studying fashion and says this book goes beyond what she expected. It is full of good pics and covers a lot of information regarding the process of developing q collection of textiles as well as technical knowledge.
4258276
This book is a great buy at around 20$.  The pages include lots of color picture/illustrations of clothing from all over the world throughout history.  It also details clothing of tribes and smaller cultures that other books do not even touch on.  I love this book for it's  wide range of inspiration and the visual pleasure I receive when browsing through it.
6564
I love fashion and just bought this book, because I loved the cover and the publisher's description.  I am NOT disappointed.  The projects are not the kind of clothes that look homemade in the negative sense of the word, but the kind of clothes that look handmade in a positive way, they are gorgeous designer threads, that look like they sell for $$$ but you can make with no budget.  This book is hip with a nonchalant French look.  There are projects for all the skill levels and different styles, with descriptions from a designer's viewpoint, to get the right look that is also eco right.  Right now I feel like I am on a shopping spree, but I've go to stop writing and start sewing and I'm going to make those cargo pants!
189816
I love the simplified explanations that was given as well as the examples. This book portrays fashion drawing techniques that I had previously not been aware of and that helped me with my drawings! Thanks Chris! A definite buy for those interested in fashion!
776712
We're big fans of Arts & Crafts style, especially the bits that incorporate "Japanesque" features (such as Greene & Greene architecture). This book is a great addition to our library, since it has loads of photos of Japanese design motifs.

Chapters are devoted to plant patterns, animal patterns, natural phenomena (such as flowing water and mountains), implements and structures (boats and bridges), geometric patterns, and family crests. Each subject within those category gets two pages of photos, with 4-8 images and just a bit of explanatory text. For instance, the "bamboo" page has two long paragraphs explaining its place in Japanese design (Including, "Bamboo, along with pine boughs and plum blossoms, is one of the 'three friends of winter' and is considered a good omen"), and photos of bamboo on a mirror case, a formal robe, a detail of bamboo in embroidery, a fan, a lidded makie bowl, a rice bowl, a lacquer pitcher, and detail from (I think) another lacquered bowl.

The book is a great brainstorming source when you're trying to come up with ideas for, in our case, stained glass, quilting and applique designs, or woodworking inlay. And it's a great coffee table book to make you say, "Oh, *pretty!*" It's a little less useful if you want to look at a lot of the detail work since, with several photos on the page, many of them are a little small for figuring out how to turn that specific dragon motif into an embroidery design. It might be thin if you're looking at this as a historical reference, too.

That's hardly a knock against the book, though, because it will serve us very well for inspirational ideas.