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Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style
3,000 years of fashion history in one stylish visual guide. "Fashion" is the definitive guide to the evolution of costume and style. Tracing 3,000 years from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to today's catwalk sensations and with a foreword by fashion guru Caryn Franklin, this is your own personal fashion show through history. Breathtaking in its scope, "Fashion" is packed with over 1,500 costumes from around the globe and lavishly illustrated with a mix of original fashion plates, archive images and commissioned photography. Plus features on famous trend-setters, fashion icons and designers from Jackie Onassis to Alexander McQueen bring the world of fashion to life. "Fashion" is guaranteed to add style to your bookshelf; with its luxurious textured fabric jacket and spine, it's the season's must-have for anyone with a passion for fashion.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published September 11, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 20, 2013
'Fashion' is a slightly misleading title for this history of clothing and costume. The subtitle 'The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style' is a better fit. And a fascinating glimpse into the clothing of the past it is.
Dorling Kindersley have one again provided a stunning looking reference book. The range of illustrations is astonishing. Contemporary illustrations and photographs are complimented by more detailed modern photographic studies of particular pieces. These are informative and illustrate the changing costumes very well.
The concentration is very much on European and western clothing. Perhaps this is unsurprising and, given the span of time that the book has to cover, not necessarily a bad thing. There is also a distinct weighting toward female fashion; menswear isn't ignored but doesn't receive the same attention as the pretty frocks.
My main complaint - and reason why this book does not get the five stars it otherwise would - is that the text, at times, rather lets down the quality of the illustrations. For instance, on one of the pages showing men in formal clothing in the 1920s we have a photograph of an actor dressed in a top hat, black jacket, grey waistcoat and checked trousers. The text suggests that he is wearing a "black dinner jacket" rather than the morning coat you might normally expect. In fact, he appears to be wearing the short black jacket that makes up part of the costume known as either 'black lounge', 'stroller' or 'Stresemann'. It is the black blazer and striped grey trouser gear of old fashioned barristers and, once upon a time, bank managers. The checked trousers would be a natty variation. The impression that the authors are not familiar with the dress code is reinforced when, elsewhere on the same page, they say that the Stresemann was "a dark single breasted suit".
Issues like this are a sad let down. That said, the quality of the rest of the book and the extraordinary depth and range of the illustrations mean that, nitpicks aside, I would still thoroughly recommend this to anyone.
Three-and-a-half stars.
Dorling Kindersley have one again provided a stunning looking reference book. The range of illustrations is astonishing. Contemporary illustrations and photographs are complimented by more detailed modern photographic studies of particular pieces. These are informative and illustrate the changing costumes very well.
The concentration is very much on European and western clothing. Perhaps this is unsurprising and, given the span of time that the book has to cover, not necessarily a bad thing. There is also a distinct weighting toward female fashion; menswear isn't ignored but doesn't receive the same attention as the pretty frocks.
My main complaint - and reason why this book does not get the five stars it otherwise would - is that the text, at times, rather lets down the quality of the illustrations. For instance, on one of the pages showing men in formal clothing in the 1920s we have a photograph of an actor dressed in a top hat, black jacket, grey waistcoat and checked trousers. The text suggests that he is wearing a "black dinner jacket" rather than the morning coat you might normally expect. In fact, he appears to be wearing the short black jacket that makes up part of the costume known as either 'black lounge', 'stroller' or 'Stresemann'. It is the black blazer and striped grey trouser gear of old fashioned barristers and, once upon a time, bank managers. The checked trousers would be a natty variation. The impression that the authors are not familiar with the dress code is reinforced when, elsewhere on the same page, they say that the Stresemann was "a dark single breasted suit".
Issues like this are a sad let down. That said, the quality of the rest of the book and the extraordinary depth and range of the illustrations mean that, nitpicks aside, I would still thoroughly recommend this to anyone.
Three-and-a-half stars.
January 1, 2015
A good introduction to fashion, clothes, style and what they've meant in different times throughout human history. Keyword here is "introduction" and that must be taken into consideration when rating this book. To cover fashion & style over such a long period of time in one book means it's possible only to scratch the surface a little bit. It provides very basic information of each era and that's it. So don't expect this book to be anything but an introduction.
January 13, 2013
what a great book for anyone who likes Fashion, history or General knowledge! I really, really enjoyed this and can't recommend it enough!
January 25, 2021
Peccato che anche nelle citazioni storiche dei grandi sia smaccatamente orientato al mondo anglofono
July 23, 2022
This book is not very informative and skips over important eras within the history of fashion completely. A glossy mess and not worth the money. God bless and have a great day!
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July 22, 2013amazing
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June 17, 2014its verry good book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2014
so interesting to read!
October 1, 2015
A great book for any fashion lover. Full of photos and interesting texts. Book everyone should have at home.
February 5, 2016
Erinomainen muotihistoriikki. Ainoa minuus lukumukavuutta vähentävästä suuresta koosta. Kuvien kannalta toki plussaa.
September 17, 2020
Excellent! A very well documented history of fashion.
August 27, 2013
Very good. The only bit I wasn't really impressed with was the modern day.
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March 27, 2017i want to know more about the histroy of fashion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews