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Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing
Each year, we spend hours upon hours shopping and getting dressed, but do we ever actually think about what well learn not only how to put together smarter looks, but also how to become a fashion expert in the process.
- GenresFashionNonfiction
127 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 23, 2012
I really don't know what I was thinking when I picked up this book. After all it did say "a crash course in clothing." I guess I didn't realize that would only be good for someone who has never seen a piece of clothing ever...
For those of you who are four or cave women recently thawed out from blocks of ice, this is the book for you. Others should not waste their time.
For those of you who are four or cave women recently thawed out from blocks of ice, this is the book for you. Others should not waste their time.
July 6, 2020
One problem about fashion books is that they're out of date the moment they're on the shelves. This one was published in 2008 so it's way out of date on some things and missed the more recent trends. It's aimed at teenagers and helping them learn what different garments are and how they are best worn and with what. It is useful for that last part, but may have to be adjusted to accord with more recent trends. I especially liked the part that told where they first originated and when they were popular and who made them popular. These include fashion icons like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and the Sex in the City girls.
Chapters are: Dresses and Skirts (from frocks and smocks to full regalia); Tops and Coats (beyond blouses and hoodies); Pants and Shorts (dressing for power and play); Shoes (a girl's best friend); Underthings (the foundation of fashion). In between are articles about Accessories: jewelry, hats, belts, handbags.
There are illustrations to give an idea of what the garment looked like, but not all items have them.
Chapters are: Dresses and Skirts (from frocks and smocks to full regalia); Tops and Coats (beyond blouses and hoodies); Pants and Shorts (dressing for power and play); Shoes (a girl's best friend); Underthings (the foundation of fashion). In between are articles about Accessories: jewelry, hats, belts, handbags.
There are illustrations to give an idea of what the garment looked like, but not all items have them.
November 14, 2018
I enjoyed reading about the different types of fashion items. Its so hard for me to understand fashion. But, I will get it. I love to draw so its helpful for me to know about fashion. Its a decent book.
November 26, 2019
[coffee table book] a good book if you want to start learning about fashion
December 9, 2025
Great reference, good for historical understanding of fashion pieces. Appreciated the image for each item.
May 7, 2014
The book Fashion 101 is a non fiction book. Non-fiction is writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history. The book is a crash course in clothing that teaches you about fashion. The book mainly focuses on where styles and trends came from. It influences your point of view on how fashion is not just throwing on a piece of clothing every time you get dressed. This book explores a new understanding of where certain looks in fashion, and types of clothing came from. Fashion 101 is also filled with stories behind every piece of clothing. The book not only tells how to put together smarter looks, but also teaches you to become a fashion expertise. This book has sketches and pictures of every kind of clothing/accessories item you could think of.
While reading this book, I noticed/was interested in how Fashion 101 has a story behind every item. On every page there are a few different sketches of clothing and there informative stories to go along with the sketch. I enjoyed reading this book because it showed me fashion was much more than a piece of fabric or material. It was very cool to observe every kind of piece of clothing you could imagine. I thought the book was not to long and not to short. The great thing about fashion 101 was that it had several insightful details about a specific piece of clotting. Also, there were many different chapters on a certain item with many types of that one item.Despite the actual book, non fiction isn’t my favorite genre to read because I like more of a story and I prefer to read a chick lit. But, non fiction can educate you on several important things, or on just something you find interesting. After reading this book, I would give it a rate 7 out of 10 because it had a lot of information that was hard to retain. If you like reading and learning about fashion you would find this book resourceful and full of creativity.
While reading this book, I noticed/was interested in how Fashion 101 has a story behind every item. On every page there are a few different sketches of clothing and there informative stories to go along with the sketch. I enjoyed reading this book because it showed me fashion was much more than a piece of fabric or material. It was very cool to observe every kind of piece of clothing you could imagine. I thought the book was not to long and not to short. The great thing about fashion 101 was that it had several insightful details about a specific piece of clotting. Also, there were many different chapters on a certain item with many types of that one item.Despite the actual book, non fiction isn’t my favorite genre to read because I like more of a story and I prefer to read a chick lit. But, non fiction can educate you on several important things, or on just something you find interesting. After reading this book, I would give it a rate 7 out of 10 because it had a lot of information that was hard to retain. If you like reading and learning about fashion you would find this book resourceful and full of creativity.
December 21, 2014
SLJ review:
Adult/High School-Recognizing fashion styles and trends is one thing; putting them together in new and interesting ways is an altogether different animal. This handy guide helps with both the recognition of fashion dos and don’ts as well as with the development of new-and true-personal styles. It is part history, part fashion adviser, part shopping manual, and all fun. Each item of female clothing, from dresses to accessories to pants to underwear, is covered, with great black-and-white and color illustrations. Sections for each garment include what it looks like, the designer who first introduced it, celebrities who made it hot, and how it can be worn today. Who would have thought that parachute pants could be made rockin’? This would make a good addition to browsing collections, especially in larger libraries and those that have an abundance of fashion-forward or aspiring-designer teens.-Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
Adult/High School-Recognizing fashion styles and trends is one thing; putting them together in new and interesting ways is an altogether different animal. This handy guide helps with both the recognition of fashion dos and don’ts as well as with the development of new-and true-personal styles. It is part history, part fashion adviser, part shopping manual, and all fun. Each item of female clothing, from dresses to accessories to pants to underwear, is covered, with great black-and-white and color illustrations. Sections for each garment include what it looks like, the designer who first introduced it, celebrities who made it hot, and how it can be worn today. Who would have thought that parachute pants could be made rockin’? This would make a good addition to browsing collections, especially in larger libraries and those that have an abundance of fashion-forward or aspiring-designer teens.-Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
October 13, 2011
It is probably one of the most useful fashion books that I've read. It gives clear, concise information about each item, without trying to be funny or satirical.
The sections were well divided, and each section was fairly substantial. The illustrations, although not actual photos, were very attractively presented in the form of drawings. There was also tibits of fashion-related information scattered throughout the book that I enjoyed.
The only reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I felt that it missed one section that would have made it an ultimate fashion guide: it didn't have a section on coordinating clothes in general (but it did recommend how to wear each piece of clothing). Plus, an almost unforgivable mistake is to spell the QiPao (旗袍）'QuiPaos'. Even though I'm Chinese, i have no idea how that spelling came about, but it sure isn't from hanyu pinyin.
The sections were well divided, and each section was fairly substantial. The illustrations, although not actual photos, were very attractively presented in the form of drawings. There was also tibits of fashion-related information scattered throughout the book that I enjoyed.
The only reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I felt that it missed one section that would have made it an ultimate fashion guide: it didn't have a section on coordinating clothes in general (but it did recommend how to wear each piece of clothing). Plus, an almost unforgivable mistake is to spell the QiPao (旗袍）'QuiPaos'. Even though I'm Chinese, i have no idea how that spelling came about, but it sure isn't from hanyu pinyin.
May 23, 2013
It's a good book somehow,but I felt like the writer was in a rush to finish it & publish it. Although it covers many info about most of women-wear aspects, it has such a huge lack of menswear and some shortage of the photos. All in all the book is a good start for people who want to learn some basic info about fashion, and its writing style is simple & easy to understand especially for foreign students who don't speak English perfectly. But I won't classify it as a crash course in clothing, because it doesn't cover everything like what crash courses are suppose to do.
July 20, 2012
I bought this as a gift for a young teen to introduce her to fashion terminology. I think for the tweens and teens it works as a reference book. However, for most adult women it is too basic in describing the different dress shapes, necklines, etc. As an experienced sewer it didn't provide any new knowledge for me, but it was written in a manner that I think the younger budding fashionista may appreciate.
June 3, 2014
Meh... It is very simplistic. The book presents clothing items, giving descriptions on them and information on who invented them, who introduced them to the public and an idea on how to wear them. Even an 101 should be more explanatory and the amount on information is really basic for a fashion "course". It was somewhat helpful for me by giving precise names to some clothing items, but I really wanted more historical documentation and more ideas on pairing the clothes.
February 26, 2025
*2.5 Stars
I know this is a book about clothes and how we look, but I think it objectified women far more than necessary. It was also quite judgmental at times. A lot of it was cringey, especially the underwear section. It gave good definitions and other fact-based info, but I wish there had been more pictures. I do, however, recognize I was reading the ebook version which likely differed a bit in terms of graphic design. I only really finished it because I hate to DNF books.
I know this is a book about clothes and how we look, but I think it objectified women far more than necessary. It was also quite judgmental at times. A lot of it was cringey, especially the underwear section. It gave good definitions and other fact-based info, but I wish there had been more pictures. I do, however, recognize I was reading the ebook version which likely differed a bit in terms of graphic design. I only really finished it because I hate to DNF books.
October 27, 2008
This was a basic overview of what the names are for certain types of clothes and covers a ton of stuff. The author doesn't really get into the history of the garments, but does a good job of describing what they are, how they are worn, etc. It's a good overview for anyone interested in women's clothes and fashion.
October 2, 2011
With a 5 star Amazon review, I expected a lot more. It’s billed as a dictionary of fashion terms, and it kind of describes some fairly common garments, but it fails to illustrate/describe the ones which most need it, and it added a lot of ‘historical’ trivia that wouldn’t have bothered me if I hadn’t known that some of the ones they reported aren’t correct--making me suspect the others.
August 14, 2009
Charming illustrations and some fun information on every piece of clothing you can name and even some you can't.
October 6, 2009
Quite interesting! I found out a lot I didn't know. My only complaint is that it does get boring after a while, as it uses the same format throughout the whole thing.
September 27, 2010
The book help me rock a certain fashion item and get a visual on each on and gave me history facts about each one.
July 27, 2017
Informative and brief(which was good!)
December 19, 2011
This was an o. k. book. I liked it but it was hard to read because it was an informational text.
October 11, 2015
This book was very long, and it ended up being a bit of a drag. I did learn a lot, but it was almost information overload.
April 12, 2009
Did you ever want to know the origin of mom jeans? this book is awesome.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews