Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Beauty & Grooming - Fashion    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Clothing    6. Clothing trade    7. Crafts & Hobbies    8. Fashion    9. History    10. Hobbies/Crafts    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Textiles & Costume    13. Vintage clothing    14. Women's clothing    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (8)

Mixed bag
This book is the culmination of research done by Mr. Gorsline.He has recreated the illustrations based upon research done primarily in the New York Library system.Many of his drawings have a reference... but that reference isn't formatted in such a way you could actually find out anything useful.For that reason it's not a particularly good choice for serious "historical" costumers.But if you're willing to accept that limitation, it is a nice reference, particularly the collected drawings of hair and head coverings.

Great reference, especially for early clothing and hair
I received this book as a gift, and have found it very useful in creating accurate costumes, especially for the Medieval styles.The later (Victorian, Edwardian, etc.) chapters have been less useful to me because they offer limited examples of a few different garments from each time period.Fashions changed so much more quickly after the Renaissance, that a more detailed look at the styles of each decade, or each year, in each locality after the 16th century, would be much more useful.The chapters on medieval and ancient fashions, however, are extremely useful to me, because the images are taken from contemporary manuscripts and illustrations and represent a time period for which we know comparatively little about the garments most people wore, although research continues.The drawings make it easy to see the line of each garment and its shape, which is very helpful in drafting patterns for such garments, and the illustrations of hairstyles and head coverings are also very clear and understandable.This book is most useful as one book in a library of costume publications, as it does not contain much, if any, information regarding fabric weaves, colors, embroidery, etc.

Designs minus beauty
This book contains a great deal of visual information on clothing throughout the world and through the ages.It makes a good reference.However, unlike Racinet's dazzling Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes, it is not beautiful.The images are functional, but not inspirational. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Clothing and dress    5. Fashion    6. History    7. Textiles & Costume    8. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Beauty & Grooming - Fashion    3. Clothing and dress    4. Fashion    5. General    6. Health/Fitness    7. History    8. Reference    9. Textiles & Costume    10. United States    11. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    12. Fashion design   

Subjects:  1. Aloha shirts    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Beauty & Grooming - General    5. Fashion & Grooming    6. General    7. Hawaii    8. History    9. Men's shirt industry    10. Shirts, Men's    11. Textiles & Costume    12. Fashion design   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Clothing trade    3. Fashion    4. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    5. Technology & Industrial Arts    6. United States   

Reviews (3)

Another definitive reference on the topic of 19th-century fashion
"La Mode Illustree" was to 19th-century fashion mavens what "Vogue" and "Elle" are today, with its gorgeous color and B&W line illustrations of the latest in fashions for men, women and children.Joanne Olian, former curator of the costume collection at the Museum of the City of New York, has painstakingly assembled a huge collection of the finest illustrations showing beautiful ladies' fashions from 1860 to 1912, with almost every year getting at least one page (though, as another reviewer mentions, some years unfortunately aren't examined in much detail).Every illustration is full-page and accompanied by a paragraph or two of text, generally taken directly from the original description of the item in LMI.Nobody who is at all interested in fashions of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods should be without this book!

The best resource I've yet to find for this period!
This book is one of the most comprehensive, well-done and complete guide to both Victorian and Edwardian fashion I've ever seen. Although the illustrations are black and white, they are surprisingly well done (most costume design books don't detail hair styles, patterns, etc, but this one does.) I recommend this book as a very accurate guide to the period for researchers, costumers or fashion enthusiasts. The book, along with fantastic illustrations, includes a summary of the times and fashions and a very helpful glossary. Also it is much more than any other book I've seen--- it included SEVERAL fashions for each year and several different occasional wear layouts. If you are curious about this period, you must buy this book. I only wish they had a similar book for every period!

Don't let the cover fool you!
I was leery of ordering this book, because most of the books that claim to illustrate both the Victorian and Edwardian eras merely skim over the Edwardian.But I was pleasantly surprised.Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Antiques & Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Art & Art Instruction    6. Beauty & Grooming - General    7. Clothing and dress    8. Commercial - Fashion Design    9. Customs & Traditions    10. Fashion    11. France    12. Great Britain    13. History    14. Textiles & Costume    15. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    16. Fashion design    17. United Kingdom, Great Britain    18. World history: c 1750 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

Excellent reference for new collectors.
As a new and small collector of Oriental rugs I found Middleton's book a great source of information for a beginner. It's loaded with great color photos, is easy to read and is laid out very well. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to start an education on Oriental rugs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Carpets    4. Crafts / Hobbies    5. Oriental rugs    6. Rugs    7. Rugs, Oriental    8. Silver, Gold & Other Metals    9. Textiles & Costume    10. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    11. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles    12. Textile arts   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design - Textile & Costume    4. Textiles & Costume    5. Art / Design / Textile & Costume    6. Fashion design    7. Japan   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. History    5. Household linens    6. Linen    7. Textile Fabric (Applied Arts)    8. Textiles & Costume    9. Architecture / Interior Design    10. Decorative arts & crafts    11. Etiquette & entertaining    12. Textile arts   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Art    4. Catalogs    5. Clothing and dress    6. Collectors and collecting    7. Costume    8. Fashion    9. General    10. History    11. Sears, Roebuck and Company    12. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    13. United States    14. Fashion design    15. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (3)

Plate images are great
This book, in it's large size format and the wonderful colour pictures is a must for any costumer or medievalist. The images inspire you to make the clothing then find a horse and go parading down cobbled streets. Aaah, we can but dream

Bird's Eye View of Early 16th Century Clothing
This is a basic book for those interested in history of costume in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. These are drawings of the clothing of the time made by an artist of the time. A range of people from a wide variety of walks of life and professions, as well as from many regions and countries, are presented. Gives an idea of what ordinary people wore, those who couldn't afford to have their portraits painted.

Late-medieval traveller's sketchbook.
This book is a selection of illustrations from the 'Trachtenbuch.'This is a good source of ideas for late medieval/early renaissance costumers.The illustrations are "sketchbook" quality.The author seems to have travelled extensively and sketched the people of the cities that he visited.Costumers may find it difficult to translate the sketches into actual articles of clothing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Beauty & Grooming - General    4. Clothing and dress    5. Crafts / Hobbies    6. Dress And Costume    7. Europe    8. History    9. Needlework - General    10. Renaissance    11. Textiles & Costume    12. Art / Clip Art    13. Costume    14. Fashion design   

Reviews (5)

Somewhat disappointing
The buyer should know that a large majority of the patterns have blouses in the leg of mutton style.Since this was not what I was looking for I had to send it back.However the patterns did seem to be historically accurate.

Historic Tailoring Tips Revealed
Have you ever wondered how they made those lovely turn-of-the-century gowns?This book tells you how they did it! A reprint of a 1905 Butterick sewing book, it is intended for readers who aready know how to sew, as no beginning techniques are included.Full of vintage photographs and detailed instructions, this book gives step by step procedures for many tailoring techniques which we rarely see on anything but designer wear.These techniques can be applied by any seamstress to produce a more fitted and tailored look to their fashions. Definately worth owning for any costumer or fashion designer looking for a more romantic and tailored look in their fashions.

1890s Sewing Patterns
This book contains sewing patterns drawn from the same issues of the magazine _The Voice of Fashion_ as Dover's earlier collection _59 Authentic Turn-of-the-Century Fashion Patterns_.Both books contain patterns for the 1890s. This book focuses more on women's patterns; the other book contains many children's.I collect original issues of _The Voice of Fashion_.This magazine was published from 1886 to 1909.Every issue mirrors the season's changing styles.I am glad to see an anthology that makes the 1890s patterns more widely available. One note for seamstresses enlarging the patterns--the measurements on them are not inches, or metric.They are for a patent drafting system that is not included with either book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Commercial - Fashion Design    6. Costume    7. Dressmaking    8. History    9. History - General    10. Patterns    11. Textile Arts - Costume    12. Textiles & Costume    13. United States    14. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    15. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Asian    5. General    6. Textiles & Costume    7. Theater    8. Art / History / Asian    9. Carving & carvings    10. Japan    11. Oriental art   

Reviews (3)

marvelous resource for Victorian writers
What would romance writers do without Dover and their marvelous historical books?These books and even era paper dolls are inexpensive, and yet, thorough works that really can put you into the period.This book is stunning.Full color 9 � x 12 � inch plate rather than just a book, these are suitable for framing.Each drawing is two or three ladies in costumes, often with child/children in magnificent costumes of the Victoria era.
excellent, but a bit spotty
This book contains a variety of rare hand-colored plates from French Victorian fashion magazines. The plates are glorious: they're full of detail and really give a good idea of what the clothes looked like, from fur-trimmed winter outfits to cool outfits for high summer, everyday walking dresses to evening and ball dresses, children's clothes, hats, and more. Most of the plates also have detailed descriptions, including the hats as well as the dresses. As a bonus some of the prints are oddly droll and amusing, such as a July 1887 print of seaside costumes depicting a little girl shoveling sand at the feet of one of the elegant ladies, who looks down tolerantly. Another rather startling print for fall 1891 hunting outfits depicts two ladies holding guns, with a dead pheasant, rabbit, and birds lying at their feet.
Great Book
Full-Color Victorian Fashions is excellent.The book is exactly what I was looking for.There are a few pages of history, but mainly the book is pictures of victorian fashions.I have other books that deal with thein-depth history of fashion, but when you are wanting to"picture" what types of colors they might have used, the trims,etc. this book becomes very useful.In this case a picture is worth athousand words. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques/Collectibles    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Beauty & Grooming - General    5. Fashion    6. History - General    7. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    8. Costume    9. Fashion design    10. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Clothing trade    2. Engineering - General    3. Japan    4. Quality Control    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    7. Technology    8. Technology & Industrial Arts    9. Textile Industries    10. Textile industry    11. Industrial quality control    12. Leather & fur technology    13. Textile & fibre technology   

Reviews (4)

Just the info quilt collectors need
This is the kind of informtion I need. Brief history of the type of quilt, things to look for that make one quilt more valuable than another within the design catagory, interesting informative bits and realistic pricing guidelines (at least from what I know first hand). This is the kind of book for which I would like to see periodic updates. One of the best pricing guide books for quilts out there. THe only reason I did not give 5 stars is that I wish it were even larger !

An EXCELLENT book for quilt lovers everywhere!
This is a wonderful book.It shows you a lot of classic quilt styles and compares two excellent versions of each style.All the quilts are priced, and the reasons for the valuation of each quilt are explained with easy-to-understand call-outs.My only regret is that this book hasn't been turned into a series.Whether you're a experienced collector or a newbie, you'll love this book!

Curl Up and Read This!
Enjoyable format allows for either casual perusing or more serious study of quilts, their history, design and value. Good pictures and useful, easy to interpret information. Highly recommend. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Hobbies/Crafts    6. Quilt Making    7. Quilts & Quilting    8. Reference - General    9. Textiles & Costume    10. Antiques & Collectibles / Textiles & Costume    11. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles    12. BUSINESS - REAL ESTATE TRD PB    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Good but not great.
For those of you who have been waiting forever to see a book about Vera Neumann need not wait any longer.This book contains nearly 500 images of her work.I'm glad that it exists, although it could have been much better.There are a few issues with color correction, i.e. the whole print is one color while the detail shot is in another.Also, they seemed to have a bit of a problem laying the fabrics flat.That being said, it's a must have reference for contemporary print designers as well as collectors.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Crafts / Hobbies    6. History    7. Neumann, Vera    8. Textile Arts - General    9. Textile design    10. Textiles & Costume    11. Themes, motives    12. United States    13. Antiques & collectables: carpets, rugs & textiles   

Reviews (2)

late 18th century fashions at their best
A lovely collection of 64 period fashion plates from Galerie des Modes. The plates cover the years from 1778-1787 and give a good representation of French high fashion in the years leading up to the French Revolution. The plates include court gowns, undress gowns, stays, day ensembles, riding habits, children's frocks and more. Complete with translated descriptions of each outfit and a decent glossary of terms.
A helpful visual overview of late 18th century fashion
Stella Blum has selected plates of 18th century fashion from the Metropolitan Museum's collection and reproduced them here in full colour.Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Beauty & Grooming - General    5. Clothing and dress    6. Costume    7. Dress And Costume    8. Fashion design    9. France    10. General    11. History    12. Kitchenware    13. Photography    14. Textiles & Costume    15. Art / Fine Arts    16. Europe    17. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    18. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles   

Reviews (3)

Excellent Pictorial Reference Guide to SS Uniforms & Gear
Wonderful reference guide with full colour photographs of SS tunics and SS related gear such as insignia, cufftitles, daggers etc... Includes B&W photos as a historical reference point, very useful for those contemplating the purchase of any SS related items or those restoring uniforms. A must for any SS enthusiast!

The best SS uniform book out there
A must have for the collector. A.Hayes shows everthing from Uniforms, Helmets, Weapons, Musical Intrustments to childrens toys. He also shows period photographs not seen before. He does not fill the book up with the history of the SS where you can get anywhere else and concentrates on the colored photos.

very complete information
Very sensitive and intelligent vision of uniforms used by ss political and army organisation. The must for collectors and reenactors people. Every one must have it ! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Equipment    4. History - Military / War    5. Insignia    6. Military - Uniforms    7. Pictorial works    8. Textiles & Costume    9. Uniforms    10. Waffen-SS    11. European history: Second World War    12. Germany    13. Photographs: collections    14. Uniforms & insignia   

Reviews (2)

Colors and colors.
A book on textiles that have many beautiful pictures as well as details on Shibori.It also shows some of the techniques of weaving, and kimono painting.Excellent.

Excellent foundation
This is a great introduction to the textiles of Japan, particularly for people just beginning to develop their interest in this area.The book presents a balanced discussion of the subject by providing a good amount of information on history and technique, without spinning the reader with overwhelming detail about either.Of special interest to us were the practical (functional) aspects of the fabrics, as well as the effects the fabrics and Japanese society have had (and continue to have) on each other.The most important types of textiles are covered, along with the relevant terminology.Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Asian    5. Design - Textile & Costume    6. Textiles & Costume    7. Japan    8. Textile arts