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One can never have too many vintage reference books and it is tempting to buy them by the cartload. But are they all useful buys? Here our members review their own purchases and share their personal opinions to help you decide whether you’d like your own copy too.
The title of each book is a link to Amazon.com, where you can purchase the book being reviewed.
Jean Muir: Beyond Fashion by Sinty Stempe (Antique Collector's Club, ISBN-10 1851495215)
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
I'm always hesitant about one-topic fashion books, especially when written by someone who was involved professionally with the subject. Seems like you either get an emotional homage or an insider-tell-all. In this case, the insider is Sinty Stempe, who was Jean Muir's personal assistant, and who is still employeed at Jean Muir, Ltd. She has managed to honor Ms. Muir without being overly sentimental, and at the same time, she gives us a wonderfully detailed look inside the design house that made simplicity chic.
The book is beautifully illustrated, not just with fashion shots, but also with sketches, personal photos, newspaper clippings and magazine pages. There are photos from all the decades of her career, and it makes clear not only the progression of ideas, but also the themes and fabrics to which Muir turned to again and again.
One of the things that impressed me most about Muir is how much color she used. I have a vision of the arch-typical Muir frock as being a dark wool jersey, close-fitting dress. And while it is true that she was a master of the little black dress, after spending some time with this book, I saw what a great colorist she was.
Read Jean Muir: Beyond Fashion, and gain a greater appreciation for this woman who knew what women wanted, and then gave it to them.
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Floral Frocks: A Celebration of the Floral Printed Dress from 1900 to Today by Jo Turney and Rosemary Harden (Antique Collectors' Club, Ltd. ISBN-10: 185149538X )
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
From the 1920s through the end of the 20th century, the floral frock was an important player in the fashion scene. This book, Floral Frocks, explains the garment in the context of its times, from the 1920s when florals became a "fashion fabric," to the hey-day of the 1950s Horrockses floral frock, to the 1970s Laura Ashley nostalgia-inspired frock.
The book is lavishly illustrated not only with views of the dresses, but also close-ups of the prints. There are also numerous period photographs of women in their floral frocks. Best of all is when we are given both - the frock as it is displayed today and the vintage photo of the original owner wearing it.
Floral Frocks was published as a companion book to an exhibit of the newly renamed Fashion Museum in Bath UK. The book and exhibit are thus based on what was worn in the United Kingdom in the 20th century, but I found that the observations made by the authors also applied to my experiences here in the USA. Part of the appeal of the exhibit, the book, and of floral frocks is that so many people can identify with this garment, either as a wearer of the floral frock or as someone who associates the floral frock with a loved one or with an experience in his or her own life.
Collector's Guide to Vintage Fashions Identification and Values: Identification and Values by Kristina Harris (Collector Books ISBN 1-57432-096-3)
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
This book is a basic how to collect vintage clothing primer. The author discusses the various areas of collectible clothing and she addresses the steps involved in building a collection of antique and vintage clothing. The book has many illustrations with prices given for the items illustrated.
The most important thing to remember about this book is that it was written for collectors, not necessarily for wearers, of vintage clothing. A person who is looking for information about the styles of the past because she or he is wanting to fit a few retro pieces into the wardrobe needs to look elsewhere for that information.
This book is more about how to build a collection, and Kristina Harris gives suggestions on everything from how to buy at auction to caring properly for old clothing to keeping accurate records of your vintage finds. To me, this is the best part of the book.
There is very little information on actual vintage styles, and what's there is very loosely organized. The photos are beautiful and most of the clothing illustrated predates 1920. Many of the illustrations are old fashion plates, which may appeal to some, but I prefer to see actual garments. Overall, I'd say that best customer for this book is one who has some experience in collecting vintage fashion, but who needs a bit of advice on how to organize and care for a growing collection.
Vintage: Art of Dressing Up by Tracy Tolkien (Rizzoli; ISBN: 0847822648)
(UK title: Dressing Up Vintage - Pavilion Books Ltd
ISBN 1-86205-305-7)
 
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
Mainly a guide for what to collect from the second half of the 20th century, the emphasis is on designer fashion. The book employs a mixture of vintage photographs and modern pictures of vintage clothes. There is a small section on how to go about starting a vintage fashion collection.
This is the kind of book that I could recommend to a beginning collector, but there's really not much in the book that an experienced student of fashion history would not already know, or at least have access to in other resources.
The book is organized in short one or two page sections, and this tends to fragment the information. It appears to have been designed for people with very short attention spans!
Many of these sections are about designers, and they are little bite-sized articles about what to look for from each designer. Others are about trends of each decade. Still others discuss the accessories, especially handbags and costume jewelry.
There's lots of good information here, but one has to be willing to look for it. It's one of the few books that gives some insights to collecting from the 1980s and 90s. Also, there are bits on street fashion that one might not encounter elsewhere.
Still, I don't fully understand how a book on the design trends of the second half of the 20th century could be written without a mention of Ceil Chapman and Bonnie Cashin, and with only a passing reference to Claire McCardell and Jean Muir. To make it more confusing, the author mentions John Galliano eleven times and Madonna seven times!
If you have this book and haven't read it, keep it handy for those moments when you have just a few minutes to devote to reading. You can read one of the mini-chapters in a minute or two, and you're sure to enjoy the photographs. And if you are new to vintage collecting, this book is a good introduction to many of the trends and designers of the past 50 years.
Secondhand Chic: Finding Fabulous Fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift Stores by Christa Weil (Pocket Books: ISBN: 0-671-02713-1)
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
This book is a guide to shopping the secondhand market for wearable clothing. It tells how to identify the elements of a top-quality garment, discusses labels and designer diffusion lines, and discusss when not to buy a flawed item. It also compares and contrasts the various types of secondhand stors in which clothing is generally found.
I love this book. It is a guide to buying quality clothing: spotting construction techniques that indicate quality, telling the difference between types of fabrics, knowing the difference between Geoffrey Beene and Geoffrey Beene Sport.
Christa loves lists. There are lists of quality labels from other countries, lists of the advantages and disadvantages of each fiber used in making cloth, lists of designer diffusion lines, lists of the elements that make a quality shirt. The book is full of lists, which I see as a real plus. It makes the information easy to find.
In addition to being a shopping guide, Christa tells how to care for and properly store clothing. She gives pointers on choosing clothes that fit correctly, and she tells when NOT to buy articles that are flawed.
Even though this book is not a book about vintage clothing, it is an excellent resource for anyone who buys and sells used clothing. It's fun to read and informative. The only problem with the book is that it was written in 1999, and it could use an update.
An additional review by Sue - bartondoll
An easy and fun read! This book does not focus on vintage clothing, however the points, tips and information given are invaluable to any vintage clothing shopper.
Straightforward lists for labels, fabric care, how to identify couture garments (i.e. construction details), fabric identification~~just about anything that pertains to buying 'gently used' clothing can be found in this small little soft-cover book.
Written in a "let's side down and chat" style, with whimsical (and helpful) illustrations, this book is a must for any vintage clothing affectionado!
The Costume Collector's Companion 1890-1990 by Rosemary Hawthorne (Aurum Press ISBN 1-85410-552-3)
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
Out of print, limited availability, used copies may be available
This is a decade by decade guide to collecting clothes and accessories from the 20th century. The focus is on fashions from the UK, where the author is located. Included are descriptions of clothing items that were typical of each decade.
Rosemary Hawthorne has written the most charming and interesting guide to a collection that I've ever read. She approaches the subject of vintage fashion by writing about her own collection.
The book is organized according to decades. There are short descriptions of the pieces that make up the author's collection. What makes the book so great is that there are not just items listed and described, but Ms. Hawthorne puts each piece into the correct historical and cultural context. She describes a lovely dress, and then tells about the proper shoes, bag, accessories and underwear that would have made the ensemble complete.
This approach makes the book a very personal account of one person's love of historical fashion. By the time I finished the book, I felt like I had been engaged in a series of conversations with the author.
I was a little hesitant about buying this book because I knew it focused on a collection in England, and I was afraid it would not be relevant to the types of items I find here in the States. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. The book is valuable to collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, and I learned much about British fashion.
One slight problem with the book is that there is no index, and so finding information you know is there but don't quite know where can be a bit time consuming. Still, a wonderful work.
Radical Rags: Fashions of the Sixties by Joel Lobenthal
(Abbeville Press ISBN 0-89659-930-2)
Very limited availability, prices will vary for used copies.
Reviewed by Lizzie Bramlett - fuzzylizzie.com
The book is look at the fashions and fashion influences of the 1960s. The book focuses on the fashion scenes in London, New York, Paris, Rome and the US West Coast and it also profiles the major designers of the time.
Every fashion history fan knows about Mary Quant and Andre Courreges, but where does one go to learn about Deanna Littell and Emmanuelle Khanh? To "Radical Rags", of course!
This book is much more than just a fashion history; it puts the clothes of the 1960s into a cultural and historical context that you don't get from most fashion books.
And while the major designers like Quant and Courreges are discussed in detail in the book, the smaller players like Littell and Khanh are not ignored as they are in so many other books. There is information in this book about designers that I have never read in any other source.
One of the real strengths of the book is that much of it is based in interviews that the author had with many of the designers. Another is the photographs, many of which I've seen only in this book.
This book can be a little difficult to read. The casual reader might be put off by the vocabulary and the emphasis on the cultural rather than on fashion.
Overall, "Radical Rags" is the best book I know of that deals with just the fashions of the 1960s.
Couture and Commerce: The Transatlantic Fashion Trade in the 1950s by Alexandra Palmer
(360 pages, published October 2001 ISBN: 0-7748-0826-8)
Reviewed by Jonathan Walford - kickshawproductions
Let’s face it, the world of couture clothing has not been a rare subject for publication lately as probably more has been written on the subject this past decade than all combined from previous generations. Palmer’s book however, focuses on the real mechanics of couture from design to sale, and its practical use by real women.
First of all, the pragmatic definitions of fashion: haute couture, couture, designer, bonded model, toile, pattern, licensed copy, “adaption”, boutique, prêt-a-porter, and the other various terms are delineated in the book (although not readily) – and that itself is not an easy task.
Although this information is useful, it is the context of what fashion is that is fascinating, especially within the context of Toronto’s society women of the 1950s as set forth by Palmer. The concept one has of couture from the pages of Vogue is often remote from the reality of its purchase, wear, and re-wear. I was surprised that one illustrated example of a dress model entitled “Espoirs perdus”, as drawn by Balmain in 1956, was substantially redesigned in the couture house by its vendeuse and client, resulting in a dress that had little similarity to Balmain’s vision. As Palmer points out “The ability of a client to redesign is an aspect of haute couture that has been largely overlooked in favour of promoting the designer as artist and quintessential arbiter of taste.”
Retailers too had power to change designs to better suit the tastes and needs of their local clients. Bonded models, toiles or patterns could be purchased with an understanding to alter button sizes, materials, pocket placement and colours of original dress designs. Many of these surprising revelations are tied to the reality of the post World War 2 economy, as Palmer points out “Before the war, private clients had been of key importance to the couture houses. This changed dramatically postwar, when the big buyers were American stores and manufacturers purchasing primarily for copying.” Palmer points out too that the newly formed House of Dior in 1947 best understood these changes in the postwar world of couture, and suggests it was Dior’s assessment of the changing world that was primarily the reason for his huge success, evident by the mid 1950s when Dior’s fashions accounted for over half the total of couture exports, and 5 percent of all French export!
Couture is brought home in the book, as extant examples from the Royal Ontario Museum are illustrated (at times not well), with their histories from the women who wore them. Although at times leaning on the side of chatty gossip, the book attempts to understand what these dresses meant to the women who wore them. Couture gowns and suits purchased as far away as Paris, but more often acquired from the St. Regis Room of the Simpson’s department store in Toronto, or the elite clothier Holt Renfrew in the late 1940s were commonly donned annually throughout the 1950s. The concept of fashion as a season or two in length was irrelevant to many of its wearers who vied for the same designs as those worn by international fashion icons, like Wallis Simpson or Marlene Dietrich. Sometimes this seems possible through the conservative clothes chosen by retailers to offer locally to Toronto women who could wear a subdued suit by Sybil Connelly or Hardy Amies for many years to many functions, however, glamorous evening clothes from Jacques Fath and Balenciaga are just as evident in the book, with similar histories of repeated wearings.
Couture and Commerce may not be the first choice by fashionistas who wish to ooze over the creations of couturiers, and laud designers as gods of style, but it is an excellent book for those who wish to understand the world of couture and how it worked from postwar era London runways and Paris ateliers, through its various methods of dissemination and alteration to the wearing public. Alexandra puts a face to couture -- the real women who chose and wore the creations of Paris and London and how they acquired what they wore, and what it meant to them.
An interesting appendice at the end of the book deciphers today’s costs of a couture dress or suit. For example, in 1950, a dress from Molyneux which sold for about $150.00, translates into about $1800.00 of today’s money. That may be the cost of the dress, but its value was far more.
Handbags: The Power of the Purse by Anna Johnson
(Workman Publishing-New York ISBN: 0761123776)
Reviewed by JBHoffman
Not a price guide but an informative look by the author on the birth
of the handbag, its style, designers and how it has transcends time, decade after decade. 486 pages, fully illustrated color graphics.
This book is absolutely perfect for the person who appreciates the handbag as the artful utilitarian piece it is. Although not a price guide it really can be a useful guide for personal collection directions through its various chapters on luxury bags, evening, bag shape and style structure, the decorated bag, sporty style, bag styles of novelty and humor.
Its also a great reference tool for dating as each of the handbag examples in the book are accompanied by a date. Special designer biography sections make it a must have! One of the best sections in the book is on Bonnie Cashin and is loaded with examples of her work.
Don't let the small compact size of the book fool you, its the perfect
size to fit but where else? In a handbag! But the book is loaded full of so much glorious information and the photography alone is amazing! One won't have the feeling of being cheated out on eye appeal with this book. Each and every page has been beautifully photographed in living color from beginning to end! The book is like a spell binding novel that you'll want to read and read until the end . . . but don't want it to end because you'll be left craving more.
Author Anna Johnson definitely portrays the handbag in her book with tons of wit, flair and style. It's a must have cover to cover!
Halston: An American Original by Elaine Gross & Fred Rottman (Publisher: HarperCollins: (September 1999) ISBN: 0060193182)
Reviewed by JBHoffman
A definitive look at Halston his role and impact in redefining American fashion. From his earliest days as a milliner to his fall from grace with his daring licensing deal with a mass retailer. 236 pages, more than 200 illustrated photographs in color and black & white.
The book is a phenomenal look at work and life of Halston based on many personal accounts and interviews with the people who knew him best, his own clients, celebrities, models, employees and his contemporaries in the fashion world. Page by page I uncovered his ideal of "minimalism," from the beginning when he shortened his own name from Roy Halston Frowick, a small town boy from Des Moines Iowa, to celebrity sensation "Halston." The reinventing of himself and simple minimalizing of his name is really symbolic and delves into the psyche of what he was all about.
Its is lusciously photographed in color and black and white, including many Halston original fashion sketches. I purchased this book when it was first published and have found it to be a very useful guide in dating pieces by Halston and visually understanding the principles of his designs. The graphic material is excellent and I'd consider it the best photo history of Halston to date.
I particularly like the inclusion in the book of pattern pieces for several of his designs and also the section on his costuming of Jackie Bissett in the movie the "Greek Tycoon". The book is elegantly written by authors Elaine Gross and Fred Rottman. Rottman as a former design assistant to the designer gives an excellent personal view as an insider in the world of "Halston."
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