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Djurdja Bartlett

Fashioneast: The Spectre That Haunted Socialism

A richly illustrated, comprehensive study of fashion under socialism, from state-sponsored prototypes to unofficial imitations of Paris fashion.The idea of fashion under socialism conjures up images of babushka headscarves and black market blue jeans. And yet, as Djurdja Bartlett shows in this groundbreaking book, the socialist East had an intimate relationship with fashion. Official antagonism--which cast fashion as frivolous and anti-revolutionary--eventually gave way to grudging acceptance and creeping consumerism. Bartlett outlines three phases in socialist fashion, and illustrates them with abundant images from magazines of the period: postrevolutionary utopian dress, official state-sanctioned socialist fashion, and samizdat-style everyday fashion. Utopian dress, ranging from the geometric abstraction of the constructivists under Bolshevism in the Soviet Union to the no-frills desexualized uniform of a factory worker in Czechoslovakia, reflected the revolutionary urge for a clean break with the past. The highly centralized socialist fashion system, part of Stalinist industrialization, offered official prototypes of high fashion that were never available in stores--mythical ...

Walter T. Foster

Fashion Illustration 1920-1950: Techniques and Examples

Comprehensive and user-friendly, this volume combines four vintage instructional manuals by Walter T. Foster, the world-famous art teacher and publisher. In addition to explaining the principles of figure drawing, it provides a handy retrospective of fashions for men, women, and children from the first half of the twentieth century. This authentic guide to vintage styles features a splendid range of apparel, from ladies' lingerie and evening gowns to men's business suits and children's play clothes. Artists at every level of experience will benefit from tips on portraying figures in motion and at rest, along with advice on accurate renditions of clothing folds and patterns. Step-by-step drawings with helpful comments explain a variety of techniques, including pencil, pen, wash, and opaque.

Patricia Mears

American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion

A stunning tribute to great American fashion designers--both the famous and little known--of the 20th century This beautifully illustrated book is the first to examine the relationship between innovation and aesthetics as expressed by American couturiers and fashion designers from the late 1910s to the present day. The book, which accompanies a major exhibition at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, reveals that great design and great style were consistent elements in the work of American's best fashion designers.Patricia Mears introduces many great forgotten figures, as well as many familiar names: work by lesser-known figures such as Jessie Franklin Turner, Ronaldus Shamask, and Charles Kleibecker is discussed alongside pieces by more celebrated creators, such as Halston and Charles James; work by designers of the past is juxtaposed with that of present-day designers such as Rick Owens, Yeolee Teng, and Maria Comejo. James's grand and structurally imposing gowns from the 1950s appear alongside contemporary Infantas by Ralph Rucci; the section on draping juxtaposes 1930s gowns by Elizabeth Hawes and Valentina with more contemporary garments by Jean Yu and ...