Little Book of Gucci

Montgomery Ward Fashions of the Twenties

What were they wearing during the Roaring 20s? This chic collection presents a comprehensive view of Jazz Age fashions with hundreds of sepia-tone illustrations and captions. Selected from a 1927 Montgomery Ward catalog, these images form authentic reflections of the era's everyday and formal apparel. For the ladies, the catalog abounds in "rage of Paris" chemise dresses, feather-trimmed cloche hats, and casual wear. Gentlemen's suits appear here as well, along with attire for work and leisure and children's clothes for school, play, and special occasions. Sixteen pages of color illustrations offer vivid portraits of '20s styles, and an informative Introduction by fashion historian JoAnne Olian explains the period's trends. Collectors, designers, and fashion mavens will prize this charming style archive.

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 ...

100 Dresses: The Costume Institute / The Metropolitan Museum of Art

An irresistible look into more than 300 years of fashion through an exquisite collection of designer dresses What woman can resist imagining herself in a beautiful designer dress? Here, for the first time ever, are 100 fabulous gowns from the permanent collection of the renowned Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, each of which is a reminder of the ways fashion reflects the broader culture that created it.Featuring designs by Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Madame Grès, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianni Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and many others, this one-of-a-kind collection presents a stunning variety of garments. Ranging from the buttoned-up gowns of the late 17th century to the cutting-edge designs of the early 21st, the dresses reflect the sensibilities and excesses of each era while providing a vivid picture of how styles have changed--sometimes radically--over the years. A late 1600s wool dress with a surprising splash of silver thread; a large-bustled red satin dress from the 1800s; a short, shimmery 1920s dancing dress; a glamorous 1950s cocktail dress; and a 1960s minidress--each tells a story about its period and serves as a testament to the ...