Vintage Fashion Book Reviews

 For your enjoyment may I present three quickie book reviews:

I got all three of these books from my local library. I'm the biggest library nerd! Seriously, where can you find a better deal than the public library? Any book you want (generally) and you can (again, generally) keep it for weeks & weeks, for free! Anyway, these were fun to look over for a while. First up:

The Fashion File:  Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men
by Janie Bryant

A fun little book that's a little bit about the TV show Mad Men, and more about vintage fashion & style in general. Something I really enjoyed about this book were the lovely & whimsical watercolor illustrations by
Robert Best. This one shows a 50's circle skirt and how it might be incorporated into a modern look.

 Another nice bit was the section about "Icons & Inspirations"

Beautiful Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot

You'd think a book from the Mad Men lady would be about Mad Men style, lots of late 50's & early 60's, right? Not so much. Instead there's a lot of generic "10 Pieces Every Woman Should Have" and "Which Body Shape Are You?" kind of stuff that we've all seen a million times.
 In total, it's a lightweight, entry-level, but fun little book. I'm glad I didn't buy a copy at full pop. I really love those watercolor illustrations, though, so if I ever see this at a thrift store (which I may, once the Mad Men craze dies down) I will definitely add it to my personal library!

Next is a book I've actually checked out twice over the years:
Dressing Up Vintage by Tracy Tolkien

 This book covers vintage fashion by the decade, from the 50's through the 80's. Each decade is broken into key designers and styles.
One thing that's really weird about this book is that there are about two pages covering the 40's. As compared to the bajillion pages about the 70's & 80's, it's kind of a snub to my beloved 40's. I wonder why? I guess it's the author's prerogative. Maybe she thought it had already been done enough.
 The coverage of the 70's and 80's is pretty major, and as it comes from an English perspective, it's pretty fun and informative for me as an American reader.

Last but not least we have:
The Art of Vogue, Photographic Covers, Fifty Years of Fashion and Design.

I <3 Jean Patchett

Gorgeous 40's covers

I want this issue!

Twiggy lookin' fab

This book is pure eye-candy! I had a lot of fun going through my stash of vintage Vogues and seeing which ones were featured in the book. I especially love the pic on the cover...the iconic Jean Patchett!
The cover art of Vogue has been held to a beautifully high standard for decades and decades, and it's great fun to see how the cover styles have changed over the years!

Have lovely readers seen or read any good books about vintage fashion lately? I'd love to hear about them!