The Fashion Encyclopedia: A Visual Resource for Terms, Techniques, and Styles

Students, designers, and anyone who has a love of clothes will find The Fashion Encyclopedia to be an essential reference for clothing terminology in both historical and contemporary contexts. From types of embroidery and lace to definitions for clothing styles and stitching, from panniers and plackets to the difference between a batwing and a dolman sleeve, it's all here in this exhaustive and easy-to-follow volume. Inside, hundreds of definitions of every conceivable item of clothing, from hats to heels, can be found, along with all the key words, technical terms, industry jargon, and more, including:

Fashion Terminology and Trends.

Clothing styles.

Accessories.

Components of Garments.

Tailoring and Stitching.

Textiles and Fabrics.


More than 300 hundred stunning fashion archive and runway images, as well as detailed line drawings and close-up photographs, will help explain and demonstrate the techniques, fashion movements, and styles.

In Brief about - 

Emily Angus is a writer, lecturer, and fashion and textile specialist. She has a Masters in Design History and Material Culture from the Royal College of Art.

Macushla Baudis is a dress historian and lecturer in visual culture studies at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She has published and lectured on many aspects of design of fashion and textiles, focusing on the 18th century.

Philippa Woodcock is a specialist in early modern history, with publications on patronage and material culture in France and Italy. She has held teaching positions in British and French universities, and is a contributing writer on Fashion: The Whole Story.

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The Fashion Encyclopedia: A Visual Resource for Terms, Techniques, and Styles

The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel

A young woman from the Midwest gets more than she bargained for when she moves to New York to become a writer and ends up as the assistant to the tyrannical, larger-than-life editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine.


In Brief about - Lauren Weisberger 

Lauren Weisberger is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. The film version, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, won a Golden Globe Award and grossed over $300 million worldwide. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, was also a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City with her husband.

SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEWS -

1) Not bad - There is an enormous amount of buzz about this book because the author used to work at Vouge. Most of the PR implies that this is a roman a clef about those days. So far the reviews that I've seen in a least two major fashion magazines haven't been kind but that can be chalked up to fashionistas being annoyed with someone who mocked their world.

Does the book live up to the hype? Yes and no.
It's an amusing book. The descriptions of downtown life in NYC, the side characters and the horrible antics of mean Miranda Priestly are fun but the heroine, Andrea is such a stuck up little snob that it's difficult to care about her. Margaret Mitchell was able to take a character who was an absolute monster and make millions love her. Lauren Weisberger doesn't have that kind of ability.

What's really annoying is that the book has a choppy feel. Andrea lurches from one disaster to another with no transition in between. The plot has a formula that is an old as Greek mythology. The scenes with the best friend character, Lilly and the boyfriend, Alex won't surprise anyone. The climax is straight out of an old Edgar Wallace plotwheel. The ending was a sappy, predictable let down.

The bottom line is this: if you love fashion and gossip The Devil Wears Prada will make you smile. If you want a terrific book, this won't be the one you're looking for.

By Amazon Customer on April 16, 2003


2) Trendy read and just as fleeting! - Fashionistas around the globe have been salivating for the publication of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA since its first announcement. For those in love with all things Vogue et.al., who wouldn't want to read a deliciously biting roman a clef about a woman who is probably Anna Wintour and then some? Alas, that's the problem with the book, it only caters to those in the fashion know, which results in a shallow exercise of style over substance.
While author Lauren Weisberger has a grasp of sustaining a narrative, but the predictable scenarios she concocts are hardly the stuff of good fiction or, sadly, biting satire. Bitchy asides and brand names are stretched thin, for sure.
Even worse, her alter ego, Andrea, is too bland a creation for the reader to really care about. Her ambition is not telegraphed with any real force since all I kept thinking was why stick it out in a thankless job that is beyond demeaning? Is being a writer at the New Yorker that important? I'm sure it is for the character, but Ms. Weisberger's colorless prose fails to register such details with depth.
As for the infamous character of Miranda Priestly, I know plenty of folks like this woman. Hell, I even worked for one. The only real joy generated by this novel was smiling over what a complete and total virago she remains throughout the book. I also loved how Weisberger captured the absolute absurdity of such fields like fashion and other show business enterprises that rely so heavily on image. The worlds she creates are definitely based on some sort of fact, but it is unfortunate the she didn't take such an interest in her overall plot or characters.
Perhaps my dissatisfication in the novel stems from something greater. As "chick lit" continues to fill our minds and best seller charts, does the world need one more "Mary Tyler Moore-clone taking on the world on her terms kind of heroine?"
British sensation Helen Fielding offered some reality and humanity to the hip and happening world of Bridget Jones. However, Andrea Sachs is no Bridget Jones and the short-lasting effects of this novel makes you wonder why can't us Yankees create such a vivid piece of fiction!
Ultimately, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA is Diet coke for the brain. To be honest, I am tiring of our current fascination with excess, entitlement and shallowness. This hotly hyped novel implodes before its predictable "up yours" finale. Like the fashion magazines it lampoons -- it's all about really pretty pictures with ultimately very little to say.

By Jorge Carreon, Jr. on June 3, 2003

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The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel

Vintage Weddings: One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion and Style (Vintage Fashion Series)

Here comes the beautiful bride, in this followup to Marnie Fogg's popular Vintage Fashion: Knitwear.

Today's bride wants a wedding dress that expresses her personal style while also reflecting a rich tradition. Nothing achieves that goal as gracefully as a vintage or replica wedding gown. Whether it's a dazzling beaded tunic that captures the jazzy energy of the roaring twenties or a glamorous Hollywood-inspired dress from the 1950s, it can shape the entire wedding. With more than 250 photographs, this stunning volume takes readers on a dazzling tour of the past hundred years of bridal fashion, detailing the periods, styles, iconic designers, noteworthy ceremonies, cultural influences, and key looks.

In Brief about - 

Marnie Fogg is a fashion expert, lecturer, and media consultant. With a master's degree in art and design, she has been a senior lecturer in fashion and textiles at the University of Nottingham. Marnie is the author of several books and a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion.

SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEWS - 

1) Luscious Fashion History ! - I was given the opportunity to review this luscious book but, quite honestly, when I first saw it I wondered if it was really a book for me. That question was answered as soon as I opened the book. ooh!la!la!

If you met me you would wonder at my passion for fashion - I dress simply and for comfort, but I have had a life long fascination with the history of clothes and fashion and I avidly read Vogue - noting the make-up, hair styles and clothes that fascinate fashionistas.

This book is a luscious look at wedding fashions from the turn of the 20th century to the present - and a wonderful, photograph filled romp it is. If I had had a 'proper' wedding I found the dress of my dreams on page 192! This is a book about fashions but it also a wonderful compendium of the history of weddings and wedding fashion accessories as well as the changing styles of the all important wedding gown. You'll learn what the customs were for weddings throughout the time frames highlighted in the book. What times were matrimonial services generally held? What did pearls symbolize? Hollywood weddings? Royal weddings? How many pageboys, bridesmaids or ring bearers are 'de riguer' for a fashionable celebration? From off-the-wall weddings of royal (or Hollywood) pagentry to the short skirt-ed simplicity of the 'barefooted'70's bride this is book filled with dreams, lace, ruffles, elegance and fripperies. This book will bring smiles and pleasure to would be brides, long past brides,soon-to-be brides and those with memories of being a bride. It will appeal to brides, of course, but also to those, like me, who are enamored with the history of fashions and enjoy seeing how customs, styles,shapes, materials and accessories have changed over the decades.
By MusingCrow VINE VOICE on February 5, 2012


2) SOMETHING TO LOOK AT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. - We all have known for years that Vogue was a special magazine, but who knew Vogue would become THE fashion icon for the ages! A glorious and brilliant voyage through Vogue's wedding fashions. A beautiful, glamorous, breathtaking photographic journal. I treasured every page, every word, and every design. How lucky Vogue was to have such great, great photographers preserving fashion for everyone to enjoy, as well as the artistic and creative designers who gave these fashions life. Thank you, Vogue, for bringing your wedding fashions to all of us to enjoy and wonder over as well as those very lucky "yet-to-read" people of the future who will have your special historical fashion publication to pour through and revere as I did.

By My Three Cents on April 8, 2013

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Vintage Weddings: One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion and Style (Vintage Fashion Series)

Your Fashion Blog Start Up Guide: for Fashion, Image and Style Professionals

Training manual with exercises to guide men and women to become quality fashion bloggers. Writing, creating, promoting, and managing a blog is a business and must be done right to be successful. Learn how to be an "influencer" via a fashion blog and get noticed, attract fans, and build audiences. Written by published author Gillian Armour this book serves as the training manual and student guide for "The Fashion Blogger Certification Course" - a popular campus and online course taught at Fashion Stylist Institute in San Francisco, CA.

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Your Fashion Blog Start Up Guide: for Fashion, Image and Style Professionals

Style Bible: What to Wear to Work

First impressions (and second ones!) count, whether you are an intern or a CEO. Lauren A. Rothman addresses an age-old dilemma: how to be appropriate and stylish in the workplace. Based on a decade of experience in the fashion industry, she
addresses the basics of fashion and executive presence by offering advice, anecdotes, and style alerts that help readers avoid major fashion faux pas at the office. Style Bible: What to Wear to Work is the must-have resource for the modern professional, male or female, climbing the ladder of success. Lauren identifies the ultimate wardrobe essentials, and reveals shopping strategies and destinations for the everyday person. Style Bible, complete with helpful illustrations,is the go-to manual on how to dress for every professional occasion and a valuable resource for understanding dress codes by industry, city, and gender so that your visual cues will make a strong impact. Make a commitment to being better dressed at work with Style Bible.

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Style Bible: What to Wear to Work

The Fashion Designer's Directory of Shape and Style: Over 500 Mix-and-Match Elements for Creative Clothing Design

Both students of fashion design and professionals in the field will find valuable inspiration in this profusely illustrated idea book. More than 1,200 detailed illustrations provide the building blocks for designing imaginative and original clothing. The opening section serves as a photo-illustrated catalog of basic shapes for: 

*Sleeves * Necklines * Hems * Pockets * Ties and Fastenings * Collars * Cuffs *Waistbands *Embellishments (lace, appliquque, etc.) 

The book's second and main section combines photos and fashion illustrations to present unique and original design ideas for all of the above-noted clothing parts. Sixteen original designs per page are sketched in a grid format, according to intended use: casual, formal, special occasion, and essential. The drawings are cross-referenced according to suggested fabrics for construction. A gatefold flap inside the book presents an outline human figure to guide designers in mixing and matching garment parts. The book's final section, titled "Taking It Further," shows how to find additional inspiration from outside sources, for instance from architectural details, or the graphic designs of the 1960s Op Art movement, or the dress designs of the 1930s. Readers will also find inventive ideas for using specialty fabrics, including silk, organza, and suede. Color photos and illustrations on every page.

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The Fashion Designer's Directory of Shape and Style: Over 500 Mix-and-Match Elements for Creative Clothing Design