Fashion History

New York Fashion Week is almost over.  Let's look back at fashion history with these ten books.

100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein - A must for all fashion enthusiasts, movie buffs, and celebrity watchers, 100 Unforgettable Dresses showcases the behind-the-scenes stories of the most memorable, influential dresses from the worlds of fashion, film, television, society, and politics. In this lavishly illustrated style compendium, InStyle magazine fashion director Hal Rubenstein reveals the fascinating origins and legacies of the most stunning dresses ever created. Perfect for backstage story snoops,gossip lovers, die-hard shoppers, and pop culture mavens who can't get enough of these indelible, once-in-a-lifetime creations, 100 Unforgettable Dresses will change the way you think about couture forever.

The Fashion Book by Alexandra Black - Packed with gorgeous images, this illustrated book for young adults takes a unique look at fashion. From corsets and camis to tailoring and textiles, it reveals how modern-day looks, from runway to street fashions, draw on the styles of the past from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and from the rebel attire of the 50's to the sport-inspired looks of the 80's.
Through witty graphics and bright, lively text, teens can go behind the scenes of the exclusive fashion world. Style icons, designers, and top models all give practical tips to create stunning outfits, explain key fashion terms, discuss careers in fashion, and reveal secrets of the industry. Trivia, a glossary, inspirational quotes, and more make The Fashion Book a must-have accessory for teens.

Fashion: A Visual History From Regency & Romance to Retro & Revolutionary: A Complete Illustrated Chronology of Fashion From the 1800s to the Present Day by N. J. Stevenson - Every generation can recall and identify with the fashion icons and idols of their era. The crinoline-caged Victorian female, the Gibson girl, and the grunge-layered youth of the 1990s all reflect the influences and extremes of their life and times. The start of the 19th century marks the dawn of the designer, a sartorial influence that became a star-studded industry. Fashion: A Visual History charts those points in time when distinctive styles that began as extravagances of the very rich permeated through well-dressed society until a cut of cloth or choice of accessory defined fashion. This elegantl- dressed volume asseses the contribution of such innovative players as Worth, Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, Klein, Westwood, and Gaultier, as well as the effects of stage, sceren, music, dance, and sports celebriries on our ever-changing sense of fashion. Each spread focuses on a definitive item--be it bowler hat or little black dress, stiletto or caftan--or identifies key shifts in fashion that reflect excess, liberation, austerity, nostalgia, and technology, displaying it in contemporary images ranging from paintings and illustrated fashion plates to cartoons and photographs. Evocative primary quotes complete a history that visually traces the revealing evolution of fashion in Western society.

Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style by Susan Brown - From simple to sophisticated, elegant to excessive, discover more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of style. Tracing the evolution of fashion -- from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today -- this book is a stunningly illustrated guide to the art of clothing.
Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style uses stunning photography to trace the history of changing fashions and styles. Truly vast in scope, taking in everything from from ancient Egyptian dress to Space Age Fashion and Grunge, and including stories about icons like Marie Antoinette, Clara Bow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Alexander McQueen, Fashion catalogs the history of what people wear. It reveals how Western fashion has been influenced by design from around the world and celebrates all forms of costume and haute couture.  Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style is sure to inspire.

How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion From the 16th to the 20th Century by Lydia Edwards - Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women's fashion across five centuries. Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history -- as well as how dresses have varied in type, cut, detailing and popularity according to the occasion and the class, age and social status of the wearer. This lavishly illustrated book is the ideal tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know their cartridge pleats from their Récamier ruffles. Equipping the reader with all the information they need to 'read' a dress, this is the ultimate guide for students, researchers, and anyone interested in historical fashion.

Icons of Men's Style by Josh Sims - Behind nearly every item in the modern male wardrobe is a "first of its kind"the definitive item, often designed for specialist use, on which all subsequent versions have been based.Icons of Men's Style examines, garment by garment, the most important and famous of these products their provenance and history, the stories of their design, the brand/company that started it all, and how the item shaped the way men dress today.

Models of Influence: 50 Women Who Reset the Course of Fashion by Nigel Barker - Interweaving 200 gorgeous photographs and informative and entertaining anecdotes, Models of Influence profiles 50 women who have made an unforgettable impression on fashion, the modeling industry, and our notions of beauty. Eight chronological chapters, each of which spotlight an era, feature the stories and images of women who made their mark.
These include Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, Dovima, and Dorian Leigh, who reigned during modeling's golden age in the 1950s; Twiggy, Veruschka, and Jean Shrimpton, who embodied the free spirit of the 1960s; and Lauren Hutton, Iman, and Janice Dickinson, models who revolutionized the notion of beauty in the 1970s. Barker profiles those who've become the million-dollar faces of their time, such as Christie Brinkley and Elle Macpherson; revisits the age of the supermodel, when Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell rose to global stardom; and spotlights eternal chameleons Kate Moss, Stella Tennant, and Amber Valletta, among others. Also included are models who brought us into the twenty-first century, and those who are leading the way into the future, from Gisele Bundchen, Daria Werbowy, Liya Kebede, and Coco Rocha to Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Lara Stone, Joan Smalls, and Kate Upton.
Nigel Barker showcases each model's incandescent style--that special something that sets her apart, whether it's her unique physicality, a daring approach to image-making, or a particular energy that reflects the zeitgeist. Here, too, are models who broke the mold in their respective eras and turned the standard notion of beauty on its head.
Stunning in its breadth and beauty, comprising some of the finest fashion images over the last 70 years, Models of Influence is a celebration of fashion and a group of unforgettable women who have helped shape and change modern culture.

Out-of-Style: A Modern Perspective of How, Why, and When Vintage Fashions Evolved: Men, Women and Children 19th Through 20th Centuries and Beyond by Betty Kreisel Shubert - Famous Hollywood costume designer turned fashion historian and author-illustrator, Betty Kreisel Shubert, has written a ground breaking book inspired by the need of genealogists to date old family photos, as well as the research needs of vintage clothing collectors, costume designers, theatre companies, social historians, and Fashionistas.
Fascinating gems of social history are woven into stories of How, Why, and especially When vintage fashions evolved ... written by an experienced costume designer with an insightful sense of humor ... making this a surprisingly good read.
Over 700 charming, sequential illustrations reveal style clues that time-date clothes & old photographs of the 19th-21st centuries, making this, your primary "go-to" reference book.

Survey of Historic Costumes by Phyllis G. Tortora & Sara B. Marcketti - Survey of Historic Costume, 6th Edition, is the best-selling introduction to Western dress from the ancient world through the twenty-first century. Each chapter presents social, cross-cultural, environmental, geographic, and artistic influences on clothing. With visuals, illustrated tables, and in-depth discussions, readers come to recognize recurring themes and concepts and understand the role of dress from a diverse, global perspective. The new edition features more than 1,000 full-color photographs and illustrations, a new feature that examines global dress, and a fully updated chapter on the twenty-first century.

Underwear: Fashion in Detail by Eleri Lynn -  From camisoles to corsets, basques to boudoir caps and girdles to garters, Underwear- Fashion in Detail gets up close and personal with some of the most intimate items in the V+A.
Eleri Lynn traces the evolution of underwear, drawing on 120 objects that include rare examples dating from the sixteenth century, the exaggerated shapes of eighteenth century court dress, Dior's curvaceous 'New Look' and contemporary lingerie by Agent Provocateur and Rigby and Peller. Beautiful new photography shows close-up details of these fascinating garments, while intricate line drawings reveal their masterly construction. The book also highlights the work of designers such as Vionnet and Westwood who have taken influence from underwear for their own outer wear creations.