The folk costume books I have found most useful have been: "The Book of Kimono" by Norio Yamanaka, "Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume" by Josephine Paterek and "Folk and Festival Costume of the World" by R. Turner Wilcox. | |
Today I'm going to show you my collection of serious costume reference books that don't have patterns in them. Later I'll share my pattern books and masquerade costume books. I don't think I have that many books compared to other people I know. There are 70 in this category. I am cheap, so whenever possible I borrow books from the library or friends. And now, of course, we have the internet which is the biggest book in the world. That said, it is still very nice to have good books at home when you need them. The biggest sub-catagory is general survey books. The one on top "What People Wore" by Douglas Gorsline was my first. This is filled with line drawings of paintings, many famous. And, artwork is one of the best costume resources. But, we can't always get to a museum and art books are expensive. My favorite one to see what clothes look like inside is "Costume in Detail" by Nancy Bradford. And I alway find "The Chronicle of Western Costume" by John Peacock great for a quick look to remind myself of the silhouette of a period. And last ... this is my newest book. A really beautiful one I found out about at The Sewing Box Blog. If you visit this site scroll down to the posting of January 4 to see a bustle pad she made from this book.
1 Comment
I just heard a wonderful segment about a young woman who is sewing all her own clothes for one year on my local NPR station.
Below is a cut and paste of the text Or click for a link to the pod cast ... it is really great Lauren Talley grew up sewing. She made sleeping bags for her Beanie Babies, and even designed her own prom dress. Now, a decade later, Talley says she's alarmed at the poor quality and high price of much of the fashion industry's offerings. So she's decided to go off the grid, fashion-wise. No clothes buying, for a full year. "I calculated how much I spent [on clothes] in the last year," she says. "It was over $2,000! I was shocked and kind of embarrassed that I had spent that much." It was on a shopping excursion at Bergdorf Goodman, late last fall, that this all started to come into focus. As someone who sews, she saw Bergdorf's akin to a museum. She walked around the store, examining the way skirts were lined, and the blouses were stitched. She held up a beautiful dress, and looked at the tags. It was made of cotton, made it China and the price? $500. "I didn't understand why you'd spend that much money on something that is the same quality you could buy much cheaper," Talley says. So she decided to take a time out. "I can't change that our clothes were made there, but I can choose not to buy them." The way she sees it, making your own clothes, is a lot like making your own food. "You could easily go to a fast food restaurant and grab your dinner, and its another thing to go the farmers market," she says. "In the same way, you can run to H&M and pick up an outfit. To make something, you really have to want to make it." |
From AndreaI am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"! Archives
August 2019
Archives by Subject
To search for blog posts in specific categories, use the drop down menu above by hovering over the word "Blog" Andrea Schewe participates in Amazon's associates program.
|