Rachel's Recommended Fashion Reading
- rachelelspethgross
- Nov 13
- 6 min read
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My fashion and costume design books are a constant source of inspiration, and, of course, it is always helpful to have resources on hand. There is nothing quite like a physical book, and here are some of my most treasured volumes, books I have collected over the years.
I think you'd love them, and they make excellent gifts!
Dr. Stephanie Lake
Rizzoli (April, 2016)
ISBN 13: 978-0847848058
FROM THE PUBLISHER: "An exhilarating look at the quintessential American modernist, acclaimed for her "Auntie Mame" lifestyle, her iconoclastic approach to fashion, and her visionary designs for the modern American woman. A talented artist who happened to become a fashion designer, Bonnie Cashin was brilliant, free-spirited, and unconventional in all she did. Revered for her intellectual and independent approach to fashion, Cashin changed the way women dressed with her revolutionary, forward-thinking approach to life. She designed chic, functional clothing for the modern woman "on the go"—women like herself who loved to travel and lived life to the fullest. The most successful independent fashion designer of her day, Cashin worked outside the fashion industry, yet is arguably the most influential designer of our time, revered in the fashion world and a muse for designers working today. Cashin is credited with many fashion "firsts," including introducing the concept of layering and championing such timeless shapes as ponchos, tunics, and kimonos. She is acclaimed for inventing the "it bag," with her classic handbag designs for Coach in the early 1960s. Brimming with a half-century of creative work, Bonnie Cashin celebrates the designer’s incredible, well-traveled life and her revolutionary designs with an unflinching, happy elegance."
Cassie Davies-Strodder Jenny Lister, and Lou Taylor
V&A Publishing (May 5, 2015)
ISBN 13: 9781851778317
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Downton Abbey–era fashion is explored through the life and extensive wardrobe of real-life Edwardian London socialite Heather Firbank (1888–1954), whose treasures, bought from the world’s leading couturiers and the very best dressmakers and tailors in London, were gifted to the V&A after her death. The collection forms an invaluable record of a stylish and wealthy woman’s taste from about 1905 to 1920, and actually served as inspiration to Downton Abbey’s Emmy Award–winning costume designer, Susannah Buxton. Beautifully illustrated with new photography of Firbank’s evening gowns, tailored suits, and hats, the book also features contemporary photographs and pages from Firbank’s own fashion cuttings albums.
Michael Pick
Pointed Leaf Press (September 2012)
ISBN 13: 978-0983388937
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Norman Hartnell (1901-1979) was a uniquely British genius. For nearly sixty years he was a major personality in the world of fashion. By the mid 1930s, Hartnell's meteoric rise to fame resulted in London becoming a centre of style that closely rivalled Paris. Known for glamorous evening clothes, Hartnell augmented his early design successes by creating a series of stunning wedding dresses for his younger society clientele. His bridal extravaganzas culminated in the romantic 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip. While Hartnell clients included members of the English upper class as well as the best-known stage and film actresses of the time, it was his royal patronage that assured him a place in history. The famous "White Wardrobe" created for Queen Elizabeth (and photographed by Cecil Beaton) in the late 1930s changed her image forever; the extraordinary coronation robes designed for Elizabeth II in 1953; and the sublimely simple wedding dress he made for Princess Margaret when she was married to Lord Snowdon in 1960 remain iconic to this day. Decades of achievement were rewarded with a Knighthood in 1977. Sir Norman Hartnell became the first of two fashion designers to be so honoured. Hartnell continued to create both daywear and evening clothes for a well-heeled sophisticated clientele until his death in 1979. In Be Dazzled!: Norman Hartnell, Sixty Years of Glamour and Fashion, royal enthusiasts and fashion connoisseurs will be able to examine in greater detail his drawings, vintage photographs, fabric samples and personal scrapbooks that have never been published before.
Charlotte Fiell
Welbeck (October 2021)
ISBN 13: 978-1787398870
***Qveen Herby Approved***
FROM THE PUBLISHER: From the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties came a fashion revolution. The 1920s is a decade synonymous with social change, reflected in its groundbreaking fashions: from the daring elegance of the 'New Woman' to never-before-seen silhouettes, the styles of the Roaring Twenties still capture the imagination a century later.
Sumptuously illustrated with over 500 original photographs, sketches and prints, this extensive sourcebook documents the season-by-season fashions of the Jazz Age. Follow the evolving fashion trends and uncover a fascinating analysis of the progression from haute couture to ready-to-wear in this essential handbook for all fashion historians, students and vintage enthusiasts.
Authored and edited by renowned design historian, Charlotte Fiell, this volume also contains an authoritative introduction by fashion historian Emmanuelle Dirix, as well as the biographies of the key designers and fashion houses of the period.
Tom Ford
Rizzoli (November 2004)
ISBN 13: 978-0847826698
FROM THE PUBLISHER: A celebration of Tom Ford's design work for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent from 1994 to 2004, created with the designer’s full cooperation.
This colossal, slip-cased deluxe volume showcases 10 years of the most brilliant, most glamorous, most luxurious, and most provocative designs from one of fashion's great icons.
In one decade, Tom Ford transformed a label known for providing clothing for traditional socialites into the sexiest, most decadent line imaginable. Sales exploded at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, creating the powerful luxury goods conglomerate that the Gucci Group is today.
Ford brought a hard-edged style synonymous with 21st century glamour to his clothes, and every one of the thick, glossy pages in this collection reflect Ford’s exceptional taste.
Leonard Stanley
Rizzoli (November 2019)
ISBN 13: 978-0847860111
FROM THE PUBLISHER: From ruby slippers to fashion runways, Adrian: A Lifetime of Movie Glamour, Art and High Fashion is a visual celebration of the life and work of the man behind some of the most memorable fashions of Hollywood's golden age.
This book is a bright and vivacious look at the fashion, art and homes of one of the most celebrated fashion designers of the twentieth century. Adrian (1903-1959) designed costumes for over 150 Hollywood productions, including fabulous gowns worn by such iconic actresses as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Katharine Hepburn. He then went on to found one of the most popular and influential fashion labels of the mid-twentieth century, Adrian, Ltd. He had a passion for art and interior design, as seen in his impeccably decorated homes, which he shared with his wife, Hollywood movie star Janet Gaynor, and his personal paintings and sketches.
The man who created the famous ruby slippers worn in The Wizard of Oz was also the first American designer honored with a retrospective at the Smithsonian Institution, and his influence can still be felt on the runways in New York and Paris today. This is the first book on the famed Hollywood fashion and costume designer to be published with the cooperation of his family. With a foreword by the designer's son, Robin, as well as a treasure trove of never-before-seen images and anecdotes taken from Adrian's unpublished manuscript, this is the definitive book on the life of the legendary designer.
Lydia Edwards
Bloomsbury Visual Arts (November 18, 2021)
ISBN 13: 978-1350172210
FROM THE PUBLISHER: 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 appealing and accessible 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 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 new edition includes additional styles to illustrate and explain the journey between one style and another; larger images to allow closer investigation of details of dress; examples of lower and working-class, as well as middle-class, clothing; and a completely new chapter covering the 1980s to 2020. The latter demonstrates how the late 20th century and early 21st century firmly left the dress behind as a requirement, but retained it as a perennially popular choice and illustrates how far the traditional boundaries of 'the dress' have been pushed (even including reference to a newly non-binary appreciation of the garment), and the intellectual shifts in the way women's fashion is both inspired and inspires.
With these new additions, How to Read a Dress, revised edition, presents a complete and up-to-date picture of 'the dress' in all its forms, across the centuries, and taking into account different sartorial and social experiences. It 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.
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