Synopses & Reviews
The Roaring Twenties, age of jazz and flappers, Model T Fords and Hollywood movie stars, was also a time when for millions the bulky catalogs of Montgomery Ward or Sears, Roebuck were a substitute for the window displays of Paris or New York fashion shops. Buying clothing through the mails had become an American institution, and entire families were often dressed via the U.S. Post Office. More conservative than the up-to-the-minute fashion shops, mail-order catalogs nevertheless offered surprisingly much of the haute couture. But, above all, they accurately record what men, women, and children were actually wearing in the 1920s.
Now Stella Blum (Curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) has distilled into this volume the essence of the fashion pages of the Sears, Roebuck and other mail-order catalogs of the Twenties. Her informative text and selection of over 150 representative catalog pages — comprising over 750 illustrations with original captions — gradually trace the evolution of dress modes from the vogue of stodgy postwar fashions to the impact on costume of the crash of '29. In a year-by-year survey, Mrs. Blum's introductory texts relate the trends in fashion to the social changes of the dynamic and restless era, assessing the influence of war and technological developments on the high hemlines, flattened busts and hips, geometric patterns and "bobbed" hairstyles of the boyish flapper look. And as she notes, it was through the Sears catalogs that Parisian designers like Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, and Madeleine Vionnet made their influence felt on Midwestern farms and in urban ghettos.
You'll find here a marvelous panorama of "smart," "modish," "chic," "stylish," and "ultra fashionable" apparel, as well as more traditional garments: for women and "misses" there are Middy blouses, Russian boots modeled by Gloria Swanson, "Bob" hats modeled by Clara Bow and Joan Crawford; coats, suits, dresses (including the first maternity dresses), sweaters, capes; silk and rayon stockings, corsets, chemises, camisoles, negligees; and accessories like necklaces, belts, combs, headbands, umbrellas, gloves, compacts, hand bags, wristwatches, and powderpuff cases. You'll see slower-to-change men's fashions — shirts, ties, suits, sweaters, and sports clothes — become trimmer, brighter, smarter. And you can follow the trends in children's fashions as well.
For historians of costume, nostalgia buffs, and casual browsers, these pages afford a rare picture — unspoiled by recent myths about the Roaring Twenties — of how average people really dressed in the jazz age.
Synopsis
Hundreds of authentic images reflect a mood of economic austerity. Over 130 fully illustrated pages from Sears catalogs offer historically accurate pictures of what men, women, and children wore throughout the decade.
Synopsis
"A well-illustrated survey of style. Chock full of detailed, quality illustrations accompanied by brief descriptions. A worthy offering. Nostalgic types who enjoy perusing vintage catalogs and clip art books will find much to savor here. This practical resource is sure to provide inspiration for artists and fashion designers. Five stars." -- biblio-filer
In addition to a world-wide depression and the rise of Fascism throughout Europe, the years between 1929 and 1938 witnessed dramatic changes in women's fashion. With the turning of the decade, the free and easy fashions of the Roaring Twenties shifted to a softer, more conservative look, with an emphasis on curves rather than angles. Hemlines plummeted almost overnight and did not begin to rise until mid-decade.
These selections from full-color French catalogs produced for the international market from 1929 through 1938 document the changes in fashion from the time of the stock market crash to the dawn of World War II. More than 100 images of day and evening wear illustrate the movement from flapper fashions to a more austere look. Fashion designers, costume historians, costumers, and anyone who loves fashion will treasure this richly illustrated survey.
"A must for anyone interested in fashion and costume, this book offers exactly what the title suggests -- a decade of French fashion, portrayed in beautiful illustrations from contemporary catalogues. A joy to read and savor." -- newbooks magazine
"This is a book to read and time and time again, each new viewing helping further details --from button placements to hemline shapes -- to present themselves to you, the reader, as you soak up and savor the supreme elegance that was 1930s fashion for those with the means to buy from the best that France had to offer." -- Chronically Vintage
Synopsis
Over 130 fully illustrated pages from Sears catalogs offer historically accurate images of what men, women, and children wore throughout 1930s. Hundreds of illustrations reflect the era's mood of economic austerity and its departure from the flamboyance of Twenties fashions in favor of lower hemlines and garments made from more traditional, affordable materials.
Synopsis
More than 100 selections of day and evening wear from full-color French catalogs produced for the international market document changes in fashion from the stock market crash to the dawn of WWII.
Synopsis
This fine reproduction of a 1929 catalog features fashions for all occasions, with 54 color plates showcasing everything from chiffon promenade dresses to a white alpaca jumper and a silk-and-lace evening gown.
Synopsis
This fine reproduction of a 1929 French fashion catalog features styles for all occasions. More than 50 color illustrations showcase elegant dresses, gowns, and coats from the designers of an influential and internationally renowned studio. Designs include a promenade and party frocks of silk, lace, and taffeta, all in the era's distinctive dropped-waist, knee-length mode, forming a panorama of fashions favored by flappers, society matrons, and other women of the 1920s.
A rare source of authentic period styles, this volume will prove an excellent guide for designers, costume historians, and collectors of vintage apparel. Color images of Jazz Age fashions are few and far between, and these full-page illustrations offer clear views of trimmings, seaming, and other details. Notes on each model include information about the costume's intended season and occasion, fabrics, and accessories.
Synopsis
In addition to a world-wide depression and the rise of Fascism throughout Europe, the years between 1929 and 1938 witnessed dramatic changes in women's fashion. With the turning of the decade, the free and easy fashions of the Roaring Twenties shifted to a softer, more conservative look, with an emphasis on curves rather than angles. Hemlines plummeted almost overnight and did not begin to rise until mid-decade.
These selections from full-color French catalogs produced for the international market from 1929 through 1938 document the changes in fashion from the time of the stock market crash to the dawn of World War II. More than 100 images of day and evening wear illustrate the movement from flapper fashions to a more austere look. Fashion designers, costume historians, costumers, and anyone who loves fashion will treasure this richly illustrated survey.
Synopsis
For thousands of women across America, hard hit when the frivolity of the twenties ended so resoundingly with the Crash of '29, the pages of the Sears catalog became an essential resource in maintaining a wardrobe. An ambitious marketing operation, it could not afford to take chances on haute couture; its fashions were geared as closely as possible to the prevailing tastes of the American people.
For this historically accurate sampling of authentic 1930s fashion, Stella Blum, former Curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, selected for reproduction 133 representative pages from rare Sears catalogs of the period (fall and spring catalog for each year from 1930 to 1939). Hundreds of illustrations record what men, women, and children were actually wearing in the 1930s when, as a copyline from the Fall 1930 catalog proclaimed: "Thrift is the spirit of the day. Reckless spending is a thing of the past."
You'll see here how simpler women's fashion designs — of more traditional, affordable material — recaptured the feminine form with a more natural waistline and lower hemlines than seen in the twenties. For evening wear, longer dresses replaced flamboyant beaded short gowns while cloche hats, another twenties trademark, were replaced by berets, pillboxes, and turbans. The seriousness of the accessories and dresses endorsed by such Hollywood legends as Loretta Young, Claudette Colbert, and Fay Wray.
For historians of costume, nostalgia buffs and casual browsers, these pages afford a rare picture of how the average American really dressed during the thirties. It is an essential resource for study of the clothing of an important era which designers cannot afford to be without.
Synopsis
Accurate record of actual dress of the Roaring Twenties in more than 150 pages of mail-order catalogs, selected and with text by Stella Blum. Over 750 illustrations and captions.