Style & Crafts & Collecting > Fashion & Body Adornment

Figure Drawing for Fashion Design offers a concise, topic by topic guide to acquiring and perfecting these skills, concentrating on the female form. The coverage provided means that this book is ideal both for those who want to apply themselves professionally to fashion design, and for all enthusiasts of drawing the human body. Fashion plates are the primary means of visualising ideas and concepts in costume and fashion design. To give an accurate impression of what is in a designer’s mind it is vital to have complete mastery ... read more

Originally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet

During seven years of travel to seven continents and thirty countries, Chris Rainier photographed the traditions od tattooing, scarifications, piercing and other forms of body-altering art, origins of which date to the dawn of mankind. Here in Ancient Marks: the Sacred Origins of Tattoos and Body Marking, Rainier presents more than one hundred elegant black and white images, revealing the haunting beauty of these often mystical forms. These striking images document humanity's enduring efforts to tell stories,forge identities and cr... read more

The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who 'get' the shoe thing, and those who do not. Or, to put it another way, men and women. This charming book is perfect indulgence and a tribute to the Imelda in all of us.

A beautifully illustrated survey of lingerie.

DOP - September 2009, Nelson 210x255mm / 120pp Softcover One of the most interesting cultural phenomena in New Zealand over the past 15 years has been the spectacular success of the World of Wearable Art, an annual competition and award show that explores the intersection between fashion and art, through a genre popularly known as wearable art. This unique event has encouraged an explosion of creative activity, inspiring a wide range of fashion designers, artists, costume makers and other craft artists from all over the world ... read more

Contrary to popular opinion, New Zealand Fashion didn't begin in the late 1990s when four designers were sent to the London catwalks and created a stir with their stylish dark garments. Its history is in fact a long and rich one, and no one tells it better than the team of Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Claire Regnault and Lucy Hammonds, all three of whom are experts in the field, and who spent over three years tracking down our overlooked and in some cases entirely forgotten fashion pioneers and heroes. The treasure-trove of fabulous froc... read more

Ready to Wear captures the ups and downs, ins and outs of waistlines, hems, shoulders, skirts, hairstyles, underwear, shoes and cosmetics of the past 70 years in all their glory Ready to Wear is a lighthearted look at fashion in New Zealand through the decades. It combines entertaining commentary by Jenny Lynch with fabulous photographs from the New Zealand Woman's Weekly archives. The book looks at the way fashion has developed in this country: from ever-moving hemlines to increasingly skimpy bathing costumes, from skin-bleac... read more

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Cool Man!

From haute-couture to haberdashery, "deviant" dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. She also discusses fashion's vociferous opponents, from the "dress reform" movement to certain strands of feminism. Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity or to subvert it and this edition of her book follows developments to bring the story of fashionable dress up to date, exploring the grunge look inspired by bands like Nirvana, the "boho ch... read more

Horrockses Fashions was one of most respected ready-to-wear labels of the late 40s and 50s. Founded in 1946 the company concentrated on the production of quality womenswear, beach clothes, housecoats and children's attire. Although produced in considerable quantities, the firm maintained an air of exclusivity with an emphasis on good quality fabrics - especially cotton - with custom-designed patterns and couture styling. Horrockses' designs had a distinctive look, celebrated for their lively floral prints and full-skirted summer dr... read more

In 1947 Christian Dior rocked the fashion world with his "New Look" which dominated post war fashion and firmly secured the name of his house in the minds of the public and the fashion industry. He drew on historical models of femininity and utilized the unique skills of Parisian haute couture in textiles, embroidery, cutting and sewing techniques to produce stunning designs that captured the new mood of optimism after the war. Dior also designed and marketed ready-made luxe lines and broke new ground by creating and controlling in... read more

The grandeur of Imperial Russia is captured in this spectacular book featuring the dress and uniforms of Emperors and officials of the Russian court. Starting in the 1730s with lavishly embroidered coats and elaborately patterned silk banyans from the wardrobe of Tsar Peter II and spanning a period of almost two centuries, these garments document a unique dialogue between military uniform, court dress, European fashion and traditional Russian dress. "Magnificence of the Tsars" celebrates the majesty of masculine uniform in Russia at its finest.

Compiled from the world s finest collection of childrenswear comes an incomparable resource for anyone interested in children s fashion. From Victorian era Little Lord Fauntleroy suits to World War II air raid outfits to baby Nike sneakers, this beautifully illustrated compendium follows a gradual shift in children s fashions over the last three hundred years. This highly accessible guide includes specially commissioned photographs of over three hundred garments and a rich selection of line drawings, illustrations from sewing and k... read more

Crowned 'Designer of the Year' by Vogue in 1970, Bill Gibb (1943-1988), barely out of college two years and yet to launch his eponymous line, was to become a major name in fashion history. Gibb's career was prolific, and truly visionary at its finest, but sadly short-lived. His legacy, continued relevance and importance as a designer is apparent today in the work of designers from Giles Deacon to John Galliano. Famous for his love of romance, soaring flights of fancy and devil-may-care dynamic, Gibb's wildly eccentric combinations ... read more

The representation of the body, and particularly the female body, provides a common thread through the activities of the Surrealists. In fashion photography and illustration, the body was manipulated, fetishized and irrecoverably changed. The mechanics of fashion promotion ensured that this new vision of the body gained general currency and the fashion magazine played an innovative role in promoting a new and often highly eroticised femininity. From the jewellery of Salvador Dali and the collections of Elsa Schiaparelli and Meret O... read more

This is the first full survey of the work of fashion designer Ossie Clark - a key figure in 1960s and 1970s London. His golden era lasted from the mid 60s to the mid 70s, when fashion, photography, art and music all flourished as never before in the glamorous world of 'Swinging London'. Endlessly innovative, Ossie Clark brought street style to London's most fashionable people. A 'master cutter', he was also a celebrity in his own right, numbering among his friends David Hockney, Patrick Proctor, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Patti Bo... read more

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A glorious companion to the highly successful "Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries and Modern Fashion in Detail", this book captures the opulence and variety of 19th-century fashion through exquisite colour photography and line drawings of the complete garments. From the delicate embroidery on neoclassical gowns to the vibrant colours of crinolines and the elegant tailoring of men's coats, the richness of the period is revealed in breathtaking detail.