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Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is a lifestyle guide for the Francophile and the Anglomaniac, the gourmet and the style maven, the armchair traveler and the art lover. It’s an homage to the esoteric world of glamour that doesn’t require much spending but makes us feel rich.

Taking a cue from the exotic encyclopedias of the sixteenth century, which brimmed with mysterious artifacts, Jessica Kerwin Jenkins’s Encyclopedia of the Exquisite focuses on the elegant, the rare, the commonplace, and the delightful. A com­pendium of style, it merges whimsy and practicality, traipsing through the fine arts and the worlds of fashion, food, travel, home, garden, and beauty.

Each entry features several engaging anecdotes, illuminating the curious past of each enduring source of beauty. Subjects covered include the explosive history of champagne; the art of lounging on a divan; the emergence of “frillies,” the first lacy, racy lingerie; the ancient uses of sweet-smelling saffron; the wild riot incited by the appearance of London’s first top hat; Julia Child’s tip for cooking the perfect omelet; the polarizing practice of wearing red lipstick during World War II; Louis XIV’s fondness for the luscious Bartlett pear; the Indian origin of badminton; Parliament’s 1650 attempt to suppress Europe’s beauty mark fad; the evolution of the Japanese kimono; the pil­grimage of Central Park’s Egyptian obelisk; and the fanciful thrill of dining alfresco.

Cleverly illustrated, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is an ode to life’s plenty, from the extravagant to the eccentric. It is a cele­bration of luxury that doesn’t necessarily require money.

$18.45

5.0 (50 ratings)

(5.0 / 5.0)

Wind, wrap, and sew fabric strips into fantastic containers! Start with a plate shape to learn the technique. Then experiment with four basic container styles to create round, oval, square, and other shapes.

• Create purses, baskets, and bowls in an endless variety of sizes, shapes, and colors

• Simply wrap fabric strips around cotton clothesline, coil into the desired shape, and secure with machine stitching

• Special sections on lids, handles, and embellishments offer unlimited options for your own variations

$11.98

5.0 (3 ratings)

(5.0 / 5.0)

This practical text takes students step-by-step through the preproduction processes of
apparel product development: planning, forecasting, fabricating, developing silhouettes
and specifications, pricing, and sourcing. It demonstrates how these processes must be
coordinated to get the right product to retail when consumers want it and at a price they
are willing to pay. Based on consultations with some of the most successful and innovative
firms in the fashion business, the Second Edition covers the evolving partnerships among
textile suppliers, product developers, manufacturers, and retailers as they work to develop
apparel products in today s customer-driven environment.

$72.00

4.5 (90 ratings)

(4.5 / 5.0)

Clinton Kelly won't just revamp your wardrobe -- he'll revamp your life!

The huddled masses yearn to be fabulous, and finally Clinton Kelly is heeding their call. As co-host of TLC's popular What Not to Wear, he regularly transforms dumpy fashion disasters into traffic-stopping, get-an-instant-promotion, reignite-the-passion-in-that-relationship makeovers. But fabulousness doesn't stop with style. Let's face it: you might look good, but if you're chomping on that crudité with your mouth wide open, nobody at the party will talk to you -- even if you can explain to them what crudité actually is.

Of course, the keys to being better than everyone else aren't always so obvious. Don't worry; Clinton's here to help.

  • How do you make a flat butt look big and a big butt look flat?
  • What's the one trick that will slim down your entire silhouette and make your ta-tas look va-va-voom?
  • How do you eat an oyster without getting kicked out of the best restaurant in town?
  • What's the grammatically correct form of "lay" to use when propositioning a Baldwin brother?

He'll teach you how to look your best, sound your smartest, use the manners your momma taught you, poach an egg, fix a perfect gin and tonic, throw the most popular parties (and top the guest list at other soirees), make your home the envy of your neighbors, and generally be the fabulous person you always knew you could be.

From the three style criteria he uses to dress any shape for any occasion, to his eloquent approach to appreciation, to his four must-memorize recipes for whipping up a last-minute meal, Clinton Kelly shares it all in Freakin' Fabulous.

$12.95

What woman can resist imagining herself in a beautiful designer dress? Here, for the first time ever, are 100 fabulous gowns from the permanent collection of the renowned Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, each of which is a reminder of the ways fashion reflects the broader culture that created it.

Featuring designs by Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Madame Grès, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianni Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and many others, this one-of-a-kind collection presents a stunning variety of garments. Ranging from the buttoned-up gowns of the late 17th century to the cutting-edge designs of the early 21st, the dresses reflect the sensibilities and excesses of each era while providing a vivid picture of how styles have changed—sometimes radically—over the years. A late 1600s wool dress with a surprising splash of silver thread; a large-bustled red satin dress from the 1800s; a short, shimmery 1920s dancing dress; a glamorous 1950s cocktail dress; and a 1960s minidress—each tells a story about its period and serves as a testament to the enduring ingenuity of the fashion designer’s art.
 

Images of the dresses are accompanied by informative text and enhanced by close-up details as well as runway photos, fashion plates, works of art, and portraits of designers. A glossary of related terms is also included.

$16.47

4.5 (29 ratings)

(4.5 / 5.0)

Why make a shirt? Because, with the skills you'll learn in Shirtmaking, you can create elegant, custom-fit garments for a woman or man that look like the best money can buy. Includes full-scale patterns for collars, cuffs, plackets, and pockets, and complete instructions for developing custom-fit shirt patterns.

$11.99

4.5 (13 ratings)

(4.5 / 5.0)

Superbly rendered illustrations, adapted from Godey's Lady's Book, a popular 19th-century fashion magazine, provide authentic views of evolving Victorian fashions — from lace-edged necklines and elongated bodices to fitted bonnets and extravagant bustles. Thirty plates depict lavish dresses, gowns, and coats as well as accessories.

$1.05

5.0 (3 ratings)

(5.0 / 5.0)

Highly visual, stunning overview

* Covers the basics and the underlying principles
* What people wear and why they wear it
* Unique insights into working methods of design pros

Like the other titles in the Fundamentals series, this book offers an introductory look at its subject--with a sophisticated twist. This overview of fashion design has been created for students, but it will also appeal to anyone with an interest in what people wear and why they wear it. Sections include Pattern Construction and Cutting, Fashion Movements, Textiles, Creative Thinking, and Selling Clothes. With exciting visuals and clear text, The Fundamentals of Fashion Design uses detailed diagrams, historical references, and innovative layout to challenge readers to consider the underlying principles of fashion design.

$21.24

4.5 (13 ratings)

(4.5 / 5.0)

In Vogue is a fascinating look at the history of the world's most influential magazine. The complete compendium is illustrated with hundreds of covers and archival interiors of past Vogue editions, featuring the work of some of the twentieth century's most respected artists, cover illustrators, and photographers—from Edward Steichen, Toni Frissell, and Erwin Blumenfeld to Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Bruce Webber, and Herb Ritts. In 1909, an entrepreneurial New Yorker named Condé Nast took charge of a struggling society journal and transformed it into the most glamorous fashion magazine of the twentieth century. In Vogue traces the history, development and influence of this media colossus—from its beginning as a social gazette in the late nineteenth century, to the exploration of modern fashion photography and new visuals in the mid-twentieth century, to its status as the top style magazine today. The book explains the makings of the magazine—from runways, to editorial meetings, to the pages of Vogue.The thoroughly researched story incorporates first-person accounts, interviews with editors and photographers, and excerpts from stories written in the magazine by many world-renowned writers, including Truman Capote, Aldous Huxley, Richard Burton, Federico Fellini, and Marcello Mastroianni. Unparalleled in its scope and exceptionally illustrated, In Vogue is sure to be among the most important publications on the subjects of culture, art, fashion, photography, and media.

$31.89

3.5 (67 ratings)

(3.5 / 5.0)

Every time you dress, you assert your identity. With style, you tell the world your story. In that way, style affords you opportunities to think about your appearance as a quality of your creative character. The Little Black Book of Style helps you to explore your own fashion voice—the piece of you that joyously revels in the glamorous experience of creating your best self. From cultivating good taste to guarding against definite fashion faux pas, Nina Garcia offers readers the ultimate guide to follow when it comes to dressing their best. Including tips on how and when to wear an outfit, occasion-appropriate wear, advice on how to combine colors and textures, and inspiration on how to achieve your own signature look, you learn how to experiment, storyboard, archive, and play. Timeless and universal, this book seeks to remind women that eternal style is internal style, and that everyone has what it takes to discover themselves through the colorful palette that is fashion.

$9.16