Vintage Details: A Fashion Sourcebook, by Jeffrey Mayer and Basia Szkutnicka. Lawrence King Publishing, 2016

 This is a brilliant sourcebook for anyone doing fashion design, costume design, or is just into vintage styling. There is NO TEXT in this book. It is all photographs of vintage clothing from all angles. It starts with a visual index, with items ranging from 1913 to 1995. Each item has thumbnail pictures of it front and back; then it states what sections of the book detailed photos can be found in. The sections include necklines, collars, sleeves, pockets and many more, including construction details- pictures of the insides of the clothing. It’s great fun to browse through the book and get ideas. The construction of many of the pieces is so much better than what you see in clothing today- today’s clothing seems to be styled for fast production. I see more details in my clothing in the future! 

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Audrey and Givenchy: A Fashion Love Affair, by Cindy de la Hoz. Running Press, 2016

This is a tiny book with LOTS of photographs, like a coffee table book that got hit by a shrink ray. While long on photos, it’s short on text, but it says all it needs to. Audrey Hepburn, the irrepressible gamin, was the perfect muse for Hubert de Givenchy. Her face and figure were unlike those of the movie stars of her time; slim, with big eyes and an elegant bone structure, she was boyish yet totally feminine. She had a certain energy that made you unable to look away from her in films.

Givenchy’s fashions fit her style perfectly. In films, they emphasized the traits of the characters she played. He dressed Hepburn in many of her movies, and they were best friends in real life. His clothes inspired her to be the characters in the movies, while she inspired him to create elegant yet modern fashion- including his first perfume.

It’s a fun little book; if you’re into film or vintage fashion you’ll love it. 

The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something from Amazon- anything- they will give me a few cents. 

This did not influence my review.  

Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, by Dita Von Teese with Rose Apodaca. Dey Street, 2015

This is not your typical beauty book. It has elements of the typical beauty book: putting on makeup, hair care, skin care. But it’s also a bit of an autobiography of Von Teese, filled with photographs. Most of the photos have nothing to do with the written content, but they show Dita in her glory, and are great fun to look at.

By ‘eccentric glamour’, Dita is referring to going against the usual rules of beauty and doing what makes YOU happy, whether you look like everyone else or not. She wants you to find your own, personal, look- to make your mark on the world with your beauty. As someone who was wearing dark red lipstick in my teens when everyone else was wearing white lipstick (yes, I’m old), I can totally appreciate her attitude!

While Dita looks like an image from a fantasy, she’s actually down to earth. She’s in love with vintage and retro glamour, but does her own hair and makeup (including dying her hair every two weeks- she’s actually a blond!), uses mainly drugstore brands for skin and hair care, and works her ass off to keep her body in great shape. She’s busy all the time, not laying around eating bonbons.

She gives advice on diet and exercise, because beauty is based on good health. She covers everything from hair removal, fragrance, well-fitting undergarments, doing one’s eyebrows and putting on that wonderful cat-eye liner, the half-moon manicure, and how she does those fabulous retro hair styles. She even devotes a chapter to stage make-up, not that most of us will need that information. It’s still fun to read!

If you’re into retro looks this book is a must. If you’re looking for a basic beauty book with lots of cool photos, this book will work for you. It’s almost 400 pages of good stuff.