Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design [SPECIAL EDITION] (Hardcover)

by Deborah Nadoolman Landis (Author) "The story of costume design in American movies starts, surprisingly, without costumes..." (more)
Key Phrases: tume designers, costume department, Edith Head, New York, Irene Sharaff (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Most screen gowns are designed for especially dramatic women, to wear in a series of dramatic scenes, that comprise more drama than most women have in their whole lives."

Product Description

From the lavish productions of Hollywood's Golden Age through the high-tech blockbusters of today, the most memorable movies all have one thing in common: they rely on the magical transformations rendered by the costume designer. Whether spectacular or subtle, elaborate or barely there, a movie costume must be more than merely a perfect fit. Each costume speaks a language all its own, communicating mood, personality, and setting, and propelling the action of the movie as much as a scripted line or synthetic clap of thunder. More than a few acting careers have been launched on the basis of an unforgettable costume, and many an era defined by the intuition of a costume designer—think curvy Mae West in I'm No Angel (Travis Banton, costume designer), Judy Garland in A Star is Born (Jean Louis and Irene Sharaff, costume designers), Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (Ruth Morley, costume designer), or Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (Deborah Nadoolman Landis, costume designer).

In Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design, Academy Award-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis showcases one hundred years of Hollywood's most tantalizing costumes and the characters they helped bring to life. Drawing on years of extraordinary research, Landis has uncovered both a treasure trove of costume sketches and photographs—many of them previously unpublished—and a dazzling array of first-person anecdotes that inform and enhance the images. Along the way she also provides and eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of the costume designer's art, from its emergence as a key element of cinematic collaboration to its limitless future in the era of CGI.

A lavish tribute that mingles words and images of equal luster, Dressed is one book no film and fashion lover should be without.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Collins Design (November 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060816503
• ISBN-13: 978-0060816506
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #157,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunner!, November 29, 2007

By	rubyink (Manhattan Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Wowza, this book is incredible. The photographs and costume illustrations are really high quality. I haven't read all of this massive tome yet, but I've really loved what I've read and looked at so far. The book is basically comprised of 4 components. There are text chapters addressing costume design in each of the last 10 decades, then there are the gorgeous photos (lots and lots of color), many sketches that you probably will not see anywhere else, and finally, and this is the really juicy part, are the captions that accompany the images. The captions are quotes from directors, actors and designers and they are really lively and funny. You feel like you were in the fitting room with the actor. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves movies.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Impressed, November 29, 2007

By	Someone (Bethesda, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

I just got my copy today and am really impressed. The pictures are fantastic and all of the quotes are great too. Every great costume designer that I can think of is included (Edith Head, Travis Banton, Walter Plunkett, Adrian, Helen Rose, Theadora Van Runkle, Ann Roth, Colleen Atwood, Milena Canonero...the list goes on and on). The book goes from the early days of Hollywood right up to 2006. It is organized by decade. Of course the Golden Age films are really showy and glamorous, but the book also includes movies you'd never think of having costumes, like The Departed, Network, and Little Miss Sunshine. The author is a costume designer of some of the great movie costumes as well (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Trading Places).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for the best gift?, December 1, 2007

By	Gift Giver Extraordinaire (Beverly Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This author who is an extremely talented costume designer in her own right ("Coming to America", "The Blues Brothers" and the great American classic, "Animal House") seems to know everything and everyone in the movies. The costumes and illustrations are stunning, the prose easy, yet insightful and her costume picks for the book are eclectic and interesting, yet include all the classics you want to see! I've already gifted a few people with this book and they've been more than thrilled by my selection. It also is a great deal on Amazon as it's $75 in a traditional book store. It's gorgeous and fun for the film buff, the fashionista and anyone who cares about history and culture. Enjoy!!