Customer Reviews

Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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).

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!!

I was just given this book as a gift and I LOVE it! The pictures are gorgeous and the text is really insightful. It incorporates amazing quotes from hundreds of important directors, actors, screen writers, costume and production designers. It would serve well as a coffee table book, or a great addition to any film lover's library. Two thumbs up!

Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on a copy of DRESSED. It's a visually stunning, erudite and jaw-dropping look at the best costumes and costume designs since movies began. Deborah Landis curated and wrote this hefty collection, and it is her expertise that puts the costumes in context. A beautiful book to treasure and browse.

Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design

I agree with the previous reviews that the quality of the pictures is great. However, a lot of them (predominantly the costumes for the male actors) are plainly boring to look at. These costumes may have been well designed from the prospective of a costume designer in relation to the movie script, but how exiting are pictures of Ernest Borgnine wearing an apron, Borat wearing a suit, the lead actors of Broke Back Mountain wearing shirts and jeans and so on. The space used for those kind of pictures (and there are a lot of them particularly in the second half of the book)could used for more interesting costume designs, particularly costume designs of the twenties, thirties, forties and fifties, Hollywoods golden era.

The glamour of the book strikes any reader immediately. Particularly special is the text connecting the photographs and the costume sketches (so rarely seen!). One cannot come away from this book without a newfound wealth of knowledge of their favorite films and an appreciation for costume designers' thoughtful and purpose-laden participation in creating cinematic magic.

No picture in this book is boring. I think the one of the most intriguing aspects is the choice of male costumes presented. I, for one, am definitely guilty of overlooking actors' seemingly plain suits for actresses' ball gowns in movies. I quickly learned and indulged in the equally important glamour (or lack there of) of male costumes. I now understand the fine tailoring in Chinatown and I now can smell Borat's grey suit (gross! can you imagine?).

This book should contain pictures of things worn in the movies, and it does. I wanted more information at times, and the book made me greedy for even more images, but disappointment in this book would most likely be the result of an aficionado's personal quirks and expectations of books of this sort. This book contains Incredible Pictures of costumes, articles of clothing that leave you awestruck by the minds that conceived of them. Pictures of a lot of folks who have passed on, shown wearing things made just for them, I think often just coincidentally in the context of a character - some so enhancing, so perfect, so flattering that all you can do is shake your head and do your best not to wallow in the comforting haze of nostalgia. A book about fashion, costume, and Hollywood. Lots of fun and illuminating facts about the people who paid for, created, made, and wore the stuff. While needing no handicap, when considering the times, the technology, the state of historical research - the realization of some of the older pieces shown in the book is staggering; achievements which broadcast themselves from page after page, from black & white stills, from the beginning of movie making [to the present by the way, which I am personally not as excited by - an inexcusable bias]. A terrific book.

Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman

Admittedly, I am not a fashion icon. But I know great style when I

see it. After all, I live with Jane. And I know how she has drooled

over this book. It's a large book encompassing movie fashion and

movie history. Reading it, you're bound to pick up a little bit of

both. The author has done her best to get original sketches from the

great movie designers such as Edith Head, Adrian, and Travilla. He's

the guy who made the white dress that Marilyn wore in The Seven Year

Itch. This book isn't all girlie though. Costume design for film

isn't just for women. It touches on James Dean's red jacket, finding

the perfect hat for Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, and even getting

to the cool capes and costumes in Lord of the Rings. It is a

beautiful book. It's a classic coffee table book because it' so big

you really have to lay it down on something just to read it.

Definitely not the book to take with you to the airport. However, it

is visually stimulating and full of movie trivia. Sure, it's a little

heavy on the fashion side. Sure, it's a little heavy. Pricey too.

But it is an interesting look at an integral part of the movies. No

matter what movie you're watching, at one point or another, they're

bound to be wearing something.

I first checked this out from the local library and then purchased as a gift for my significant other. I really enjoy it as well.

It's not an overly complex book. The author is actually a Hollywood costume designer (her bio is on the back flap). The book is glossy and mostly color (except of course the black and white photos).

Each section covers one decade of Hollywood costume design. Within each section is a selection of many films of that decade. Each film is covered from 1/3 page to 2 or 3 pages. Each film also has a quotation below from someone connected to the film and the costuming or directing. There is usually one photo from the film, or in some cases a coule of photos and even a drawing or sketch. Though most films have the one page, one photo and one caption.

It's nothing I would recommend to a costuming student to learn from, but it's an interesting book for those of us who enjoy film and film costume design. It's put together well and free from major errors or typos (read on some other film costume book reviews and you find many have glaring grammatical errors).

It's a great gift idea for the film fan or costume fan in your life.