Customer Reviews

Everyday Fashions of the Forties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs (Dover Fashion and Costumes)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this book though amazon's used books, and was completely pleased. Websites and library books often offer a very incomplete view of the 1940's fashions with very few pictures, and descriptions of the time as just being "utilitarian" or "militarized" - which is only PART of the story. This book is mostly ads from the Sears Catalog, showing REAL styles available to the middle class American public, not just the stuff the movie stars wore. You can see how the styles changed slowly over decade, including the introduction of the "New Look" and how it was incorporated into American style in the later part of the decade. Not necessarily for those wanting a history lesson complete with names of designers, price guides, or whatnot. But for someone already familar with the time period or wanting good examples/ideas for period dress or reproduction (with excellent pictures without collecting billions of sewing patterns like I do), this is a delightful resource!

This is a great book full of illustrations from vintage Sears catalogs. The clothing styles range from everyday wear to swimwear to underwear and accessories. It's fantastic to look at the styles, but my favorite parts of the book are definitely the captions that describe each of the items, along with their original price. It really is a hoot to see gorgeous hats going for thirty-five cents to a whopping dollar seventy-nine!

This book is a lot of fun to look through and would be the perfect gift for your favorite rockabilly kitten or vintage fashion lover.

Ok,I love the clothes of the 1940's anyway,thats why I bought this book. But it really is great fun for people who remember that time and a good history lesson for those who don't. I mean, a gown for 5 bucks?! Where's my time machine?;-) Enjoy!

I just love the Everyday Fashions series because there are so many different designs. In other fashion history or resource books, there are usually only a couple of examples. This book has women, men, teens, kids... I think anyone who is a costumer, or enjoys creating vintage repros should own these books.

I adore 40's fashions and this book got me going a few years ago. It is a broad overview of the entire decade, of course, and you can find which part of the decade appeals to your fashion sense. War time austerity to "new look" femininity. I particularly like the mid-decade styles with its blend of feminine style and simplicity borne out of rationing. However you like it, you can take it from there. I'm giving the book 4 stars largely because of the reproduction quality. Too often, for me, the pictures seem poorly copied from the catalog. More "Xerox" than "laser".

I love this book for the wonderful photos of clothing and accessories (like leg make-up). I also have the Everyday Fashions of the Thirties, an equally enjoyable reference book.B&W photos

As someone who buys, sells, and wears vintage clothing on a daily basis, this book is a wonderful reference. It depicts the entire fashion spectrum of the 40s, from shoes to playsuits, from women to men to children, from lingerie to maternity wear. Very interesting read, even for those not into vintage clothing. I've got a collection built up of so-so fashion reference books - this one blows them all out of the water. Worth every penny and then some - I'm guessing " jill from manhattan" has a little bit of a complex.

This book (and the others in the series) are absolutely fantastic.
As a costumer, i've found these books to be extremely helpful in recreating costumes of the period. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in vintage clothing styles.

This is a fabulous book with fashions that span all ages (from child to adult) and looks during that decade. It is a hoot to see the low prices, and some of the clothing will make today's teen recoil in horror. I think the WWII era fashions were absolutely fantastic and this book is great.

I would love to see another one released, with even more from the Sears catalogs during the 40's.

Wartime austerities aside, Americans remained interested in fashionable clothing throughout the first half of the '40's, then seized eagerly on the New Look and its counterparts when things became easier. Most of these garments probably wouldn't look too out of place on a modern street, notwithstanding their 60-to-70-year-old age bracket. From intriguing little hats to boys' knicker suits (1940, giving way to full-length trousers by 1946) to saddle shoes, sweaters, and swimsuits, all kinds of clothes for all ages and both sexes are shown. As with all Dover's Sears catalog reproductions, the book's great weakness (probably owing to the layout of the original catalogs) is that some of the pages lack descriptions and prices (editor Olian might better have chosen examples that had both, rather than those that relegated the explanatory matter to the next page). Still, the sharp, clear reproductions will give readers a sound idea of what their grandparents and great-grandparents wore here at home as the world ran up to war, fought it, and began to recover from it.