Customer Reviews

Hollywood Costume Design by Travilla (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

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This is another well-designed, well-presented book from Schiffer, known for its volumes appealing to collectors of various types of memorabilia. (I also own _Harrison Fisher: Defining The American Beauty_ and Kristina Harris' _Victorian and Edwardian Fashion for Women_ from the same publisher, both high-quality paperbacks.) Travilla may not be as instantly recognizable a name as Edith Head, Adrian or Helen Rose in the field of movie costume design, but his costumes are very definitely ones the viewer will remember. That sexy white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in her most iconic scene, in "The Seven Year Itch"? That's a Travilla design, and his sketch for the outfit graces the dust jacket of the book. The book is full of artwork, much of it in full-page format; photographs, both color and black-and-white, and sketches of notable designs. Travilla's most famous (and, judging from his remarks, his favorite) client, was Marilyn Monroe, but he designed outfits for many other actresses - and a few actors - from the 1940's through the 1980's, starting with Ann Sheridan (whom he became so close to that he nicknamed her "Aunt Annie") and going on to Emma Samms. This book isn't cheap new or used, but take that as a sign of its quality and desirability and do make the investment if you're interested in this field!

This book is so well written! Very entertaining info on the man, the industry & the personalities. Tons & tons of great photos & sketches!

Otherwise admirable collection of photos, sketches, costume tests, anecdotes and biographical info revolving around famed designer Bill Travilla, but. . .

Clearly author appreciates and has deep interest in his design legacy. All of which makes the incredible sloppiness of many captions all the more baffling: Author fails to identify recognizable performers (Janis Paige is dismissed as a nameless "starlet"), flat-out misidentifies others (photo of "Arlene Dahl" clearly isn't; Margo is ID'ed as Jean Peters, even though the two actresses look nothing alike and correct name actually appears on slate in costume test photo!) and in some cases presents sketches with incorrect info (a sketch from The Big Cube was supposedly worn by Sharon Tate--who didn't even appear in film). If you don't bother reading the words under pictures (but why wouldn't you?), you can add another star to this rating.

I bought this book because I am a huge Marilyn Monroe fan and have always been fascinated by Travilla's clothes for Marilyn. Travilla designed some of the most famous and best costumes Marilyn wore in her career. He was also a friend to her.

The book is a fascinating look at Travilla's fashion work through out his career. Besides Marilyn he worked with some of the most legendary stars in the world. Travilla is a legend in the fashion & costume world and this book will show you why. The book it's self is well made and full of photo (many of which are color). I love Travilla's sketches (pictured in the book) which always captured the likeness of the actress he was creating for. This book is perfect for the Travilla fan, Marilyn fan, fashion design lover, fashion design students, or Hollywood memorabilia enthusiasts. Also a great coffee table book!

Travilla became a Hollywood star thanks in large part to his client Marilyn Monroe, gaining fame for his design of her costumes - but his art graced many familiar forms, and Hollywood Costume Design By Travilla provides an excellent display of his original sketches and creations. Monroe fans and Hollywood fans alike will relish this display, lavish with color reproductions of Travilla's art.

This item was purchased as a gift and as such I will never read it but it was a book that the recepient really wanted.