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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful Exhibition of the Male Subcultural Dress that Guided 20th Century Fashion., October 31, 2009
This review is from: One Hundred Years of Menswear (Paperback)
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"One Hundred Years of Menswear" is a retrospective of the influences upon men's fashion, and therefore all fashion, in the 20th century. Cally Blackman points out in her introduction that men's fashion is at the avant garde, with women's fashion following, and this was even true in the 20th century, while men's fashion was in a slump of sorts. It's generally accepted that men's fashion was subdued from the beginning of the industrial era until the "peacock revolution" of the 1960s. While true on the face of it, I think that the emergence of modern dress during that period, with its neoclassic overtones, is a cultural colossus. Cally Blackman seems to find some fault with that sweeping statement also, as this book showcases the great variety and influence of men's sportswear, workwear, and "subcultural modes of dress" over the past century.
The book is divided into two periods: 1900-1939 and 1940 onward. Each period is broken down into six themes, "chosen because they were important at a particular point in history." At first, I was thrown by this organization, because the sequence is not entirely chronological, and it views fashion by its function and subculture, not in light of the social, economic, and the technological developments of the time. Those are mentioned in the introduction to each theme, but it would not be possible to follow fashion as a whole though time using this organization. For example, trying to compare the sportswear and artistic fashions of 1930 to one another, in light of the circumstances of their time, would not be easy.
The organization by theme is fascinating in its own right, however, because it focuses on the subculture from which a particular type of clothing or mode of dress came from. Anyone familiar with women's fashion will see its inspiration right away as well. The themes for 1900-1939 are: Suit, Worker & Soldier, Artist & Reformer, Good Guy-Bad Guy (movies), Player (sports), and Dressing Down-Dressing Up. The themes for 1940 onward are: Rebel, Peacock, Media Star, Culture Clubber (1980s counterculture), Stylist, and Designer. The sections that deal the most with professionals deliberately imposing their vision on fashion are "Stylist" and "Designer". The latter is also the section that showcases clothes that are found on runways but unlikely to be found in anyone's wardrobe.
There are over 300 pages of photographs of clothes, advertisements, and illustrations from fashion magazines. A clear and insightful explanation of the significance of the particular theme introduces each section. Fashions are arranged in vaguely chronological order within each theme, but pay attention to the dates in the captions, because the author sometimes shuns the chronology in order to group fashions by some common element. "One Hundred Years of Menswear" has a lot of insight to offer if it is read, captions and all, front to back, or at least one theme at a time. It's far more enjoyable and informative that way than trying to use it as a coffee table book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT: Detailed and interesting info, gorgeous pics, tons of primary resources, October 23, 2009
This review is from: One Hundred Years of Menswear (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is the best book on men's fashion I have seen. As a costume designer, I have shelves full of books on costume/fashion history, some better than others, and this ranks among the best for its brilliant use of images and concise but informative text. Did you know "Denim" comes from "de Nîmes", as in "from the city of Nîmes, France"? The little captions, about the size of fashion magazine descriptions of what a model is wearing, are instead filled with short descriptions covering the name of the item, context of the image, origins of the garment, and other information like who would wear it and what it means.
The organization is loosely chronological (there are two halves, 1900-1939 and 1940 on), and then by theme. For example, the period from 1900-1939 is broken into the following chapters: Suit, Worker & Soldier, Artist & Reformer, Good Guy & Bad Guy, Player, and Dressing Down, Dressing Up. Each chapter follows the theme, covering clothing for different occasions, looks, and types of people (class, occupation, type of event...)
Each chapter opens with a few pages of text shedding more light on the era and theme and how that concept progresses--the writing is clear and detailed, but does not bog the reader down with too much. For the most part, the book is composed of images ranging from fashion plates and drawings to photos of influential fashion leaders or people in the streets.
As someone who owns Many books on costume and fashion, I can recommend this beautiful item for any reader. This is a GREAT book!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Rich Fabric, November 18, 2009
This review is from: One Hundred Years of Menswear (Paperback)
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The Prince of Wales,Dizzy Dean,Elvis, Mark Twain,George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire, Don Johnson, Picasso, the Beatles, Cary Grant, Jimmy Hendrix, and David Bowie on the cover. They're all here and many more royal personages, actors, singers, sportsmen, cowboys hippies, beatniks, and average Joes. One Hundred Years is ostensibly a book of fashion but it's so much more as it intertwines history and clothing seamlessly and splendidly.
The heavy stock paper used to create this volume gives it a quality, heirloom feel and look in a book that one is proud to display and share. Painstaking research must have gone into this book with its meticulous detailand rich fabric that threads together the evolution of fashion against the backdrop of history and famous people.
Not being a follower of fashion myself, I wasn't sure that a book like this would hold my interest. Sure it has loads of photographs, but the topic is not one of great interest to me, or so I assumed. The book wore well on this reader and became more comfortable the deeper I got into it, like breaking in a new pair of jeans or slippers.
The author not only details attire and trends but sprinkles in just the right amount of biographical nuggets like so much dressing on a salad.
As the reader sails through the pages of this book, he sees stars as they looked in their younger years,celebrities like Elvis, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery will a full head of hair, Mick Jagger smooth faced, Lurence Fishburned, John Travolta, and Daniel Craig.
Most of the photographs are depicted in black and white, many of necessity because of their ages. I think the use of black and white pictures actually works quite well, capturing a mood, starkness, and timeless quality.
Younger readers might enjoy seeing the fashions of bygone decades, zoot suits, psychedelic patterns, beads, and big Afro hairstyles. I enjoyed trying to name the people in the old photos before reading the text and captions.
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