Customer Reviews

Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out

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Thank goodness there is a finally a book that does justice to Isabel Toledo's talent. This book is simply beautiful to look at, with luscious reproductions of Ruben Toledo's illustrations as well as photographs of a huge variety of Isabel Toledo's clothing. There is an excellent and detailed biography by Valerie Steele, with family photos of the Toledos and Izquierdos. There is an essay by Patricia Mears discussing Toledo's work. Both sections are lavishly illustrated with full page photos of collections. The second half of the book covers even more of her work since the 80s, broken into thematic sections: liquid architecture, organic geometry, origami, shadow, suspension, shape, manipulated surfaces. A nice bonus here is the pattern sketches for four garments so you can appreciate the enormous skill involved in the design. With Toledo's clothes it is often impossible to see how the garment has been drafted when it is worn, or, when seeing a flat garment, to understand how it will hang on the body.

There is a perfect balance of writing and visuals. The essays add to your understanding of the garments, but still allow them to speak for themselves.

Toledo's clothes are not flash and glitter; they are clothes that can be meditated on. Your appreciation for them grows with study and time. She has a unique aesthetic, almost wabi-sabi. All lovers of fashion must buy this book.

This is a must for the lover of fashion. Isobel and Ruben are a talented duo and their work is timeless. After seeing the exhibition this book is a collection of images and ideas that will delight the home sewer to the budding designer and maybe even inspire you to create your own masterpiece.

This Book is extremely inspiring and lovely to look at! It is a steal at this price.

I purchased this book because as a professional patternmaker I wanted to study Isabel Toledo's patternmaking and draping techniques. Her mind works in a way that I can only compare to Madeleine Vionnet. Both show mastery of thinking in three dimensions and understanding how to manipulate geometrical shapes around the human body to create interesting clothing.

Isabel Toledo's designs are fascinating to study and definitely deserve a book devoted to them. She is not a well-known designer outside of the apparel industry and fashion press even though she has won many awards for her work, but she will impress the readers of this book with her verve, style and creativity. And Toledo is the currently practicing designer I admire most for her understanding of textile manipulation and the bias.

Fabulous graphics, as the two Toledos produce a visual memory of the just-ended exhibit of Isabel's at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

One of the most exciting fashion designers in the United States, Cuban-born Isabel Toledo has been honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and a Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion, given by The Museum at FIT. Yet, even after First Lady Michelle Obama selected Toledo's lemongrass yellow wool lace shift dress to wear at the inauguration of her husband, President Barack Obama, her name and work are mainly recognized only by fashion insiders.

This ravishing book brings Toledo's creations to a wider audience, places them within the context of contemporary fashion, and examines her creative process. Interviewing Toledo, her husband (fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo), and other colleagues, clients, and critics, Valerie Steele gives an account of Toledo's career and explains that while she has been heralded by leading fashion magazines and featured in stores in New York and Europe, she has not had the long-term financial backing to break out of the niche market. Patricia Mears investigates the artistic and cultural influences on Toledo's work and analyzes her unusual methods of construction, noting that she designs in three dimensions in her mind and then begins working directly with fabric.

Displaying garments Toledo has created since her first show in 1985, this book is a revelatory exploration of a fashion innovator in a mass-market industry.

I adore this book! It is very thorough and lengthy. The photography in it is so artistic! Valerie Steele is a great historian of fashion and Toledo is very forthcoming about her own history. The tapestry of life that becomes our fabric begins before we are born. There are many family photos too. This book is great in that it really delves into the background of the artist,Ms. Toledo. This is a very large book and I don't think I will ever really finish it. Thank goodness for it is an adventure that I don't want to end!

You can see the love of drawing, painting and design in these beautiful, vivid photos and stories of Isabel and Ruben Toledo's life.The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart

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