Vintage Clothing 1880-1980 [Paperback]

Maryanne Dolan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

All the fashion raves for men, women, children, and infants are dressed with updated descriptions and current values. Maryanne Dolan makes this the perfect resource for costume designers, seamstresses, dollmakers, and historians, too. It's a nostalgic walk down the fashion runway that recalls the outrageous and the conservative clothing of a very stylish century.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Though the text is minimal and the illustrations are black and white, Vintage Clothing is packed with ideas for costume designers, clothing collectors and restorers, and even experienced home sewers who'd like to incorporate some historic flair into their designs. Using a combination of period fashion illustrations, old photographs, contemporary photos of period clothes, and detailed captions, the volume traces the evolution of a century of clothing styles. Although not as nicely produced as many other costume/fashion history books, the sheer variety and number of details on every page make it a worthwhile reference. Also included are estimates of the outfits' worth in today's market.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: kp books; 3 edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896891097
• ISBN-13: 978-0896891098
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars beware!!, February 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Vintage Clothing 1880-1980 (Paperback)

I have a number of vintage clothing books in my library and have been collecting vintage clothing and accessories for almost 20 years. This book is the only one I have regretted buying. Many of the "illustrations" are black and white drawings that explain color and cut. The descriptions are not adequate-there are few if any makers names listed and there's no index to help in the process of looking up an item. Many of the models that are used do not carry the clothing well and since the photographs are in black and white you cannot see the pieces properly. The one thing that I can say that's positive is that she does list the time periods for the items she shows, and she does pack many plates into her book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for all of us -, March 31, 2001

By 

Mandy Jean "Just Let Me Finish This Row' knit... (Grayson, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage Clothing 1880-1980 (Paperback)

If you are looking for information on clothing between 1880 and about 1919, by all means, this is the book for you. But, if you're like me and you are looking for a book on clothing from 1930 on, pass this one up. More than 3/4 of this book is dedicated to victorian clothing. You can also tell which decades this author favors. While pictures of models (if you can really call these women models) in victorian clothing are carefully posed and accessorized, the more current clothing is slapped on just about anyone who would stand still long enough to have their picture taken. Example - the 60+ year old woman in the WEDDING DRESS. There are really no clothing from the 70s or 80s in this book and the 50s and 60s are very sparse. The prices are also unreasonably high for the average collector. I was EXTREMELY disappointed with this book. But I do have to admit I did get a couple of giggles from some of the pitiful pictures.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall, a bit disappointing, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Vintage Clothing 1880-1980 (Paperback)

I have just started studying and researching vintage clothing. I did not find this book to be all that helpful. The value guide seems to be very high. Some of the pictures are interesting and the summaries at the beginning of the chapters are somewhat helpful, however, I feel there are better books available for research.