Wearing Vintage [Hardcover]

Catherine Bardey (Author), Michael Cogliantry (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2002

What are the most fashion-forward men and women wearing these days? Classic clothing from every decade. From flapper dresses to flare-legs, the hottest, hippest clothing and accessories come from flea markets, vintage shops and Grandma's attic.

WEARING VINTAGE is the ultimate guide to finding, fixing and looking fabulous in vintage. Filled with ideas, examples and information about both men's and women's clothing and accessories-and featuring color photos on every page-it unlocks the endless possibilities of "vintage chic," and shows how everyone, from fashion mavens to starving college students, can look great in clothing from the past.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Catherine Bardey has been a stylist for Elle, New York and French Vogue. She has written for Glamour, Vanity Fair, Martha Stewart's Living and other magazines. Her previous books include Secrets of the Spas, Making Soaps & Scents, Making Candles & Potpourri and Lingerie, all available from Black Dog & Leventhal. She lives in New York City.

New York City photographer Michael Cogliantry has recently contributed to GQ Magazine, Virgin Atlantic, and Adobe. He is also an avid vintage clothing collector!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; 1st ed edition (May 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579122337
• ISBN-13: 978-1579122331
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The vintage equivalent of the Chic Simple books, November 9, 2003

By 

Amy Hilliard (VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wearing Vintage (Hardcover)

This book contains great photos of clothes, up close and in detail. The book is divided into clothes categories, rather than by era, but it gives some detail about 20th century fashion trends in each era for each clothing item. Although the author imparts bits of history, she does not do this as if the book were an introduction to fashion history. There is also some information and advice about wearing vintage pieces in general. The resource section is a nice bonus because it describes how to clean and care for items, as well as a glossary of terms, among other sections.

I think an assumption behind this book is that readers are not so much looking to wear all pieces from the same era like a costume, but rather they are looking to find unique pieces to wear, according to their own sense of style.

If you are searching to reproduce a specific era, I would seek another fashion book that was specifically written about that era. However, if you are interested in fashion in general and vintage in particular, this book is for you. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially someone who wants to find unique clothing and learn a little bit about 20th century clothes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Passionate Book, August 31, 2005

By 

Joseph Biskup (Sunnyvale, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wearing Vintage (Hardcover)

This is a very exciting read with a few annoying shortcomings. The book is laid out by clothing type (formalwear, swimwear, daywear, outerware, loungewear, accessories); however, some items are in several chapters (like jeans). Each chapter is divided into men's and women's sections but again, some clothing items are in several sections. Additionally it is almost impossible to follow clothing by fashion (20's, 30's, etc.) or by designer without literally flipping through the entire book. There is a very nice glossary, website index and footnote section in the back, but the index leaves much to be desired. My last complaint is that there are many clothing styles mentioned and described but there are no pictures to show me what these things really look like and exactly how they are different. For me this was especially frustrating in the outerwear section. As you probably can deduce, I am not a fashion design expert but that is why I bought this book.

Overall, I found this a very enjoyable book, despite the above frustrations; there are many excellent photographs and the text is pleasing to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Starter Book, November 5, 2005

By 

Tanya Lee (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wearing Vintage (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading "Wearing Vintage". I've been a fan of vintage clothing for a long time, but had never read up on it and didn't really have a sense of the history of the items. I'd just buy things that looked cool. Now I have a better idea of shat era things are from and how they would have been worn back then.

I really enjoyed the tips on getting out spots and stains from vintage fabrics. These will definitely come in handy!

I also liked how the book was organized by era and item and that it featured both men's and women's clothing and accesories. I'd have liked more photographs, but the ones that are in the book are fantastic.

This is a great starter book on vintage clothing. Five Stars!