rare bird of fashion (and) pattern magic
ah, books. i love me some books! two recent additions to the ye olde bits and bobbins bookshelf…reviewed by me, for you!
rare bird of fashion: the irreverent iris apfel by eric boman: not too long ago, i was gushing about the release of a book about iris apfel, remember? i’m happy to announce that i finally have that hot haute tome in my hands, having ordered it from amazon.com last week. and it’s everything i’d hoped it would be, and more: this glossy and glamourous coffee table-sized hardback is filled with snapshots of iris wearing her clothes (these were not costumes, and ms. apfel is, by her own words, NOT just a collector of clothes, these are things she actually wore) coupled with a whole section about ms. apfel’s life and how her clothes figured into that life, and fabulous quotes interspersed with photographs of her ensembles. she was, and still is, even in her twilight years, joyous, thoughtful, intelligent, unafraid to push boundaries and express herself through her clothing! again, i am not one for “style icons” in the traditional sense, but ms. apfel, as i have said before in that aforementioned post, is a major exception to that rule o’ mine.
here’s a small peek inside the book, at some lovely ensembles that she has worn, and some terrific quotes from iris that strike a huge chord with me personally:
and on the subject of making fashion, in the most fundamental sense…
pattern magic by nakamichi tomoko: i read about this little gem on fashion incubator, a great blog about the ins and outs and secrets behind sustainable clothing and sewn product manufacture, and had to score a copy. it’s japanese, but the illustrations and diagrams in the book are rather clear, so much information and inspiration may be gained. i am flatly, gushingly in love with the garments shown as examples in this book…so sculptural, so dimensional. clothing made with this kind of eye transcends merely being a covering for the body and crosses over into the realm of wearable art, in the most sophisticated of senses. this little book will long hold a place of reverence among my patternmaking and draping books, if for nothing else besides reminding me of the possibilities inherent in the design and process of clothesmaking, my chosen art/craft in this lifetime.
a peek inside what makes this book so amazing:
April 25 2007 | Posted in book peeks, check this out!, culture-vulture, i bought this.
April 25 2007 at 11:23 am
Nancybeautiful! thank you for the reviews. i saw the Iris Apfel show at the Met and it was so wonderful and inspiring. our guide was a longtime friend of Ms. Apfel and told terrific personal anecdotes about her that made me love everything all the more!
April 25 2007 at 12:02 pm
pamela wynneAck! I’ve been drooling over the Iris Apfel book, and now I know it must be mine.
Thanks for the reviews!
April 25 2007 at 3:47 pm
CajsaOh, love the scans from Tomoko´s book, wow! Will try and get hold of it here in Sweden.
April 26 2007 at 10:34 am
cruststationI could play with the little charms on that necklace all day, it’s so much fun!
Love the look of ‘pattern magic’, the Japanese are so clever with the cutting and sculpting of their fabrics.
April 26 2007 at 12:57 pm
ambikaAdding to my wishlist right about now. These look marvelous. I love the shapes and volume in the pictures you chose, especially the tomoko book, which appears to be ALL about shape. Very cool–thanks so much for sharing these.
May 4 2007 at 4:07 pm
funnyfaceive been looking for the pattern magic book everywhere and i have no idea how to get it?
where did u get ur copy?
thanx
gr8t post
May 22 2007 at 1:22 am
SonyaI am very excited about the Rara Avis book, I saw the exhibit at the Costume Institute and was blown away.
September 18 2008 at 3:33 am
Pattern Magic. Must-have books for any sewing fashionista.[...] this would make a terrific Christmas present. Read book reviews by Sweet Sassafras and Bits+Bobbins. For some reason I could not find this on sale from Amazon, but I did find it from YesAsia.com. [...]
December 5 2008 at 5:00 pm
KarinI got vol.1 and 2 in the mail today… can’t decide what to make first, it’s all so wonderful, beautiful, inspiring. I want to make it all…
And I’ve got to start wearing dresses, there are so many great ideas for a fitted bodice. Ah. I’m glad I read a teeny little bit of Japanese, but the pictures are so clear that these books are useful for anyone with just a little knowledge about pattern-construction, no Japanese-knowledge neccessary, really. I just love them!