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:
