Textiles & Costume

Childhood Treasures: Quilts by and for Children

Published in cooperation with The International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

"Doll quilts are little gems -- microcosms of quilt history."

So writes author and quilt historian Merikay Waldvogel in Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts By and For Children. This lovely book showcases 100 doll quilts, made from 1830 through the 1950s. All are selected from Mary Campbell Ghormley's collection, possibly the largest private collection of doll quilts in the world, numbering more than 300 doll quilts.

All doll quilts tell a story that begs to be retold, says Waldvogel. She sets out to reveal these gems' hidden truths, looking for clues in each quilt's fabric, style, pattern, piecing, and stitching. This may be the first book to study doll quilts in this depth.

This informative book is for anyone interested in antiques, miniatures, quilts and needlecrafts, dolls, and decorative arts. These doll quilts have an irresistible charm, captured graphically in the book's rich color photography.

Each quilt in Childhood Treasures is documented with an informative caption. Other primary sources help put these quilts in their historical context, including:

Antique doll beds, on which many of the quilts are displayed

Vintage photos of girls and their dolls

Original quilt patterns from farm and home catalogs of the early 20th century
Textile company history

Magazine excerpts of quiltmaking endeavors

This book is a visual and historical treasure.

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort

Vintage aprons and modern designs are turning up in movies, magazine spreads, upscale shops, and hip retail venues like Anthropologie, whose trendy line of aprons is selling as fast as they can stock them. The Apron Book is an infectiously enthusiastic guide to aprons, old and new, that are suddenly everywhere.

Aprons take us back to our favorite placeome. Vintage aprons help us remember home and family the way they used to be, while bright and sassy contemporary aprons confirm that nesting is all the rage. Actress and trendsetter Julia Roberts has a closetful of vintage aprons. Celebrity custom-made apron auctions have become an annual event for several popular charities in the past few years.

The Apron Book provides full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from the author's collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the author's traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, and for special occasions.

Warm and inviting¿but like an apron quite practical!¿this book is a celebration of a great American icon and reminds us of what we loved about the people who wore them.

Russian Textiles: Printed Cloth for the Bazaars of Central Asia

Russian Textiles showcases the gorgeous printed-cotton textiles created and manufactured in Russia and exported to Central Asia from approximately 1860 to 1960. More than 175 spectacular patterns spanning a variety of periods and styles, from Art Nouveau florals to Soviet-era agitprop, are featured. The people in these Central Asian countries—including Uzbeks, Tadjiks, and Turkmen—incorporated the brightly patterned material into their clothing, particularly their robes, and in their household items.

Brief essays by the author and fellow textile experts describe the “social life” of the fabrics and the fascinating history of this merging of Russian, Western, and Central Asian aesthetic styles; Robert Kushner contributes a lively text on how an artist “sees” and is inspired by these designs. Complementing the pattern images are vintage photographs from the turn of the 20th century as well as beautifully detailed reproductions of the robes and other articles that were lined and embellished with these cloths.

This is a must-have book for the inspiration library of every artist; professional fashion, interior, and product designer; crafter; and anyone with a love of extraordinary visual design.

Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up)

Are you fashion forward? Do you love working with the public? Is it your dream you to own and run your own business? Then it might just be time for you to marry your fashion sense and your business sense with a retail clothing business. The Limited, Banana Republic, The Gap, Urban Outfitters. All of those wildly successful clothing megachains began as small, independent stores. If you're fashion savvy, a clothing store could be your ticket to the top. You don't need any technical know-how. In fact, if you hire right and learn how the market works, you don't even need prior retailing experience- just this step-by-step guide. It gives you the inside scoop, on starting your own retail clothing store, including:

• Typical start-up expenses for low-end and high-end businesses
• How to spot trends and take advantage of them before your competitors do
• The importance of location and how to find the best spot for your store
• How to find, hire, and train the best employees
• Common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid
• Valuable tips on saving money during the start-up process
• Ways to work more efficiently and effectively

Declare your independence from bosses who don't have the know-how or drive that you know you can bring to your work! Like thousands of others, you can be your own boss, decide your own fate, set your own course and succeed by your own wit and courage. If you have the desire to help others look their best in the right clothes, this is the book that will put you on the road to establishing your own clothing empire.

The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever

The time when "fashion" was defined by French designers whose clothes could be afforded only by elite has ended. Now designers take their cues from mainstream consumers and creativity is channeled more into mass-marketing clothes than into designing them. Indeed, one need look no further than the Gap to see proof of this. In The End of Fashion, Wall Street Journal, reporter Teri Agins astutely explores this seminal change, laying bare all aspects of the fashion industry from manufacturing, retailing, anmd licensing to image making and financing. Here as well are fascinating insider vignettes that show Donna Karan fighting with financiers,the rivalry between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and the commitment to haute conture that sent Isaac Mizrahi's business spiraling.

Designs by Erte: Fashion Drawings and Illustrations from Harper's Bazar

Contemporary Quilt Art: An Introduction and Guide

In the 1970s young artists "discovered" quilts and began experimenting with contemporary styles. Today quilt art is a staple of art exhibits nationwide. This handsomely illustrated introduction provides a useful guide to the contemporary art of quilting for quilters and collectors alike. The book illustrates the various styles of quilt art, introduces both established and emerging artists, and discusses aspects of their art as well as the process of quilt making. The reader will learn where to find the work of the best artists, and how to work directly with them when commissioning a quilt.

Kate Lenkowsky gives an overview of exhibition and marketing opportunities and lists art quilt organizations at the national, regional, and local levels. Collectors will find a guide to resources on the conservation of textiles and options for displaying quilts in the home and elsewhere. A wonderful gift for anyone interested in viewing and collecting contemporary American art quilts.

Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960

Are you a fabric collector, quilt collector, appraiser, or antiques collector who needs to know specifics about fabrics or quilts? Then this book is for you! It will help you identify, date, and recognize antique fabrics and their uses in quilts and clothing. Over 1,000 color fabric swatches are listed in this handy, easy-to-use reference guide. You'll be able to identify fabric dating from the pre-1830 era through the Second World War. Match your antique fabric by selecting a suspected time period and comparing colors and prints. REVIEW: There are many books out with beautiful color prints of quilts from various eras but until now we couldn't examine an extensive collection of fabrics. Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960 offers this opportunity by organizing hundreds of fabric swatches by period. For each period, Eileen Trestain gives us fascinating information about how textiles were made, dyes were used and prints created in the making of fabrics during that time period.

Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries

Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey