Textiles & Costume

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.

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 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.

Fabric Glossary (4th Edition)

The Fabric Glossary offers an illustrated fabric dictionary that includes scanned samples and a space for mounting actual swatches. Designed as a complement to the Fabric Reference, this book explores the characteristics of the multitude of fabrics we know by name. Fabrics are grouped in “Files” of like materials and over 600 names and terms are illustrated and/or explained. Topics include major fiber types, most kinds of yarns, all categories of weaves, knits and other constructions such as tufted, lace, felt, nonwoven, and stitchbonded. Also covered are effects of finishing, including examples related to dyeing, printing, and other applied design. Anyone involved with design of fabrics, apparel, or interiors; merchandising, including visual merchandising; staff-training; costuming, whether for theatrical productions or museum reproductions; textile conservators; and professional cleaners.

Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey

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.

Everyday Fashions of the Forties as Pictured in Sears Catalogs

Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West

Textiles in America 1650-1870

First published in 1984, Textiles in America 1650-1870 remains the definitive study of textiles as they were used in early American homes.

The book offers an overview of textiles in America, based on years of research, that is unmatched in scope. Imported textiles played a central role in the lives of American colonists. The most-imported commodity, and a highly valued one, textiles were used for bedding, bed curtains, clothing, household linens, window curtains, upholstery, and floor covering. This book illustrates samples from collections around the world, as well as drawings and engravings of the time. Its dictionary-style entries depict the myriad household uses for textiles in the period. Drawing on original documents, prints, paintings, commercial records, merchant papers, advertisements, and pattern books, Textiles in America 1650-1870 is a comprehensive resource and a treasure trove of scholarship. 117 color, 225 black-and-white illustrations.