The distinctive style of the Regency period is a source of endless fascination for fashion academics and historians, living historians, re-enactors and costume designers for stage and screen.Author and fashion historian Cassidy Percoco has delved into little-known museum hoards to create a stunning collection of 26 garments, many with clear provenance tied to a specific location, which have never before been published and never – or very rarely – displayed. Most of the garments have...

Barbara Hulanicki tells the story of the rise and fall of the tiny, energetic boutique that grew into a vast emporium and epitomised Swinging London. The Biba store became an icon of hip 1960s and 1970s London and a hangout for artists, film stars and musicians, including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and Marianne Faithfull. But in the early 1970s Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon lost control after a series of bitter boardroom struggles and for Barbar...

Traditional tailoring is a fascinating craft, which has not changed for many centuries, however, the techniques are now known only by a few practising in the best couture ateliers and bespoke tailor's workrooms. Nothing feels quite so luxurious or sophisticated as bespoke clothes, but the tailoring skills they require are often seen to be shrouded in mystery and the clothes therefore only accessible to the rich and famous. This practical book reveals the trade secrets of couture tailoring ...

No matter how often you hear that you look great or that you’re luckier than others, it’s still impossible to avoid the ever-present pressure to be skinny like a model on a billboard. Advertising everywhere focuses on an unrealistic ideal, an image of a woman who looks incredible in every piece of clothing she wears.Of course, that image is almost entirely impossible. Most women in ads these days are airbrushed, slimmed down with Photoshop, and would be unrecognizable if you saw th...

Calling all fabulous fashionistas! This book is the ultimate fashion drawing master class. Learn how to draw 18 gorgeous outfits inspired by a variety of trends, from wild and sassy animal prints to soft and romantic classics and chic sports luxe.Designs include:• 1920s flapper dress• Gym glam• Leopard-print kaftan• Statement skinniesSimple steps make the drawings easy to achieve and each chapter gives you advice on the top accessories you need t...

They say first impressions last a lifetime. But even if it’s not that long, they still matter. Your appearance is the first thing people notice and the thing they remember about you. It may not always be fair, but you are judged based on the way you look – we all are. So it makes sense that the clothes you wear ultimately say something about you.If you want to be seen in a good light from the minute someone lays eyes on you, you have to be mindful of the way you carry yourself; tha...

Paul Poiret’s autobiography tells the extraordinary story of

Bias-cut Dressmaking is the best easy-to-follow guide to bias-cut clothes. It provides step-by-step instructions and diagrams for making over 40 items of clothing that are cut on the bias. The bias-cut technique is used by designers for cutting clothing to utilize the greater stretch in the bias or diagonal direction of the fabric. This allows the fabric to accentuate body lines and curves and drape softly. Bias-cut garments were an important feature of the designs of Madeleine Vi...

A guide to figurative stitching with the sewing machine – using the thread and needle almost as a pencil. A look that is growing in popularity, figurative stitch work needs some guidance and a leading exponent of the style reveals the basics but also how to expand your repertoire to really showcase your creativity.The book covers: How to set up your machine; How to tackle drawing (with exercises that will help even those who are afraid to put pen to paper); Transferring drawing to ...

Most consumers of luxury products and services use them as status symbols – symbols of success. However, the definition of success – and the way it is perceived by others – is changing. Increasingly, consumers want the brands they use to address growing concerns that luxury products invariably come at a heavy social and environmental cost. The luxury industry faces its biggest challenge yet in satisfying an emerging demand of successful consumerism – products that meet high environmental, ...

Learn how to draw stylish looks with step-by-step guidance from a top New York designer and teacher.Drawing is vitally important for the fashion industry. Now, leading fashion designer and illustrator Anna Kiper contributes to the revival of this unique art form with Fashion Illustration. Every illustration lesson included presents a story with exciting design details and ideas to inspire designers to rediscover the art of hand drawing as a tool for creatin...

This book is about people who worked in the rag trade in the nineteenth century – dressmakers and milliners, tailors, two shoemakers, a framework knitter, a family of corset manufacturers and a lace maker. It deals with the trades and their products, but also with the day-to-day lives of the protagonists, both at work and at home. Working people have always made up the majority of the population and their biographies can be just as complex and interesting as those of the rich and famous. F...