Vogue: The Gown

Description

Illustrated with fabulous images from Vogue 's archive, Vogue: The Gown is the ultimate book for fashion lovers. In Vogue: The Gown , Jo Ellison has gathered more than 300 images and grouped them into five thematic chapters: Classical , Fantasy , Drama , Decorative and Modern . The book provides an evocative celebration of almost a century of fashion history, showcasing the work of photographers including Tim Walker , Nick Knight , David Bailey , Herb Ritts , Norman Parkinson , Corinne Day , Cecil Beaton and Horst . Something about a gown's intrinsic construction, unashamed opulence and sheer feminine romance ignites in us the promise of fairy-tale adventure and unparalleled glamour. The magical gowns featured here give full reign to those fantasies, be they the sublime yet simple classical creations of Madame Grés, the heavenly bodies sculpted by Azzedine Alaïa, the lean, seductive lines of a Deco-inspired silhouette or huge tulle poufs fit for a princess. Now available in a new format with a luxurious real cloth cover, at a more pocket-friendly price of £30, this is essential reading for fashionistas everywhere. Review: Not just the “usual” pictures - At the outset I should say I have the larger format of this book (that comes in the black cardboard case/box). So I can’t speak for the production of this book but assuming the content is the same I thought worth writing a review if people are unsure whether or not to buy. Vogue and its various iterations (US, UK, French etc) have many publications. This means if you like fashion, and have some of these other books, you’ll have seen repeats of the same “iconic” images in a lot of them already. What the strength (or perhaps to others a weakness) of this book is they haven’t just selected the famous pictures of famous dresses everyone has seen before in all the other books and online. Yes, this might mean some of the photos aren’t “the best”, but I wouldn’t say the photos are bad at all and for me it was nice to see photos by famous photographers I hadn’t seen before, and also see photos and illustrations by others that aren’t the biggest names. So I suppose it depends what you’re looking for - if you like the idea of seeing pictures you’ve never seen before then this book will probably appeal. And there are definitely quite a few more famous and well known photos in here too. If you’re looking for only the “greatest hits” then yes this may not be the book for you. To note the photo selection is from UK/British Vogue only. It’s nicely set out and each photo has good description setting out the date it appeared in the magazine (month and year), photographer, and a few lines of descriptive text that help you appreciate the photo more. My only gripe is I felt the categories were a bit blurred and not distinctive enough in application but it’s easy enough to ignore this and enjoy the images and history! Review: Beautiful book - This is one of Vogue’s excellent series and full of wonderful pictures, many of which I’d never seen before and quite a few I remember from when I started to buy Vogue in the late 1960’s, being a huge fan of Twiggy when I was 13. Great intro by ex-Vogue Editor, Alex Shulman, and beautifully written captions by the author, Jo Ellison, often naming the models and explaining the stories behind the fashion-shoots. Arrived quickly and in good condition, apart from slight finger-prints on the cover. Already have the glorious Vogue book, The Shoe, and next will be The Jewellery!