Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
- charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
I've come across a few books on Amazon and have a bit of Christmas money to spend. Does anyone own them or has seen them in book shops I don't want a dressmakers manual but a book with an appreciation of the costumes with illustrations and background no the designers. Here's some references
Dressed a Century of Hollywood costumes
Edith Head 400
Gilbert Adrian
I'm inclined towards the first one that runs to over 500 pages but an a fan of the other designers.
Dressed a Century of Hollywood costumes
Edith Head 400
Gilbert Adrian
I'm inclined towards the first one that runs to over 500 pages but an a fan of the other designers.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
- MissGoddess
- Posts: 5072
- Joined: April 17th, 2007, 10:01 am
- Contact:
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
If you can find it, actress Marsha Hunt put together a good one that gives you a nice overview of several costume designers she worked with over the course of her career:
The Way We Wore
I'd love to see a good one about Travis Banton and Jean Louis, my two favorites.
The Way We Wore
I'd love to see a good one about Travis Banton and Jean Louis, my two favorites.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
-- Will Rogers
- moira finnie
- Administrator
- Posts: 8024
- Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
- Location: Earth
- Contact:
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
Oh, that book by Marsha Hunt is the best! Part-autobiography, design history and overview of the period!
A very good and inexpensive guide that I have found stimulating and informative was
Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers (Dover Books) by Elizabeth Leese
Another good one is a well written overview written for design students (It is cheaper to buy this one used):
Who's Who in Fashion by Holly Price and Ann Stegemeyer
Two older books written about design by the same excellent writer were:
Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer by David Chierichetti
Hollywood Costume Design by David Chierichetti
A descendant of Irene (Irene Lentz, the designer who flourished in the '40s) has an interesting website devoted to this talented woman:
http://www.karlyns.com/irene-lentz-and-design/
More about Irene's designs are here:
http://www.irene-lentz.com/
I do not know of any particular book devoted to Jean-Louis, though the man deserves one!
Travis Banton was such a talented and complex guy as a painter, designer, and influence on so many others, it is surprising that there has not been a biography written about him. Here is a blurry (sorry) video featuring some of his best known designs. If you look on ebay, Banton's paintings show up occasionally for sale too.
[youtube][/youtube]
A very good and inexpensive guide that I have found stimulating and informative was
Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers (Dover Books) by Elizabeth Leese
Another good one is a well written overview written for design students (It is cheaper to buy this one used):
Who's Who in Fashion by Holly Price and Ann Stegemeyer
Two older books written about design by the same excellent writer were:
Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer by David Chierichetti
Hollywood Costume Design by David Chierichetti
A descendant of Irene (Irene Lentz, the designer who flourished in the '40s) has an interesting website devoted to this talented woman:
http://www.karlyns.com/irene-lentz-and-design/
More about Irene's designs are here:
http://www.irene-lentz.com/
I do not know of any particular book devoted to Jean-Louis, though the man deserves one!
Travis Banton was such a talented and complex guy as a painter, designer, and influence on so many others, it is surprising that there has not been a biography written about him. Here is a blurry (sorry) video featuring some of his best known designs. If you look on ebay, Banton's paintings show up occasionally for sale too.
[youtube][/youtube]
- Ann Harding
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: January 11th, 2008, 11:03 am
- Location: Paris
- Contact:
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
I confirm. I bought that book years ago in San Diego. It's a very good survey of all the Hollywood designers.moirafinnie wrote:A very good and inexpensive guide that I have found stimulating and informative was
Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers (Dover Books) by Elizabeth Leese
- charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
I got the Dressed book by Deborah Landis for Christimas, it's an impressive coffee table book, good for browsing, it includes all decades, I found even the recent pictures of interest, which is unusual for me. The book on Edith Head is very meaty, I'm looking forward to tucking into that.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
- moira finnie
- Administrator
- Posts: 8024
- Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
- Location: Earth
- Contact:
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
Here is a nifty article from the LA Times magazine on 14 influential gowns first seen in the movies:
http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/02/send-in-the-gowns.html
http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/02/send-in-the-gowns.html
- Sue Sue Applegate
- Administrator
- Posts: 3404
- Joined: April 14th, 2007, 8:47 pm
- Location: Texas
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
Great links and comments on this thread. I think I need to work on my all-time favorites of fashionistas.
Blog: http://suesueapplegate.wordpress.com/
Twitter:@suesueapplegate
TCM Message Boards: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/ ... ue-sue-ii/
Sue Sue : https://www.facebook.com/groups/611323215621862/
Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor
Twitter:@suesueapplegate
TCM Message Boards: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/ ... ue-sue-ii/
Sue Sue : https://www.facebook.com/groups/611323215621862/
Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor
- charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
I love that article on the gowns, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe being well represented. When it comes to the modern film costumes most of them leave me cold, apart from Moulin Rouge. I just love old time Hollywood glamour.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
- moira finnie
- Administrator
- Posts: 8024
- Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
- Location: Earth
- Contact:
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
I wasn't sure where to post this so here goes...
The worst fashion photo in the history of film? Maybe not, but publicity shots like this one may be among the reasons that the interesting June Vincent (Black Angel, Song of Idaho, Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard) never made it out of B pictures. No wonder she looks peevish.
Here's the text sent out with the picture, which features a good use of the word "stunning" and those "cozy slipper-socks" have gotta go:
"Informal Party Clothes for the Holiday Season:
An incentive for those who stay-at-home-and-like-it are these stunning outfits designed for informal parties during the holiday season. Universal's Miss Vincent shows a grey men's sport costume combining short slacks with matching jerkin. The wool jersey blouse is in a bright yellow and a red suede belt with silver chain ornamentation decorates the waistline. June's cozy slipper-socks are also in bright red with peasant embroidery trim."
The worst fashion photo in the history of film? Maybe not, but publicity shots like this one may be among the reasons that the interesting June Vincent (Black Angel, Song of Idaho, Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard) never made it out of B pictures. No wonder she looks peevish.
Here's the text sent out with the picture, which features a good use of the word "stunning" and those "cozy slipper-socks" have gotta go:
"Informal Party Clothes for the Holiday Season:
An incentive for those who stay-at-home-and-like-it are these stunning outfits designed for informal parties during the holiday season. Universal's Miss Vincent shows a grey men's sport costume combining short slacks with matching jerkin. The wool jersey blouse is in a bright yellow and a red suede belt with silver chain ornamentation decorates the waistline. June's cozy slipper-socks are also in bright red with peasant embroidery trim."
- charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: Can anyone recommend a book on Hollywood designers
Looks like the kind of ensemble that might get someone commited.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin