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My Favorite Things: Smithsonian Fashion

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Smithsonian Fashion book cover with a lady in royal dress

When I saw that DK Publishing had a new book out called Smithsonian Fashion, I knew that it was next on my list to read.

I’m an avid fan of project Runway, have loved dressing up since a child (I still own and collect vintage Sherman clip on earrings) and period movies fascinate me.

Pride and Prejudice, anyone?

My nickname Magpie didn’t just come from anywhere, old fashion jewelry and retro fashion has been a deep, true love of mine since I was little and tried on my first pair of clip on earrings along with my first pill box hat and veil.

Fashion is a must have coffee table book for everyone. You can’t help but pick it up and start looking at it, wondering what lies inside.

I posted this picture on my Instagram, commenting that I was taking a 20 minute self indulgence break to have a hot chocolate and read my new book.

That break ended up being an hour long.

top down shot of a cup of coffee beside a fashion book

The book is full of amazing drawings, photographs and stories about fashion throughout the ages and once you pick it up, you are going to have a hard time putting it down, just like my “20 minute” break to read it. Page after page of amazing costumes/creations throughout the era’s captivate you until you find yourself musing how you can have one created for you and how many times a year you could get away with wearing French fashion from the 1700’s, Halloween included.

Or perhaps that was just me.

screenshot of photo showing the details of French fashion

Not just the fashion from the bygone days, this book is right up to date with the lastest fashions such as boho chic, street style and more. Every important designer that you can think of is featured: Chanel, Dior and Westwood, to name a few of the many power designers that shaped and changed the face of design.

This book is a must have for those indulgent breaks you take, but I do warn you, it’s seriously impossible to put down.

 

Book: Hardcover | 251 x 302mm | 480 pages | ISBN 9780756698355 | 25 Sep 2012 | Dorling Kindersley

Tracing the evolution of fashion — from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today — Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style is a stunningly illustrated guide to more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of clothing.

Containing everything you need to know about changing fashion and style — from ancient Egyptian dress to Space Age Fashion and Grunge — and information on icons like Marie Antoinette, Clara Bow, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Alexander McQueen, Fashion catalogs the history of what people wear, revealing how Western fashion has been influenced by design from around the world and celebrating costume and haute couture.

Fashion will captivate anyone interested in style — whether it’s the fashion-mad teen in Tokyo, the wannabe designer in college, or the fashionista intrigued by the violent origins of the stiletto and the birth of bling.

For this book and more, visit DK Publishing.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

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