Fashion Design

Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt

Make it yours. This inspirational guide with DIY attitude has everything you need to know about the world’s great T-shirt: how to cut it, sew it, deconstruct it, reconstruct it, and best of all, transform it. • Features more than 100 projects (plus 200 variations) for customized tees, tank tops, tube tops, T-skirts—even handbags, a patchwork blanket, iPod cozies, leg warmers, and more. • Not a DIY expert? Not to worry. More than one third of the projects are no sew, meaning anyone who can wield a pair of scissors can put a personal stamp on her wardrobe. But the sewing basics are here too: backstitch and whipstitch, gather and ruche, appliqué and drawstrings. • And the mission statement for Generation T: Ask not what your T-shirt can do for you; ask what you can do for your T-shirt. And then Do-It-Yourself!

The T-shirt is the centerpiece of a girl’s wardrobe. But even better, that same T-shirt is a blank canvas just waiting to express the personality and creativity of its owner. You can cut it, sew it, twist it and turn it. You can deconstruct it, you can reconstruct it. Recycle it, resuscitate it, refashion it, re-invent it. Make it punky, make it funky. In the hands of Megan Nicolay— who knows the DIY pride of accomplishment and the pleasure of making something chic and unique (and cheap)—the T-shirt is like fashion ore, as she shows how to turn any ordinary, preferably well-used T-shirt into a halter, a tank top, a peasant blouse, or, for a total transformation, into a T-skirt. Or a hat. Or leg-warmers, a drawstring purse, an iPod cozy. Even a patchwork T-blanket.

In 108 unexpected, easy-to-follow projects, this pied piper of DIY shows first how to tee off with the basic materials plus add-ons (ribbons, lace, safety pins) and techniques (stitching, hemming, gathering). Then come recipes: 13 projects for customizing a T-shirt (i.e., doing everything to it you possibly can and still be able to call it a T-shirt); 21 projects for tank tops (less shirt, more style); and 14 projects for tube tops and halters (even less shirt and more style).

There’s the Two-Tiered Peasant Skirt, the Bow-Tie Beanie, the Sweet Dreams pillow. Plus gauntlets, pot holders and tablecloths, pillows and braided rugs. Not a DIY expert? No problem. More than one third of the projects are “no sew,” so anyone who can wield a pair of scissors can put a personal stamp on her wardrobe.

Amy Butler's Midwest Modern: A Fresh Design Spirit for the Modern Lifestyle

A complete lifestyle book, encompassing fashion, interiors, and gardens

Attention, design and style mavens! There’s a lot more to America than just the east and west coasts. Today, innovative American design—in clothing, home decor, even gardening—is emerging from the Midwest. So lay your bicoastal biases aside, and let Amy Butler show you what’s happening in the heartland.

Helping her fans jumpstart their own creative spark is Butler’s fashion credo, and her approach has won her a huge following. Her “Mid Mod” philosophy—neither homespun nor haute couture—is as up to the minute as it is firmly rooted in Midwest tradition. Emphasizing simplicity and integrity of craft, Butler is passionate about recycling materials, reinventing vintage looks, and taking joy in the homemade. Her approach—drawing its inspiration from the natural world and the lives of real people—is organic in every sense of the word.

Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern brings the many aspects of its author’s vision into focus, from re-imagining the home as a retreat for relaxation and dreaming, to picturing the body as a canvas for creating one’s personal style, to looking to nature as a “sketchbook” for design ideas. Vibrantly illustrated, the book underscores design’s practical side, with information on budgeting money and time, a shopping resources list, and “how-to” projects in every chapter.

The Lucky Shopping Manual: Building and Improving Your Wardrobe Piece by Piece

What to wear, how to buy, where and when to spend: These are the topics covered each month by the exceedingly plugged-in staff of Lucky, whose circulation rocketed from 500,000 to 800,000 in just two short years. For Lucky's devoted fans, and anyone devoted to dressing better and shopping smarter, The Lucky Shopping Manual will be the über-find. Finally, there is a book that does away with the inconsequential information in previous fashion books and presents only the most useful tips and imperative information for how to dress better for less. Filled with tips that will appeal to shopaholics and disciplined bargain hunters alike, this enticing guide is packed with over 1,000 full-color photos and illustrations, with a ribbon marker and flexi-cover so women can take it shopping with them.

With great advice on every uniquely designed page, The Lucky Shopping Manual includes features such as:
* Building a wardrobe you love, with cross-referenced sections on everything from skirts, tops, dresses, pants, and suits, to shoes, bags, belts, and what looks best for your body type
* How to spot great finds at the local flea market or the best boutiques
* What to spend your money on and where you can scrimp
* Cool stores coast-to-coast to check out when you're traveling
* Practical tips for fabric care, shoe maintenance, and stain remedies
* Shipping just in time for the holidays, The Lucky Shopping Manual makes a luscious gift-a fantastic shopping spree under the tree.

Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

Dressing the Man is the definitive guide to what men need to know in order to dress well and look stylish without becoming fashion victims.

Alan Flusser's name is synonymous with taste and style. With his new book, he combines his encyclopedic knowledge of men's clothes with his signature wit and elegance to address the fundamental paradox of modern men's fashion: Why, after men today have spent more money on clothes than in any other period of history, are there fewer well-dressed men than at any time ever before?

According to Flusser, dressing well is not all that difficult, the real challenge lies in being able to acquire the right personalized instruction. Dressing well pivots on two pillars -- proportion and color. Flusser believes that "Permanent Fashionability," both his promise and goal for the reader, starts by being accountable to a personal set of physical trademarks and not to any kind of random, seasonally served-up collection of fashion flashes.

Unlike fashion, which is obliged to change each season, the face's shape, the neck's height, the shoulder's width, the arm's length, the torso's structure, and the foot's size remain fairly constant over time. Once a man learns how to adapt the fundamentals of permanent fashion to his physique and complexion, he's halfway home.

Taking the reader through each major clothing classification step-by-step, this user-friendly guide helps you apply your own specifics to a series of dressing options, from business casual and formalwear to pattern-on-pattern coordination, or how to choose the most flattering clothing silhouette for your body type and shirt collar for your face.

A man's physical traits represent his individual road map, and the quickest route toward forging an enduring style of dress is through exposure to the legendary practitioners of this rare masculine art. Flusser has assembled the largest andmost diverse collection of stylishly mantled men ever found in one book. Many never-before-seen vintage photographs from the era of Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, and Fred Astaire are employed to help illustrate the range and diversity of authentic men's fashion. Dressing the Man's sheer magnitude of options will enable the reader to expand both the grammar and verbiage of his permanent-fashion vocabulary.

For those men hoping to find sartorial fulfillment somewhere down the road, tethering their journey to the mind-set of permanent fashion will deliver them earlier rather than later in life.

The Pocket Stylist: Behind-the-Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look

A celebrity fashion stylist reveals the tricks of her trade and shows women of all sizes how to pull together their own polished, individual look.

Whether sheÂ’s petite, average, or plus size, every woman has experienced the frustration of searching for flattering clothes. In The Pocket Stylist every reader can have a consultation with her own personal stylist and use the authorÂ’s behind-the-scenes wardrobe wisdom:
- Taking her true measurements—from eight different body zones—to ensure an attractive fit based on the reader’s unique silhouette and the proportions that will flatter it best
- Why ready-to-wear isnÂ’t, and how and when to use a tailor for a custom fit
- The best fabrics for your unique silhouette
- How to balance trends with the classic, indispensable pieces that are the backbone of any well-conceived wardrobe
- What “closet archaeology” can unearth and reveal about your wardrobe needs
- Why the right lingerie makes a critical difference in the fit of your clothes
- Tips from other experts on the beauty principles that ground your everyday look— Bobbi Brown and Sonja Kashuk for makeup and Kevin Mancuso for hair—offer backstage access
- Accessories that give an outfit an individual look and that no versatile wardrobe should be without

Best of all, The Pocket Stylist features specifically edited shopping lists for various body types. Four “styled” looks for each silhouette—from jeans-casual to cocktails—illustrate ideal proportion and fit. The reader becomes Kendall Farr’s client and will learn to shop and dress herself like a pro. The Pocket Stylist delivers the behind the camera expertise of a veteran stylist in one purse-size indispensable guide.

Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body

The 8 million fans of TLC’s hottest show, What Not to Wear, know it as the place to go for real-life fashion advice. Now the show’s hosts, Clinton Kelly and Stacy London, offer spot-on fashion wisdom—with an attitude—in this fully illustrated, authoritative, and irreverent fashion guide to dressing your best for every occasion. Clinton and Stacy’s surefire method for boosting appearance rests on their belief that we can all win admiring glances by selecting clothes that play up our positives and create a balanced body shape. In Dress Your Best, Clinton and Stacy match a wide range of female and male body types with the perfect work, casual, and evening attire, showing you exactly how to make your best parts “work” for you.

Dressing tips for 26 body types!
Features 18 women and 8 men: bigger on top, bigger on bottom, a little extra in the middle, not curvy, extra curvy, small-framed, athletic, and more!

Whether you’re searching for a way to accentuate your assets, puzzling over the right print pattern for your frame, or just looking for a solution to the dilemma “What do I need to wear to look fabulous?” you’ll find here the universal tips, dos and don’ts, seasonal alternatives, and must-haves that will deliver the answers. Dress Your Best is certain to become the standard by which all other fashion guides are measured.

The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider's Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business

Tony Duquette

American artist and design legend Tony Duquette (1914–1999) was known for his over-the-top style in interiors, jewelry, costumes, and set design. His clients included Elizabeth Arden, the Duchess of Windsor, and Herb Albert.

The multi-talented Duquette designed sets for MGM musicals with Arthur Freed and Vincente Minnelli, and designed Tony Award–winning costumes for the original Broadway production of “Camelot.” Duquette was the first American to exhibit a one-man show at the Louvre in Paris.

Tony Duquette is a lavishly illustrated book with many lost and never-before published photographs from the Duquette archives, including portraits and pictures taken by Man Ray, John Engstead, Fredrich Dapriche, Andre Ostier, George Platt Lynnes, as well as original sketches, designs, and texts by Duquette himself. With commentary, interviews, stories, and contributions from Liza Minnelli, Arlene Dahl, Steven Meisel, Bruce Weber, and others.

Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You

Glamorous eccentrics are irresistible people. They are irreverent, occasionally impertinent, a tad mysterious, charming, often self-invented, good at applying eyeliner, and above all nonconformist. They are a fabulous confection of style, self-empowerment, and black patent sling backs. Everyone wants to be one, but how? Ubiquitous style guru Simon Doonan has the answer.

By no means a typical how-to manual, Eccentric Glamour is a mixture of cultural commentary and personal disclosure, generously seasoned with gushings of wildly dictatorial, provocative, and reckless style advice. Through cautionary tales and inspirational examples, Doonan shows how to develop your own brand of eccentric glamour -- by magnifying everything that is already unique and idiosyncratic about you.

In these comic essays, interspersed with one-on-one interviews with some of the world's most glamorous eccentrics (including Iman, Lucy Liu, Tilda Swinton, Malcolm Gladwell, and many more), Simon Doonan offers the women of America an alternative to the cheapness and tackiness that currently pass for personal style. Eccentric Glamour is intended as an antidote to the epidemic of slutty dressing and porno-chic that has taken over since the arrival of Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith (may she rest in peace). While the typical TV boobs 'n' Botox makeovers force every woman to look the same, the transformations this book strives to inspire are the very opposite. Dressing like a ho is not just bad taste but boring! In Simon Doonan's book, conformity is the only crime and dressing down the only faux pas.

Eccentric Glamour is every woman's birthright. SO SAY NO TO HO!...and yes to ECCENTRIC GLAMOUR!

Couture Sewing Techniques

Sewers who have ever longed to create clothing with the distinctive look of haute couture will love this book. They'll learn the finer points of hand sewing, shaping, and finishing for a high-end, professional look. This book is for all sewing enthusiasts who appreciate fine workmanship.