Priscilla's Picture Book Reviews

THIS FEATURE IS NOT MEANT TO BE FINAL; ADDITIONS ARE SOLICITED--PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT TESSY WITH NEW INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.

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• INTRODUCTION
• Movie Costume Design
• Movies in General
• Fashion Other Than Costume Design
• Dance
• Opera
• Wedding Dresses
• Royalty
• Photography
• Miscellaneous

INTRODUCTION

With the value of original pictures in mind, here is a list of books, most of them primarily as sources of pictures. Most don't have pictures of petticoats as such, and only some have petticoats peeking out, but all have at least several pictures of the silhouette that bouffant pettis give a skirt. In fact, I have given each of the books a conservative count of the number of good photos for Poufbunnies to enjoy. Most have some really excellent pictures for scanning. As I say, my counts are conservative, with lots of near-misses. I have usually excluded, for instance, pictures of even grand, full skirts unless they are clearly supported by big crinolines, and I have generally excluded anything not large or sharp enough to scan. I have also excluded pictures on dust jackets, since a used book may not have one. (I have not usually excluded pictures with cropping, busy backgrounds, or moderate obstructions by purses, flowers, dance partners, bystanders, etc., since I suspect most Poufbunnies find that acceptable, and the pictures could be edited by cutting or on a computer. This is the one respect in which a substantial number of the photos may not be up the standards of the petti-pictures at the Pond.) Nevertheless, these counts are personal, and everybody would have a different count (even I would no doubt get slightly different counts, if I made them again). These counts are naturally only a rough guide to the quality, but better than nothing. Incidentally, one or two of these books also come in small-format paperback form, with poorer-quality images; my ratings are for the large-format version(s). Many poufbunnies have some interests beyond just petticoats (for example, evening dresses in general), and, in most cases, these people will find a good deal to like beyond what the counts say. Certainly, a Poufbunny who sees one of these in a new- or used-book store should look inside.

I have also made picture counts by the same standard as for the below books of a few books in the current PettiBooks list as of March 25, 1998. This is for calibration; you can compare Tessy's evaluation of the photos with mine.

Movie Costume Design (All of these have at least passing mentions of petticoats in the text):

• Costume Design in the Movies Elizabeth Leese, Dover, 1991, [New York]. [7]

Derived from the catalog of an exhibition. Lists 157 costume designers with their movie credits, so if you like the designer in one movie, you can find out what else he or she did. The index lets you look up the designer by the movie. Also gives the Academy Awards for costume design through 1988. I know that there are other sources (Video Hound, for example), but not with beautiful pictures to give you an idea of their work.

• Fashion in Film Regine and Peter W. Engelmeier, Prestel-Verlag, 1997 [Munich and New York]. [14]

Mostly pictures, but useful essays and notes. Also derived from an exhibition.

• Hollywood and History: Costume Design in Film Edward Maeder, Thames and Hudson [London] and The Los Angeles Museum of Art [Los Angeles], 1987. [17]

This actually is an exhibition catalog, with running commentary, exhibition checklist, filmography, notes, and indices. In addition to the photographs, there are at least seven costume-design drawings or paintings of interest to Poufbunnies.

• Just Make Them Beautiful: The Many Worlds of a Designing Woman Helen Rose, Dennis-Landman Publishers, 1976 [Santa Monica, CA]. [7]

Helen Rose is heavily mentioned in each of the three above books as a major costume designer, and this is her autobiography.

• The Way We Wore: Styles of the 1930's and 1940's and Our World Since Then Marsha Hunt, Fallbrook Publishing, 1993 [Fallbrook, CA]. [6]

Marsha Hunt was an actress and model during the years covered, so she has a personal outlook on costume design. Most of the pictures are of her.

Movies in General (As with the previous category, these books can also be used to help identify good frou-frou movies):

• The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty-Four Roaring Years, John Douglas Eames, Crown Publishers, 1979 [New York]. [5] Not rare.

• All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!: A Pictorial History of the Movie Musical, John Springer, Citadel Press [New York]. [9] Not rare.
• Gone with the Wind: The Definitive Illustrated History of the Book, the
  Movie, and the Legend, Herb Bridges and Terryl C. Boodman, Simon and Schuster/Fireside, 1989 [New York]. [32]

Fashion Other Than Costume Design

• The Undercover Story, Fashion Institute of Technology, 1982 [New York] (No author or publisher given.) [11]

This is the catalog of an exhibition held in 1982-3 at F.I.T., and it's all about lingerie. This book also covers corsets, bras, etc., but there is lots of written material about petticoats, not just pictures. There are also a number of drawings of petticoats. The text is in English and Japanese, since this was a joint exhibition with two fashion museums in Japan. One problem with finding this book: There is no title, nor any words at all on the covers! The covers have lace details of a 19th-century dressing gown, which should alert a Poufbunny to look inside, but if only the spine is visible, all you can see is some buttons in low contrast. There is also a bibliography of underwear-related books. Definitely worth looking for!

• Changing Fashions, 1800-1970, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, The Brooklyn
  Museum, 1972 [New York]. [9]

• In Style: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Costume Institute, John Druesedow, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Fall, 1987 [New York]. [11]

• Couture: The Great Designers, Caroline Rennolds Milbank, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1985 [New York] [15]

Descriptions of the history and work of 61 major designers or fashion houses, lavishly illustrated. Most of the pictures are in color, and in a large format. Some drawings and paintings, too. Some mention of crinolines.

• Frederick's of Hollywood, 1947-1973: 26 Years of Mail Order Seduction Laura & Janusz Gottwald, Drake Publishers, 1973 [New York]. [14]

Dance  (Again, the first of these should be on your main list by any standard):

• Come Dancing, Frank and Peggy Spencer, A. S. Barnes & Co., 1969
  [Cranbury, NJ]. [18]

• The Dance: The Story of the Dance Told in Pictures and Text, John Martin, Tudor Publishing, 1946 [New York] [8]

• In Performance: A Companion to the Classics of the Dance, Nancy Reynolds and Susan Reimer-Torn, Harmony Books, 1980 [New York]. [8]

Opera (Not as good a category as dance, but well worth looking at in bookstores):

• Bubbles: A Self Portrait, Beverly Sills, Bobbs-Merrill, 1976 [Indianapolis/New York] [9] Not rare.

Wedding Dresses (All have short discussions of petticoats):  

• The Wedding Dress, Maria McBride-Mellinger, Random House, 1993 [New York]. [26]

• Dressing the Bride, Larry Goldman, Crown Publishers, 1993 [New York]. [13]

• The Classic Wedding Dress, Catherine Woram, Chartwell Books, 1993 [London]. [19]

Royalty:

• Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits, Roy Strong, Simon and Schuster, 1988 [New York]. [21]

• Princess, Robert Lacey, Times Books, 1982 [London]. [9]

Photography:

• Photographed by Bachrach: 150 Years of American Portraiture, Douglas Collins, Rizzoli, 1992 [New York] [4]

Miscellaneous:

• Miss America: The Dream Lives On, Angela Sautino Osborne, Taylor
  Publishing, 1995 [Dallas, TX]. [12]

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