In an Influential Fashion: An Encyclopedia of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Fashion Designers and Retailers Who Transformed Dress

Book Description

In an Influential Fashion profiles 164 fashion designers and retailers from many countries who have had the most impact on American dress and culture from the late 19th century to the year 2000. Each entry introduces a fashion personality or retailer whose influence on the industry reflected societal, political, and/or economic change. The commercial side of fashion, neglected in most fashion encyclopedias, is explored here, with details of licensing agreements and marketing innovations not easily found elsewhere. Students and professionals in fashion design, retailing, costume research, and social history will all find this book a valuable addition to their libraries. Each entry includes the birth and death dates of designers, their education and training, career highlights and accomplishments, and awards they have won. The entry describes the designer or retailer's signature styles, with a keen emphasis on the designer's contributions to American fashion design and culture. As appropriate, the entry summarizes any licensing agreements and influential marketing innovations. Web sites, lists of museums and fashion design schools, and numerous appendices make In an Influential Fashion a complete resource on American fashion history for the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2006-09-04

This book reads like an extended high school term paper. Some of the biographies could qualify for an entry to the wikipedia- others barely merit an entry in a bibliography...for a high school term paper. The illustrations are inked by the same undistinctive hand- which is rather sad and occasionally pathetic. The absence of context- the absence of variety, the absence of flavor all make for a very dull and uniforming "encyclopedia" indeed. I shudder to think of the school papers that will be written using this book as source material.
Are the authors and editors that worked on this project so uninspired by this field?

Will delight collections solid in fashion history and design.......2002-08-06

In An Influential Fashion isn't for your casual home or art library collection, but will delight collections solid in fashion history and design. Over a hundred sixty fashion designers and retailers from many countries are profiled in entries that cover the personality's lasting influence on the industry. Commercial fashion, licensing agreements, and marketing are all explored in an exciting survey.

In an Influential Fashion: An Encyclopedia of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Fashion Designers and Retailers Who Transformed Dress

Average customer rating:

In an Influential Fashion: An Encyclopedia of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Fashion Designers and Retailers Who Transformed Dress
Ann T.; Peterson, Amy T.; Bay, Stefani; Swindell, Natalie Kellogg
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Designers | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OTJ7IS

Book Description

This book identifies 101 dressing mistakes men often make that can negatively affect their careers. Includes errors such as looking too casual.

Customer Reviews:

Still wading through, but it doesn't look good!.......2005-01-26

I initially gave this book the above 2 stars when I was still thinking I would finish reading it. I believed that there might be something good to be found here if I pressed on. Was I wrong. Needs a much lower rating that 1 star but can't give it or change it. The subtitle reads "101 mistakes you can't afford to make..." If it were about writing, the author breaks all 101 and then looks for some more to trample on.

The chief premise of Ms. Nicholson, is that your coloration plays the important roll in what will look good on you. OK. Sounds valid enough. However, when the author gives example of skin tone by "name dropping" famous people (10-15 per type) as having such and such a color type, we have just crossed the line to ludicrous. These may in fact be people the author has worked with, "name dropping", trying to impress or prove qualifications, perhaps not. However the examples given, presumably as an instructional guide, are a mish-mosh of famous people of different races all lumped into the same class of color characteristic or "clarity" as the author puts it. Aside from the fact that it is hard to imagine 3 people of origins african, european, and mediteranian having the same color type, the way it is presented is absurd.
Color type defined in the Author's own words:

You are "contrast color type" if your hair color is brown to black. (so far so good) "your skin tone ranges from clear ivory, clear camel, and clear olive to dark brown. "
The author then goes on and gives examples of people of this type. "Robert De Niro, Colin Powell, Ben Affleck, and Elvis."
Isn't that helpfull? Wait, it gets better.

You are a "Light- Bright color type" if "your natural hair color is golden blond to black, (but not red)." Examples of these include "Tiger Woods, Tom Brokaw, Pete Sampras, and Ricky Martin"

You are a "Gentle color type" if you resemble "Peter Jennings, Kobe Bryant, Matt Damon or Robin Williams." "Your natural hair color is blond to black and includes some redheads."

You are a "Muted color type" if you can compare yourself with "Micheal Jordan, JFK, or Elton John." "Natural hair color ranges from blonde to black and includes some red heads."

Wasn't that helpful? If not, the author suggests you hold up colors to your face in a mirror and the ones that look good are your colors and will define your type. That is the extent the author takes to explain and demonstrate her primary premise of the book. If you find this helpful and can now determine your own color type by this alone, (you will get no more) then by all means, get the book. However for the rest of you, it only gets worse.

The book is disorganized, and often times non-sensical. For some apparent reason, she feels that simply stating a point is not enough; it must be made stronger by increasing or decreasing the font size or adding or subtracting bold to increase her meaning. Great. Once, maybe twice. However, on one page alone I count different 5 instances. The text is full of the "technique". Comes off as annoying and amaturish.

Even with bad books, I tend to finish them, giving the author the benefit of the doubt and trying to see their point. I gave up 1/3 way through here with no regrets. Pure drivel, badly formated. Dis-organized and dis-jointed with little or no foundation or substantiation.

The author tries to pass herself off as an expert and says she gets paid to help famous and powerful people get the right look. They seems to have money to waste.

Since Amazon does not show it, her back cover photo can be described as this:
Head shot with companion in background. Presumably a candid photo. (in limo?) Dyed black hair with pasty "gothic" syle makeup. Face overly illuminated by the camera flash, partially (and perhaps mercifully) obscured by black fur of some sort. (my personal view would be to keep from being identified for the crime of authoring this book in a police lineup.) Photo is in fact, so vaugue that it is hard to determine what you are initially looking at. Much like the text. If that is the look she selects for herself for her book cover, can her advice for you be any better? Save your money. There are far better offerings out there.

awesome advice.......2004-01-14

I have read several other books on clothing and this is one of the best. Unequivocally a keeper. I always wondered why some clothes looked outstanding on me and others made me look like I just got hit by a truck. I have the answer now and will be sure to fill my closet with clothes that flatter my skincolor and tone. Also good advice on classic clothes. Read it a few times and practice! Good Luck

Book Description

What in contemporary cinema is a horror film and what is a science fiction movie? Blade Runner (1982) is as much film noir as science fiction, and it is a literary adaptation. The latest remake of The Mummy (1999) is more an effects fantasy or action/adventure than straightforward horror. Whatever your viewpoint, the best of these movies have generated cults and imitations and the worst have a wonderfully perverse appeal all of their own.
This new volume in the Sight and Sound readers series provides a varied and diverse overview of trends that have shaped sci-fi/horror in the last decade. It explores how recent films like The Fight Club and The Truman Show have impinged on more traditional territory and have tested the limits of conventional understandings of these most central of genres.
The book engages with a host of topics that have emerged over the last decade: vampire movies, body horror, the nuclear threat, childhood terror, artificial worlds, and postmodern horror. It includes fresh looks at classics such as Rosemary's Baby, Psycho, Halloween, Nosferatu, and Blade Runner, as well as 90s highlights the Scream series, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Strange Days Existenz, and Cube.

Customer Reviews:

Essential reading for any film buff........2002-06-10

If you can't afford or simply can't find issues of the excellent British film magazine, SIGHT AND SOUND, then this book is for you. It is essentially a compliation of reviews, articles and interviews from the magazine with the focus on science fiction and predominantly horror films.

Assembled and edited (with the occasional review written) by Kim Newman, this book is a fantastic overview of these two genres in the past decade. He traces the rise and fall of the teenage postmodern horror film (i.e. SCREAM) and even devotes a chapter to Kubrick's influence on the science fiction and horror genre.

Whether I agree or disagree with the views expressed in the book, I was always impressed by the quality of writing. S&S only publishes the best writers and shows why the British film magazines are so much better than their fluffy US equivalents (i.e. PREMIERE).

If you like substantial, thoughtprovoking film criticism, this is the book to buy.

Average customer rating:

this is how books ought to be written

Real words for real people

Read this to your kids? You've gotta be kidding me.

Lou Reed - Linger On

Contains Some Of The Best Lyrics Ever Written!

PASS THRU FIRE: THE COLLECTED LYRICS
Lou Reed
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Rock | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Songwriting | Theory, Composition & Performance | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side: The Stories Behind the Songs

Transformer

Set the Twilight Reeling

The Bells

Lou Reed's New York

ASIN: 0786887281

Book Description

As the songwriter who brought plainspoken realism to rock and roll (New York Times), Lou Reed has long been considered a keen-eyed observer of the social scene. This definitive collection includes lyrics to Lous earliest work and to his most recent recording. Its brilliantly innovative interior design has brought it praise and awards.

Customer Reviews:

this is how books ought to be written.......2004-04-28

You could be totally illerate and still be able to read this book. The words are actually printed with emotion. Some, like tears, puddle down the page. Others weave in and out of strength and weakness- it is absolutely stunning.
I am not a huge Lou Reed fan or anything but everyone should look inside this book simply for the sake of experiencing how extraordinarily it was designed and strung together. The poetry moves, it is evident and incredibly intense.

Real words for real people.......2001-05-26

Lou Reeds lyrics are some of the most important and greatest in rock history. The poet for the real man, lou reed wrote for himself and nobody else.

Read this to your kids? You've gotta be kidding me........2001-04-25

I think Lou Reed is (or at least was) a terrific songwriter. I even think he is a pretty good lyricist. But honestly, when will people realize that rock lyrics only very rarely qualify as poetic? This stuff is absolutely horrid on the printed page! What made the Velvets great was the menace of their sound, not Reed's pretentious dreck. Yeah, so he studied under Schwartz, therefore he's a poet. The power of rock music lies in the raw power of the music, not its lyrics. As Nietzsche would see it, it's the Dionysian vigor of music that makes it great, not stupid lyrics saying how great speed is. Lou Reed's a great rock star, but a lousy poet.

Read this to your children? Are you kidding me? Do you want them to grow up to be self-hating, smack-shooting "street poets," or worse -- pretentious hipster narcissists? They'll hate you for it someday.

-MD

"The poet should not try to be admired as a poet." -Hegel on music

Lou Reed - Linger On.......2000-10-27

I have to admit that I loved the book. It provides, in one place, lyrics from I assume all Lou's albums going back to his earliest work with the Velvet Underground(and some previously uncollected poems and songs).

Lou Reed has recorded almost 30 albums since the mid-60s. Albums and songs that have changed lives and the course of both rock and roll. Delmore Schwartz and Andy Warhol might have changed Lou's life, but he has had an impact on countless numbers of songwriters and bands and ordinary everyday people, who lead the kinds of lives that he has at times railed against and rejected (and then written about). Much has been written about Lou's frostiness. It is very difficult not knowing the context to be able to comment, but it is not necessary to like him as a person to like his music or appreciate his writing.

It was joy (this made be a strange term to use considering the sometimes chilling content of the lyrics) to be able to thumb through and locate a particular song lyric. Reading the lyrics I felt the rhythm of the words and heard the music in m head. I was particularly pleased that his early work with Velvet Underground was included. These "short stories" still resonate today 30 odd years on.

The only bone I have to pick is the formatting/layout, which in places I initially thought was as a result of poor printing. Lets just say someone must have received an early Christmas present and taken psychedelic liberties with the printed word by means including stretching and bubbling etc. But this is really a small price to pay to have this work collected in one portable volume (anyone who doesn't want their copy let me know especially if it's a first edition hard-cover).

Contains Some Of The Best Lyrics Ever Written!.......2000-05-08

Lou Reed is an incredible songwriter. His style is unlike any other. One of the best things about Lou Reed's music is his lyrics. Reed's lyrics are really brilliant. This book shows that. Pass Thru Fire is something fans of Lou and The Velvets should own. It contains almost all of the songs Lou has ever written from The Velvet Underground & Nico, to his latest masterpiece, Ecstasy. I am very happy that it contains his lyrics from his days with the Velvets, which is when he wrote some of his best lyrics. This book even contains some very rare songs, including the early versions of Sweet Jane and New Age, and little known songs such as Temptation Inside Your Heart and Ferryboat Bill. Also, having the lyrics printed in the strange ways that they are just adds to the experience of reading it. I think the book would be a little boring without that. Anyways, all fans of Lou should own this book.

Average customer rating:

Pass Thru Fire
Lou Reed
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Pass Thru Fire. The Collected Lyrics
Lou Reed
Manufacturer: Hyperion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Step-by-step instructions for carving and painting 17 realistic decoys: brook trout, large-mouth bass, yellow perch, lake sturgeon, muskellunge, coho salmon, more. Profile, top-view and front-view patterns provided. All shown in full-color photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Carving Traditional Fish Decoys.......2007-01-15

The book was O.K., but not what I was looking for. Thought it would give some details on painting the finished project. It would have been better if I could preview, before purchasing.

Practical Guide for Beginning Fish Carvers.......2000-09-27

One must start this review by explaining that fish decoys were used by spear-fishermen, usually under ice, when that sort of fishing was legal.

Today the old lures are collectible and good examples are quite expensive, and occasionally forged and artificially aged.

Anthony Hillman's guide will get you started in the wood-carving game. Fish decoys, because of their size, represent a much easier starting point than the ever-popular duck and goose decoys, but by following Hillman's guidelines, the carver will develop the sort of skill and confidence he or she needs to handle larger projects.

The author provides a concise introduction to the subject, including choice of wood, and the many pages of diagrams of various kinds of fish should prove helpful.

Color charts to help carvers paint their fish would have been useful, but would obviously push up the cost of the book, and this sort of information can be readily obtained from other sources.

It's worth noting that the traditional decoy carvers quite often painted their fish in fanciful colors and patterns that resemble no fish that ever lived. Some of them may even have worked.

Average customer rating:

The ultimate resposibility of advertising IS PR

Makes one point over and over, but it's a good point

Interesting, but left me wanting more

insight into using public relations

Useful message but simplistic, wordy analysis

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR
Al Ries , and Laura Ries
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Industrial | Marketing | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Product Management | Marketing | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Public Relations | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition

The Origin of Brands: How Product Evolution Creates Endless Possibilities for New Brands

Marketing Warfare: 20th Anniversary Edition

Full Frontal PR: Building Buzz About Your Business, Your Product, or You

ASIN: 0060081996
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Amazon.com

In The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, longtime marketing strategist Al Ries and his daughter/business partner Laura Ries offer solid arguments championing the latter over the former for modern-day brand building. Such a stance is hardly new for these two, who have jointly, individually, and with others written eight previous books on related topics since Al penned The Positioning Era Cometh for Advertising Age some three decades ago. What's fresh this time is the dissection of contemporary corporate hits--like Starbucks, Botox, eBay, and even Harry Potter--that have eschewed traditional advertising and nevertheless soared to the top through the savvy use of public relations. The authors spend the first part of the book discussing how advertising lost credibility among consumers as it became more of a creative art than a sales tool, and the second part showing how PR subsequently supplanted it in effectiveness. Using the above examples and others, they explain how such practices can work in various situations (building a new brand, rebuilding an old one, dealing with line extensions, etc.), as well as ways advertising can still be usefully employed (primarily to maintain a brand and "keep it on course"). The result is both provocative and practical. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

World–renowned marketing strategists and bestselling authors Al and Laura Ries usher in 'The Public Relations Era', dramatising the fall of advertising and subsequent rise of PR.

Publicity first, advertising second: this is the provocative message that marketing gurus Al and Laura Ries deliver with The Fall of Advertising. The bestselling authors of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding are back, this time revealing a startling and crucial development in marketing, the shift from advertising–oriented marketing to PR–oriented marketing. Today's brands are born with publicity, not advertising. A closer look at the history of many major brands shows this to be true. In fact an astonishing number of brands, including The Body Shop, Starbucks, Wal–Mart, Beanie Babies, Oracle and Yahoo!, have been built with virtually no advertising. With case histories and a step–by–step plan for creating buzz in the PR era, The Fall of Advertising shows readers how to:

Give up the cherished big–bang approach in favour of a slow build–up;

Create a category;

Use PR to communicate a brand's credentials;

Select the perfect spokesperson;

Roll out a program;

Develop a healthy relationship with the media.

Bold and accessible, The Fall of Advertising tells how and why publicity will assume the major role in product launches, with advertising solidifying brands rather than creating them. This will be the essential primer on brand–building in the public relations era.

Download Description

Bestselling authors and world-renowned marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries usher in the new era of public relations. Today's major brands are born with publicity, not advertising. A closer look at the history of the most successful modern brands shows this to be true. In fact, an astonishing number of brands, including Palm, Starbucks, the Body Shop, Wal-Mart, Red Bull and Zara have been built with virtually no advertising. Using in-depth case histories of successful PR campaigns coupled with those of unsuccessful advertising campaigns, The Fall of Advertising provides valuable ideas for marketers - all the while demonstrating why *advertising lacks credibility, the crucial ingredient in brand building, and how only PR can supply that credibility; *the big bang approach advocated by advertising people should be abandoned in favor of a slow build-up by PR; *advertising should only be used to maintain brands once they have been established through publicity. Bold and accessible, The Fall of Advertising is bound to turn the world of marketing upside down. Al Ries is one of the world's best-known marketing strategists. He is also the bestselling coauthor of Positioning and along with his partner and daughter, Laura Ries, of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Their Atlanta consulting firm, Ries & Ries, works with many Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit www.ries.com."

Customer Reviews:

The ultimate resposibility of advertising IS PR.......2007-01-04

In the surmountable aspect of Public Relation, no other device is poorly used, yet has the potential for greatness than Advertising. Advertising is, in all points of fairness, an extenstion of Public Relation... a broad yet clear message of what the company is, what the company sells, and what the company can offer you.

For these schmucks to ever think that advertising is not an extension of PR, or to think that it is not useful and "dead", shows how much they actually know about the business of Marketing. Advertising is a model vehicle for brand recognition, brand strength, and brand longetivity.

Any "advice" in this book is ultimately a reflection of their own personal greed... of course they want you to think advertising is dead and that PR is king.. because they are in the PR business.

Do not buy this book... it will be a waste of your valuable time, and it will ultimately doom you to failure.

Makes one point over and over, but it's a good point.......2006-10-18

Al and Laura Ries, iconoclasts of the advertising industry, really have only one point here -- advertising is inherently not credible because it emanates from the source of the product or service, while "PR," their term for placements in the media, is inherently credible because it comes from a disinterested third party. As a public relations practitioner, I think their point is a generally valid one, and I find it truly astonishing that businesses spent 58 times as much on advertising than on PR in a recent year. It's also interesting to note that many successful brands (Starbucks is the best example) were built by editorial buzz, not by advertising.

This book is, however, incredibly repetitious and about a third of it could have been axed without leaving out any important points. Also, the authors show little economic sophistication. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's very unlikely that the dot-com collapse a few years ago can be traced to the fact that the dot-com companies used advertising rather than PR. A company without a viable product or service and without a valid business plan would not have made it regardless of the marketing strategy.

The authors say that as time goes by, prices for products and services "usually decline" -- and give computers, telephone service, digital cameras, and other electronics as their examples. These declines occurred for specific reasons (tremendous technological advances, the injection of new competition), and hardly prove any such rule of long-term price declines. What about college education, health care, coffee at Starbucks? These may also be special cases, but there's no general rule of increase or decline. The authors also say that "prices (adjusted for inflation) tend to fall." Since inflation is, precisely, the change in the prevailing level of prices, this statement is meaningless.

Still, the authors' overarching insight into the value of the media is worth a great deal. I have been able to apply it directly to my work, and that's more than I can say for some business books.

Interesting, but left me wanting more.......2006-08-23

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR sets out to prove that advertising doesn't make a brand, publicity does. Though I enjoyed reading the stories (at least 200 brands and companies are mentioned) and found some of the ideas insightful, the lack of concrete ideas for using PR effectively and the absence of cited sources left me wanting more. I also felt that some of the generalizations about advertising were misleading, and the arguments sometimes lacked consistency and depth.

For example, on page 39 the Energizer bunny campaign is cited as an advertising failure because it didn't pass the "sales test" and currently has 29% of the US market behind Duracell's 39% market share. So is Duracell's 39% market share a result of good publicity? How did Duracell's "Copper Top" advertising campaign impact their sales? You won't find the answers here.

Additionally, if the "sales test" and large market share are indicators of successful brand building, I'm not sure how they can claim on page 99 that the Linux OS is "one of the best examples of how publicity can build a brand." Sure, Linux has good exposure in the media, but how big is the market share?

If you are interested in learning how to use PR as part of a brand-building strategy, I suggest looking elsewhere. If you enjoy books by Al Reis and you want to read about some interesting stories about brands, you won't be disappointed!

insight into using public relations .......2006-02-25

The Ries's really knock ad agencies and advertising in general to make their point... one also gets a sense that they aren't happy that some clients did not listen to them.

Definitely a worthwhile read for any one interested in marketing!

Useful message but simplistic, wordy analysis.......2006-01-09

Al and Laura Ries discuss why PR is more believable and so more effective to build a brand. The role of advertising is to manage the brand once it has been built up by supporting the PR message. Current focus on creativity in advertising is misplaced. This is because although creativity may lead to advertising awards, it rarely leads to increased sales. Instead PR is where creativity needs to be applied for appropriately positioning the product in the customers' mind. PR is more believable by the customer because it reflects opinions and views of third parties. This believability more than outweighs the loss of control in having third parties provide public opinions on your product and results in higher sales.

The book gets three stars because the supporting arguments are simplistic, and the authors belabor the above points for ~300 pages. Also, there is no discussion on the evolving blogs and how they can be used to execute PR effectively.

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR (A Ha! Gong Guan, in Traditional Chinese NOT in English)

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The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR (A Ha! Gong Guan, in Traditional Chinese NOT in English)

Manufacturer: Yuan Liu
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

All Chinese Books | Chinese | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 9573250519

Product Description

Chinese edition of "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR"

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