Rating: 
Summary: A Useful Amazing Find
Review: A reviewer, A fashion novice in Chicago, November 2, 2000, Vintage Clothes Made Relevant Wow! I never really took the whole vintage thing seriously until I read through this book. What everyone has been saying about buying vintage has some basis in reality. Not only does vintage clothing deserve to be a part of the wardrobe of anyone who is serious about fashion, but also those (like me) who dabble. Who knew that a book about old clothes could be this compelling. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the topic i've seen
Review: As an amateur collector, I found this book very interesting and helpful. Not only can collecting be a challenge, but so can incorporating vintage clothes in with your everyday wardrobe. Tiffany Dubin's sense of style is creative as well as wearable. She illustrates her ideas through colorful pictures and descriptions of real women in realistic settings. You feel like you're getting sincere, up-to-date advise from someone who knows vintage intstead of learning from someone designing for Kate Moss.
Rating:
Summary: Very Creative!
Review: As an amateur collector, I found this book very interesting and helpful. Not only can collecting be a challenge, but so can incorporating vintage clothes in with your everyday wardrobe. Tiffany Dubin's sense of style is creative as well as wearable. She illustrates her ideas through colorful pictures and descriptions of real women in realistic settings. You feel like you're getting sincere, up-to-date advise from someone who knows vintage intstead of learning from someone designing for Kate Moss.
Rating: 
Summary: Misses the Mark
Review: As an introduction, I am not a "fashion expert", or knowledgeable about vintage fashion to any depth. That said, I believe I have a good sense of style, and wanted to learn more. Almost every page of this book left me wishing for more; as I turned the pages I went from excitement [at seeing something new] to boredom [at another impracticable idea] to interested [there are many historical gems in this book] to unbelieving [at another picture/idea that looked completely wrong to me] to contented [sometimes short sections of the book just came together because the author has a very nice writing style].Most of the book is a list of 37 clothing styles (36 for women, one for men, with examples of business, casual and evening variations for each) and most of these did not live up to their potential. Each style usually takes 5 pages to explain, with lots of pictures. For a non-expert like me, there was not enough explanation on what made each style different and appealing. Most of the pictures, rather than explaining and amplifying the style, were "fashion shoots" showing the owners in their clothes, posing in various stylish ways - the emphasis was on the person, not the garment. I would have appreciated more controlled pictures of the clothing, and close-ups showing its advantages. Many times the author says It's about "The linings, the detailing, the tailoring. It's about workmanship. It's about the way it fits and the way it moves." However, there is not one picture or one paragraph explaining any of these things for any of the 37 clothing styles! For some odd reason, the author is stuck on the decades also. As other reviewers noted, most of the book is 1950's and later. Many times you will read: "In what decade was it made? What difference does it make?...", yet attached to each picture is a decade. More frustrating, there is very little explanation why one picture is "50's" and the one next to it is "70's". Some of her ideas just seem crazy or outlandish, like wearing shorts & pajamas in a conservative work environment. (You won't stand out as long as you wear your Chinese pajamas under a sport coat and match the colors in the Pucci shorts with your blouse!) I appreciated that real people are wearing these clothes, and not the latest supermodel. For me, the best part of the book was the end with little vignettes on classic styles, vintage finds, & shopping. Again, most of the shopping section should be extra for anyone who reads the paper, shops at the mall, and has an idea of what garage sales and flea markets are all about (but for beginners there are a few additional bits of information in there). After reading 37 examples of how everything can be acceptable anywhere, as long as you are stylish, you should feel encouraged to go out, buy something different and try it on. To critique this book, there should be much better books out there, for both beginners and vintage experts; however, this is one of my first books so I just don't know which ones they are.
Rating:
Summary: Misses the Mark
Review: As an introduction, I am not a "fashion expert", or knowledgeable about vintage fashion to any depth. That said, I believe I have a good sense of style, and wanted to learn more. Almost every page of this book left me wishing for more; as I turned the pages I went from excitement [at seeing something new] to boredom [at another impracticable idea] to interested [there are many historical gems in this book] to unbelieving [at another picture/idea that looked completely wrong to me] to contented [sometimes short sections of the book just came together because the author has a very nice writing style]. Most of the book is a list of 37 clothing styles (36 for women, one for men, with examples of business, casual and evening variations for each) and most of these did not live up to their potential. Each style usually takes 5 pages to explain, with lots of pictures. For a non-expert like me, there was not enough explanation on what made each style different and appealing. Most of the pictures, rather than explaining and amplifying the style, were "fashion shoots" showing the owners in their clothes, posing in various stylish ways - the emphasis was on the person, not the garment. I would have appreciated more controlled pictures of the clothing, and close-ups showing its advantages. Many times the author says It's about "The linings, the detailing, the tailoring. It's about workmanship. It's about the way it fits and the way it moves." However, there is not one picture or one paragraph explaining any of these things for any of the 37 clothing styles! For some odd reason, the author is stuck on the decades also. As other reviewers noted, most of the book is 1950's and later. Many times you will read: "In what decade was it made? What difference does it make?...", yet attached to each picture is a decade. More frustrating, there is very little explanation why one picture is "50's" and the one next to it is "70's". Some of her ideas just seem crazy or outlandish, like wearing shorts & pajamas in a conservative work environment. (You won't stand out as long as you wear your Chinese pajamas under a sport coat and match the colors in the Pucci shorts with your blouse!) I appreciated that real people are wearing these clothes, and not the latest supermodel. For me, the best part of the book was the end with little vignettes on classic styles, vintage finds, & shopping. Again, most of the shopping section should be extra for anyone who reads the paper, shops at the mall, and has an idea of what garage sales and flea markets are all about (but for beginners there are a few additional bits of information in there). After reading 37 examples of how everything can be acceptable anywhere, as long as you are stylish, you should feel encouraged to go out, buy something different and try it on. To critique this book, there should be much better books out there, for both beginners and vintage experts; however, this is one of my first books so I just don't know which ones they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Guide to the Vintage Craze
Review: As has been noted by the fashion world and in numerous fashion magazines, including Vogue and Harper's Baazar and even InStyle, vintage dressing is a definite craze as of late. You can see it epitomized on Hollywood stars like Chloe Sevigny and Winona Ryder, and even in more mainstream fashion such as the lady-like trend of 1940's style dressing brought about by Prada's winter collection. For those who embrace this craze, this book would be a good choice to guide you in making purchases that will stand the test of time. The book does a good job of explaining good buys versus the bad, trendy ones. I would have liked to see more pictures, but that is a personal issue. Overall, a pretty good guide to obtaining a vintage style.
Rating:
Summary: Dying to read the sequel!!
Review: Finally a book that takes real women into consideration and helps us use what we already have in our wardrobe to make ourselves look stylish. I love the photo's of the different model's and loved the styling. I never new I could do so many things with so few objects. An absolute must have for any fashion lover or aspiring fashion plate. Great Christmas gift and definately a timeless gift.
Rating:
Summary: My only complaint is that it's too short ...
Review: I pre-ordered this book after eagerly anticipating it for months, and I wasn't disappointed -- it's fabulous. The photographs are beautiful, and the text clear and informative. The "real women" models had a nice mix of styles, from classic to funky, and I picked up some great, practical ideas on how to wear my Bonnie Cashin leather trench. I wish that it were twice as long, or that I had a sequel to look forward to, because there are precious few books devoted to high-end vintage clothing -- or any kind of vintage clothing, for that matter.
Rating:
Summary: My only complaint is that it's too short ...
Review: I pre-ordered this book after eagerly anticipating it for months, and I wasn't disappointed -- it's fabulous. The photographs are beautiful, and the text clear and informative. The "real women" models had a nice mix of styles, from classic to funky, and I picked up some great, practical ideas on how to wear my Bonnie Cashin leather trench. I wish that it were twice as long, or that I had a sequel to look forward to, because there are precious few books devoted to high-end vintage clothing -- or any kind of vintage clothing, for that matter.
Rating: 
Summary: Was hoping for a more complete guide of vintage designerss
Review: I was hoping that this book would provide a more complete tour of vintage design through the past century. I would have liked this book to have been a vintage clothing guide of each decade's popular designers, along with information on how to spot the unique style of each. There was some information given by decade, but it was somewhat incomplete for my needs. Also, I would have liked to have seen more information on shoes and purses, with detailed tips on how to spot quality pieces.
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