Evening Dress

This book is very pretty, but as a previous reviewer writes, it's disappointing. It focuses on the 1920s through the 1990s, but it is basically a highlights reel, with little new material, and lots of quotes from Vogue magazine along the way. Among other flaws, it needed a fact checker:--"Jean Louis...designed some of the sexiest gowns of the 1930s for Rita Hayworth in Gilda." But the movie Gilda was made and released in 1946. And if you've ever seen the movie, you couldn't possibly mistake the WWII-era fashions for Depression-era fashions.--In the chapter on the 1950s: "Rita Hayworth had worn a Dior dress to the premiere of her film Gilda, helping to popularize the New Look in Hollywood." But Dior debuted in 1947, and the movie Gilda premiered in 1946.--"When [Studio 54] celebrated its fiftieth birthday in 1978, Elizabeth Taylor was there celebrating her fiftieth birthday on the same night." Elizabeth Taylor was born in 1932. She was 46 in 1978.Mistakes like these make me wonder how much of the rest of the book might contain errors.The choice of photos is often odd and disappointing--a serious weakness in a "coffee-table" photo book. Instead of a photo of a real Halston design--how hard could that be to find?--we get a picture of a Hugo Boss dress that "captures the Halston spirit." The chapter on the 1960s is especially weak. The author could have used any of millions of photos of cool, mod, genuine 1960s fashions, but instead we get photo after photo of contemporary fashions that "capture the late 1960s mood." You can find better photos of 1960s fashions on the Internet.Buy this only at a discount and don't expect a rigorous history of the topic.

The information is as great as the photos. If you like fashion history, then this is the book for you.

This book is not only full of beautiful photos, but great fashion history as well. The book is nice and big and looks great on a coffee table. I love looking through it enjoying the evolution of evening dress through the decades.

the book was excitment plus. all the glamouous dresses and the models. It is a superb glamour book. Any one who love clothes, fashion and style should have this book. the Great day of the glamour dresses is almost extinct. This might bring it back. Why would a woman not want to look like the pages of this elegant book? clinta ingraham

This is a gorgeous book full of beautiful gowns. Great gift and great coffee table book!

I have wanted this book for years and it does not disappoint; it provides both eye candy and useful commentary.

Great book to add to your collection

The book is exquisite! I own one and have given it to friends as a birthday gift - and they all love it.