The History Of Silhouettes

A witty and stylish look into the mechanics employed by men and women to sculpt their figures for fashion This unique survey offers fascinating insights into the convoluted transformations employed by both men and women to accommodate the fickle dictates of fashion. With high design, wit, and style, Fashioning the Body tracks the evolution of these sartorial devices--from panniers, crinolines, and push-up bras to chains, zippers, and clasps--concealed beneath outer layers in order to project idealized figures. Women's corsets constricted waists; exaggerated buttocks and hips counterbalanced jutting bust lines; and chic, aerodynamic silhouettes compressed breasts and flattened bellies. Yet masculine fashion has been no stranger to these tortuous practices. Men flaunted their virility by artificially broadening their shoulders, applying padding to their chests, and slipping codpieces over their groins. With more than 200 beautiful illustrations--including reproductions of superb historic advertisements--Denis Bruna reveals the industry and art of these contrivances meant to entice and beguile as well as assert status and power. Contemporary haute-couture designers Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, Christian Lacroix, and Vivienne Westwood are featured in this indiscreet tour of intimate fashion history. Published in association with the Bard Graduate Center Exhibition Schedule: Bard Graduate Center, New York (04/03/15-07/26/15)

"National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. in association with Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford".

This sewing guide reveals a breakthrough method to simplify learning stitches of all kinds, with more than 100 stitches from the simple to the fanciful. As makers, we tend to learn different stitches over time without thinking much about how they relate to one another. But when Natalie Chanin and her teams at Alabama Chanin and The School of Making began to look at needlework closely, they realized all stitches are based on geometric grid systems. They also discovered that learning new stitches—even elaborate ones—became simple and easy when using grids as guides. In The Geometry of Hand-Sewing Chanin presents their breakthrough method, featuring illustrated instructions (for both right- and left-handed stitchers) for more than 100 stitches—from the basic straight and chain to complex feather and herringbone. Photos of both right and wrong sides are included, as well as guidelines for modifying stitches to increase one’s repertoire further. The book also offers downloads for two stitching cards with the grids on which every stitch in the book is based. These printable cards can be used as stencils for transferring grids to fabric.

Extensive account of the cameo’s production history and how audiences affirm their mastery of celebrity culture. Stars and Silhouettes: The History of the Cameo Role in Hollywood traces the history of the cameo as it emerged in twentieth-century cinema. Although the cameo has existed in film culture for over a century, Joceline Andersen explains that this role cannot be strictly defined because it exists as a constellation of interactions between duration and recognition, dependent on who is watching and when. Even audiences of the twenty-first century who are inundated by the lives of movie stars and habituated to images of their personal friends on screens continue to find cameos surprising and engaging. Cameos reveal the links between our obsession with celebrity and our desire to participate in the powerful cultural industries within contemporary society. Chapter 1 begins with the cameo’s precedents in visual culture and the portrait in particular—from the Vitagraph executives in the 1910s to the emergence of actors as movie stars shortly after. Chapter 2 explores the fan-centric desire for behind-the-scenes visions of Hollywood that accounted for the success of cameo-laden, Hollywood-set films that autocratic studios used to make their glamorous line-up of stars as visible as possible. Chapter 3 traces the development of the cameo in comedy, where cameos began to show not only glimpses of celebrities at their best but also of celebrities at their worst. Chapter 4 examines how the television guest spot became an important way for stars and studios to market both their films and stars from other media in trades that reflected an increasingly integrated mediascape. In Chapter 5, Andersen examines auteur cameos and the cameo as a sign of authorship. Director cameos reaffirm the fan’s interest in the film not just as a stage for actors but as a forum for the visibility of the director. Cameos create a participatory space for viewers, where recognizing those singled out among extras and small roles allows fans to demonstrate their knowledge. Stars and Silhouettes belongs on the shelf of every scholar, student, and reader interested in film history and star studies.

One April in Boston is the story of a real American family and a gift that was passed down from generation to generation. It teaches American history, the power of imagination, and the value of goal setting. In this unique book you will learn the real story of Paul Revere’s midnight ride; witness the first shots of the American Revolution; attend the reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston on July 18, 1776; visit the Paul Revere House in 1909; and much more. After researching his Boston ancestors for six years, author Ben Edwards has crafted a tale that not only tells their story by tying in real connections to Paul Revere and Abraham Lincoln, but honors his relative Private Philip Edwards by revealing the gift he gave to the neighborhood children before leaving for France to fight in World War I and passing into legend. When the story begins in April 1775, 10-year-old Ben Edwards carries a spyglass that once belonged to his grandfather, an early Boston sea captain. Ben believes he can glimpse the future through its lens. His goal is to work on a sailing ship and see the world. Can the spyglass and a member of the Sons of Liberty help Ben on his journey? Will his predictions about the future come true? By reading the book you’ll discover that Ben’s gift is something we all possess, a power that can help you on your own life’s journey—if you believe in it.

Growing up in the 1920s, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson watches the birds outside her window, admiring their freedom and beauty. Her mother, on the other hand, does not approve of Garnet climbing trees to peer into nests. She has Garnet’s life all planned out: after finishing high school, she’ll marry and tend to the home. When Garnet is sent away for the summer to stay with relatives in the lakeside resort town of Excelsior, Minnesota, she discovers a chance to spread her wings. There she finds herself under the supervision of oppressive guardians and her father’s wealthy cousin. But an amusement park and roaring dance hall beckon, and her explorations land her where she least expects—enthralled with a beautiful and daring flapper, Isabella. Caught between her family’s expectations and her own newfound passions, Garnet must decide whose dreams to follow. Tender and moving, Silhouette of a Sparrow is the tale of a young woman’s discovery of the science of risk, the art of rebellion, and, of course, the power of unexpected love.

Excerpt from The History of Silhouettes Amongst my reminiscences of personal belongings ans the charm of old portraiture, none has given me greater pleasure than the silhouette of bygone days. The souvenir, sometimes cut by gifted amateurs, was exchanged amongst friends in my early days as the photograph is to-day. We had many at Wolterton, our Norfolk home, and the picture of my grandmother, Lady Orford, and the cuttings of Princess Elizabeth are amongst my treasured possessions. I remember Mr. Guest collected silhouettes, and had some fine examples of the work of Miers (who lived near Exeter Change), of Rosenberg, and of Field. Mr. Guest was a very good judge of such things, having, by many years of collecting, perfected a naturally cultured sense of art. Like myself, he had learnt much from Mr. Pollard. Lady Evelyn Cobbold shewed me three silhouettes of Mr. Cobbold, his father, and his grandfather, all perfect portraits, and very interesting. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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