How to Draw Vintage Fashion
• Targeted Audience: Middle & High School (Ages 11+)
• Genre: Non-Fiction Picture Book
• Author: Celia Joicey & Dennis Nothdruft
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication Date: November 11, 2014
• Binding: Quality Paperback
• Dimensions: 9″ x 12″
• Printing: Full Color
• Length: 96 Pages
• Retail: $19.95
• ISBN: 978-0500650370
Last year I reviewed How to Draw Like a Fashion Designer, an excellent title written by Celia Joicey and Dennis Northdruft, two authors/designers from the Fashion and Textile Museum of London. Now they have published a second volume for designers as young as age eleven, entitled How to Draw Vintage Fashion.
Vintage Fashion Always in Style
My favorite part of watching old movies is seeing the fashions and hairstyles from earlier times. I’ve always said that if I were rich and/or famous I’d have a designer dress me in vintage fashions similar to those that adorned Grace Kelly during the 1950s. I am particularly fond of this spectacular gown costumier Edith Head designed for Kelly in Rear Window, my favorite movie of all time.
Anyone who is interested in clothing design can’t help but study vintage fashions; the top designers of today look to these for inspiration for modern garments. In How to Draw Vintage Fashion, children as young as age eleven are wonderfully presented with an overview of this classic era in fashion history.
“I think the 1960s was the period that really shaped me and my love of fashion. To me that decade always seems like a time of ultimate optimism.”
– Designer, Anna Sui
From 1920s Flappers to 1980s Funk
This substantial book is divided into three sections. Renowned designer Anna Sui sets the stage by introducing readers to the book and sharing some insight into the vintage styles that have inspired her over the years. Section One includes an overview of what’s inside the book. There’s a fashion timeline with lovely illustrations and descriptions of key looks, top designers of that era, textiles, accessories and famous icons who donned those fashions. There are pages with close-ups of trendsetting designers, from Jean Patou, designer of the flapper dress to Marc Jacobs, one of the top designers today, who uses vintage fashions to create new looks and trends. In Section Two you’ll get all the tools and materials you need to get started drawing. There’s an overview of prints and fabrics, an intro on how to make croquis drawings of the body in different poses, vintage hairstyles, shoes and bags and all the most celebrated fashions spanning seven decades from the 20s to the 80s. Section Three is all about helping you find the resources you need to find and develop ideas and put them all together. There’s a fashion glossary and an index too.
Why You’ll Love This Book
The lessons in How to Draw Vintage Fashion are based upon the actual workshops offered at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. I love the fact that the authors give children as young as eleven the professional tools they need to get started as a designer and treat young readers with the respect of celebrated designers. The book is well organized and is easy to read, and the illustrations and photos guide and inspire readers to create their own original designs based on vintage styles. Fashion design is such an exciting and important part of who we are and how we live. We must nurture the individuality in children to inspire them to create. The world will always need designers and innovators and How to Draw Vintage Fashion lays a solid foundation for our future designers to get inspired and get started doing something extraordinary.
About the Authors
Celia Joicey received her art education from the Royal College of Art. She was a lecturer in art and design history and worked for the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is currently the Head of the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.
Dennis Nothdruft has a BFA from Eastern New Mexico University and has worked as a freelance designer and design instructor. He is the Curator of the Fashion and Textile Museum in London where he leads a series of drawing classes for young people.