Book Giveaway & Review: A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938 from Dover Publishing

The years spanning the crash of the stock market in 1929 to the outbreak of World War II in 1939 were some of the most troubled, fascinating and, at times, even lively, that the world has ever known. They were also, despite the immense hardships faced by many, some of the most fashionable and at that point in time, the design houses and clothing companies of France still held major sway over what the world sported.

While, of course, many people could scarcely survive - let alone think about keeping up the the Jonses on the fashion front - for those who were fortunate to still find themselves in a middle class or higher income bracket, the world of style carried on, by and large, much as it had for not only decades, but centuries before.

New names emerged, vying sometimes with well established favourites. Trends came and went with the seasons, hemlines - much like the infamous stock market itself - bounced from high to low and back again over and over, and certain looks would emerge and forever cement themselves as the defining styles of that decade.

The gorgeously illustrated book, A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938: From the Depression to the Brink of War from Dover Publications does a marvelous job of highlighting some of the most engaging and stylish looks of the nine - ten years between the end of era that brought us The Bright Young Things and six years of indescribable horror, as WW2 tore like wildfire though huge portions of the globe.

This was a period of glitz and glamour on the fashion front, where talkies entered the picture in Hollywood and movie stars – and what they wore – began to take on a status akin to that, traditionally, held only for royalty. It was time of uncertainty and excitement. Elements of the now often said expression "you only live once" remained from the party filled heydays of the 1920s, yet they were tempered with a more sophisticated refinement and serious air in the uncertain days of the thirties.

In A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938: From the Depression to the Brink of War, readers are presented with a splendidly detailed array of fashions from the era as they first appeared from the leading clothing designers of France at the time.

Save for a lovely written introduction, there is exceedingly little text in this 112 page soft cover book (which was released by Dover in July 2015). Instead the spotlight is shone - as I'm certain many a 1930s fashionista and starlet alike would approve of - on the clothing of the era itself. Such is presented through a well curated bevy of full-colour illustrations that first appeared in the pages of French catalogs which were geared towards especially towards the international market.

From the lingering notes of 1920s trends (think drop waists, handkerchief hems, cloche hats, etc) to the strikingly different styles that saw many a woman through the start of the second World War, such as hemlines that hit just below the knees, bold shoulder pads, and waistlines at one's natural waist, a flip through this book instantly highlights many of the trends, creative ideas, and beautiful details that called 1930s fashion home.

Being so devoid of text, this elegant book can be enjoyed in one quick sitting, though many a vintage and historical costume fan will want to savour it for far longer that - and both will find it to be indispensable in furthering their knowledge of, and appreciation for, looks from the third decade of the twentieth century.

From chic daytime ensembles (including that sort that you just know 1930s ladies who lunch were sporting en masse) to jaw dropping evening looks, the styles presented in this delightful book span the last breaths of the flapper era to the softer, and yet at the same time, also more rigid styles that would set the tone for fashion well into the mid-1940s.

This is a book to read and time and time again, each new viewing helping further details - from button placements to hemline shapes - to present themselves to you, the reader, as you soak up and savour the supreme elegance that was 1930s fashion for those with the means to buy from the best that France had to offer.

Though I myself rarely wear looks from this period (most, especially those before 1937, are anything but becoming on my short, hourglass shaped figure), I appreciate them immensely and have a strong affinity for all things art deco era fashion related.

Thus, it was with no small amount of pleasure that I readily, and happily, accepted Dover's wonderfully kind offer to both receive a copy of A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938: From the Depression to the Brink of War to review here, as well the opportunity to give one lucky Chronically Vintage winner the chance to win their own copy of this fabulous vintage fashion resource.

Read on to find out how you can win!


Giveaway details:

This giveaway is for one copy of the soft cover book A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938: From the Depression to the Brink of War from Dover Publications. It is open to readers (participants) worldwide and will run from today's date (Monday April 25, 2016) until 11:59 PST on Wednesday May 4, 2016.

The winning name will be drawn using Rafflecopter's random winner tool once the giveaway has wrapped up and the winner will be contacted via email shortly thereafter. Your book itself will be shipped out to you directly from the fine folks at Dover Publications.

You may enter using however many of the following ten Rafflecopter methods you desire. The only entry that is mandatory is that you please leave a comment on this post in which you share with me one or more of your favourite elements of 1930s fashion.

The more ways that you enter, the greater your odds of winning become. If you have any questions about this book giveaway, please don't hesitate to email me anytime.


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There was, and will forever be, an unmistakable sophistication and understated beauty to 1930s fashion. It took its inspiration from countless sources and culminated in a streamlined, refined style that could be blazingly minimalist or enchantingly whimsical. Very often it fell somewhere in between, with lengthy lines, bias cuts, and all sorts of marvelous details – that still make fashion lovers say "oh-la-la" to this day – calling the looks of this decade home.

I feel fortunate to be able to add A Decade of French Fashions, 1929 - 1938 to my collection, as well as to be able to offer one lucky winner a copy of their own, and want to sincerely thank Dover Publications for another exciting and very generous collaboration. My thanks all go out to each and every one of you as well, who take part in this exciting vintage fashion book giveaway.

Best of luck to all those who enter!

BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Cheap Chic by Caterine Milinaire and Carol Troy

Perhaps because it was the decade that proceed the one in which I was born, I've always had an interesting relationship of sorts with the 1970s. That was the era in which my parents came of age and when I burst onto the scene in the eighties, there were still many vestiges of that decade to be had in everyday life, food, popular culture and even, to a degree, fashion (albeit more so at the start of the decade).

The seventies - like the eighties - often get a bad and largely unjustified rap in my opinion. They were a heady decade indeed and one comprised of many, many different worlds overlapping and at times colliding with one another, but they were also passionate, inventive, fun, and very individualistic and it is into all these points that the massive classic that is 1975's Cheap Chic taps.




Written by Caterine Milinaire and Carol Troy, this title was hugely popular back in the day, remaining such amongst many in the fashion know in the years that followed. This past September it was rereleased to celebrate its 40th anniversary, complete with a forward by none other than Tim Gunn.

I'd long heard of this book, but yet read it, so when the fine folks at Penguin Random House kindly offered me a review copy of my own and not one, but three, copies to giveaway here on my blog, I jumped at the chance.

Yes, my blog focuses primarily on mid-century fashion (et al), but sometimes it's not only enjoyable, but deeply worthwhile to study and learn from the looks of other eras as well. I'd already seen some (21st century) reviews of this book and had noticed that it seemed to draw a very mixed reaction from folks. I pushed those voices out of my head and dove into it over the course of a weekend.

To begin with, this is not a fashion book of the more standard format that many have followed in recent decades. That is to say, it doesn't (for all intents) set out a list of items that you should buy, spend chapters suggesting styling tips for various body types, or tell you what not to wear to the point of beating a dead horse to death.

Instead this good sized soft cover book is a collection of personal accounts and fashion tips from a wide range of stylish folks back in the seventies, along with general fashion advice from the authors. There are familiar names - Diana Vreeland, for example - and others that, for most folks at least, have long since vanish from the trend setting scene. It many ways it feels like, and genuinely was, an early form of sharing street style with the masses long before the first such blog every took shape.

To a degree, this book is hard to succinctly summarize because while there are general common themes throughout - such as where to shop for good deals, how to style existing pieces creatively, what to splurge and what to save on - most of the views shared in it vary a good deal from one another, speaking greatly to the individuality, as touched on above, of the seventies themselves.

In general the fashions and ideas presented in this book are of a relatively casual nature - at least compared to those of earlier 20th century decades - but not entirely – glamour is still discussed here and there throughout the book – and, very fascinatingly to those in our circle, wearing vintage (chiefly Victorian - 1940s garments) is discussed in various capacities (as is upcycling, long before that term had even been coined).

It is easy to get a sense of the milieu of the decade - including the fact that many folks were no where near as PC back then as most are today – from Cheap Chic, just as it is the recessions, the post-Vietnam war climate, second wave feminism, the influence of music on fashion, and a tapestry of bohemia and Cape Cod power dressing mingled into one. All of this and more is to be had amongst the B&W photos and words of the 224 pages that comprise Cheap Chic.

Chip Chic is not, to my mind at least, a book that will necessarily tell you how to dress like you just walked out of 1975, because at the time it was first written, it was a look at current fashion and how one could mold such to create their own highly personal look, and not a vintage style how-to of the sort that now exist for various decades.

Some people - particularly those who enjoy a more minimalistic/streamlined wardrobe - see this book as a style guide for the ages, and indeed there are some timeless tips and inventive ideas to be had amongst its pages, but what Cheap Chic was most of all to me was an incredible slice-of-life look at how everyday folks, artists, fashion insiders, celebrities, and a slew of others were dressing and viewing the art of fashion during the seventies. In that sense, it strikes me as both a history book and a fashion manual, as well as a thoroughly fascinating look into the minds and closets of some of the decade's biggest tastemakers.

Though you may not find yourself rushing to don the clothes suggested within, it is hard to read this book and not appreciate the sense of passion that those who contributed to it had for their wardrobes and the many ingenious little hacks and clever ideas they brought to their daily attire, be it cheap, chic, or both. It is a fascinating, sometimes eyebrow raising, occasionally eccentric, always entertaining take on style that any historical fashion fan, regardless of if their closet ever steps foot near 1970s looks, would likely enjoy reading.

And indeed, if you'd like to enter for a chance to do just that, please read on for further information.


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher is providing three copies of the book Cheap Chic to the winners of this giveaway. Each winner will receive one copy per person of the book. This giveaway, as per the request Penguin Random House, is open to Canadian and American participants only (you're welcome to comment on this post if you live elsewhere, but your comment will not be counted as an entry).

The giveaway will run from between December 7 and December 14, 2015. With the randomly selected winner being drawn and contacted shortly thereafter.

Excitingly, for the first time ever here on Chronically Vintage, I've opted to use the widely beloved Rafflecopter for this giveaway, which should streamline the entry process and make things even easier for everyone involved. Please feel to enter this giveaway via however many of the following options you would like.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Many thanks to Penguin Random House for generously sending me a copy of Cheap Chic to review and for providing three copies to give away to a trio of lucky Chronically Vintage readers. I sincerely appreciate it, as I did the chance to finally dive into this highly lauded 1970s fashion guidebook.

It made for a thoroughly intriguing read and one that sparked some fresh thoughts for me about the decade's looks and also in regards to how the wearing of early to mid-century fashion was starting to really gather steam back then.

Best of luck and many thanks to all those who enter this giveaway!

GIVEAWAY: Win a copy of The Magic Pattern Book by Amy Barickman

Earlier this year I had the great pleasure of reviewing and giving away a copy of the book Vintage Notions by author, entrepreneur, and esteemed sewer, Amy Barickman and today's I'm delighted to be teaming up with Amy's publisher again for another exciting book giveaway.

In connection with Vintage Notions, I was sent a copy of The Magic Pattern Book, which was also written by Amy. Not being a sewer myself, I will admit, a wave of panic washed over my soul when I heard that this book was en route. How, I wondered, would I explain or properly access the integrity and merit of a book about sewing, when it's an art that I only know the very basics (think high school home ec level) of myself?

Thankfully, all it took was flipping through the pages of this lovely hard cove book to instantly put my mind at easy. Much as how Ms. Barickman centered Vintage Notions around the work of famed home economics leader Mary Brooks Picken, so too did she turn to the Women's Institute for inspiration with this book. Even the title itself comes from the term "magic patterns" that was coined by the Institutive in the early 20th century (so-called be it was nearly magical how one pattern could create so many different garments when altered a touch or done up in a different fabric). Though it should be noted that patterns contained within, which are of a fairly beginner level and thus ideal for sewers with a wide range of skill levels, are not vintage themselves nor intended to create vintage style fashions.

Chalked full of clear, beautiful photographs and illustrations, this helpful, well laid book presents readers with a series of six different sewing patterns (in sizes small to XXL) as well as six different variations and six assorted fabric suggestions for each (the patterns come on a CD that is included with the book, but can also be downloaded from the web, if desired). Thus The Magic Pattern Book, which was released in 2014, aims to provide readers with the ability to make a whole wardrobe thanks to the fact that between all these options, one can, in theory create 216 or more different garments.

Though that may be a bit of a stretch (being a complete wardrobe, I mean), particularly depending on your personal style, it does unquestionably provide readers with a wealth of different, straightforward, engaging sewing patterns and variations on all of them that could easily help just about anyone enhance and grow their wardrobe and skills at the same time.

While I don't foresee making any of the lovely modern - but generally quite classic - fashions or accessories in this excellent book anytime soon (again, I'm not a sewer), I was still able to enjoy it cover to cover, learning more about both sewing and garment construction in the process. As a passionate fashionista and more recently as an Etsy vintage shop owner, I find these points to be invaluable and loved the take away lessons I picked up from The Magic Pattern Book for this and many other reasons.

I know that scores of you are sewers and that is a huge part of the reason why I agreed to read, review, and giveaway this wonderful book. I love being able to provide one lucky reader the chance to win a copy of The Magic Pattern Book, and if you'd like to try to be that person, please read on for the details of this giveaway.


How to enter


Definitely free to do as many of the following seven things as you'd like to gain entry in this giveaway. I just ask that please ensure that you leave a separate comment for each method that you enter with, so as to increase your odds of winning.


1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you might like to sew first from the book (the options are a dress, a tank top, a cardigan, an accessory such as a hat, a skirt, and a coat), if you win.


2. Blog about this giveaway on your own site, linking back to this post.


3. Like Amy Barickman on Facebook and post about the giveaway on your own Facebook page.


4. Follow Amy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, including the hashtag #TheMagicPatternBook in your tweet.


5. Sign up to follow Amy's blog by email (you can do so at the top of the right hand sidebar).


6. Follow, or be an existing follower, of Chronically Vintage on Instagram.


7. Like, or be an existing follower, Chronically Vintage on Bloglovin'.


Giveaway details


This giveaway is for one copy of The Magic Pattern Book by Amy Barickman. It is open to readers from Canada and America, at the request of the publisher (apologies to my wonderful international readers), and will run from today (March 12, 2015) until Friday March 20, 2015.


Once the giveaway has wrapped up, I will select a winner using a random number generator and announce that person's name on Facebook and/or Twitter shortly thereafter. If doing so is possible, I will also try to contact the winner directly by email or Facebook private message to let them know that they won and to obtain their address, which I'll pass along to the publisher who will send your prize to you directly.

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I was genuinely impressed and inspired by this book. I learned from it, smiled over the tidbits of history and vintage quotes from the Women's Institute that it included, enjoyed the modern, highly appealing format, and don't doubt for a nanosecond that if I was sewer, I'd be powering my way through some or all of the patterns house between its covers.

Thank you very much to Amy Barickman and her publisher for the opportunity to giveaway a copy of The Magic Pattern Book here on my blog and also for sending a review book my way, too. Far from trepidation, reading this book filled me with happiness, got my creative juices flowing in general, and ensured that I will always have a great title to turn to if I want to purchase a fantastic, very useable book for any of my awesome sewing friends.

Best of luck and thank you very much to everyone who takes part in this fun sewing pattern book giveaway!

Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman: Book Review and Giveaway

There is no denying that the words of a book - the information it transmits and how we walk away from our interaction with said book - matter immensely, but there is a great deal to be said in favour of visually appealing titles, too, especially when it comes to the realm of how-to books.

As a voracious reader, primarily of non-fiction books, I come in contact with many volumes each year that fall into one camp or the other, but far less that nail stellar content and sublimely beautiful pages between the same two covers. The most recent title that knocked it out of the ballpark for me on both fronts is the tremendously lovely Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun written by esteemed craft industry leader Amy Barickman (who you may know from her companies Indigo Junction and The Vintage Workshop, amongst many other places).





I was sent a copy of this book, which was released in 2010, from its publisher to review and can't begin to thank them enough for this lovely gift. I had three other books on the go when Vintage Notions arrived, but they all quickly went on the back burner because I honestly could not put this title down once I'd started reading it. Every free moment I got, I poured over another chapter and lapped up this book with immense gusto.

Author Amy Barickman created a whimsical, yet very partial, book that focuses on the wisdom, work and life of Mary Brooks Picken (pictured below), who was at the forefront of the early domestic arts and sciences front in the early twentieth century. Ms. Picken was a leading authority on many topics pertaining to homemaking, sewing, and fashion, and was the founder of the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, Pennsylvania (as well as being one of the founding directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute).

{Photo of Mary Brooks Picken via Wikipedia}

The Woman's Institute offered very affordable at-home courses that readers from across America, Canada and further afield could avail of to better their own sewing skills, and by extension, their lives (be it sewing their own wardrobes, making clothing for their kids, working as a paid seamstress, etc). The Institute also published magazines and pamphlets on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to the domestic arts and it is amongst all of these sources that Amy gathered the information that makes up the bulk of her beautiful book.

In it, one finds instructions, patterns, and advice on topics pertaining to sewing, crochet, cooking, housekeeping, parties, the holidays, and timeless wisdom to help us navigate the waters of life that first appeared in this extensive Woman's Institute literature during the 1920s and early 1930s. Accompanying the text is a plethora of original vintage illustrations, as well as a gorgeous overall design to the book that includes things like page borders that are images of charming vintage fabrics.

No matter if one is a sewer or not, this book is worth its weight in gold for the history it contains and important page space that it devotes to an institution that was once at the forefront of domestic like in America. Divided into twelve chapters, one to correspond with each month of the year, Vintage Notions also includes a heartwarmingly lovely prefix at the beginning of each chapter from Amy that covers some of her own thoughts on that month and the subjects covered within it by the Institute.

{Take an exciting peak inside Vintage Notions in this engaging YouTube video from author Amy Barickman herself.}

The Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences operated from 1914 until 1938, and though a focus on domestic arts remained a key point for many ladies in the ensuing two decades, by the 1960s, as the sands of society were shifting on many, many fronts, the age old arts of homemaking, sewing, knitting and similar crafts were no longer at the forefront of many women's lives in the ways that they had once been. As a result, the wisdom that the Woman's Institution had gathered, created, and shared largely fell out of the public eye, yet even in the 21st century much of it reminds poignant and practical - and for those of us who sew and sport vintage fashions, extremely handy on that front as well.

Amy Barickman has done a hat doffingly commendable job of gleaning some of the most enjoyable and practical information (and patterns) that the Woman's Institute offered its students and brought it to life in today's world with the help of her own notes and a book that is so beautifully designed, you'll not only want to keep your copy out on display, but to give this book to all of the sewing, history, vintage fashion and cooking fans in your life.

In addition to sending a copy my way, the publisher also very generously offered to give away one copy of Vintage Notions to a lucky North American Chronically Vintage reader.

If you'd like to try your hand at winning a copy of this awesome book, please feel free to do as many of the following seven things as you'd like, ensuring that you please leave a separate comment for each method that you enter with.


1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favourite type of domestic art is and at least one of the ways in which it has impacted your life.


2. Blog about this giveaway on your own site, linking back to this post.


3. Like Amy Barickman on Facebook and post about the giveaway on your own Facebook page.


4. Follow Amy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, including the hashtag #vintagenotions in your tweet.


5. Sign up to follow Amy's blog by email (you can do so at the top of the right hand sidebar).


6. Follow, or be an existing follower, of Chronically Vintage on Instagram.


7. Like, or be an existing fan, of Chronically Vintage on Facebook.


Giveaway details

This giveaway is for one copy of the book Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman. It is open to readers from Canada and America, at the request of the publisher (apologies to my wonderful international readers), and will run from today (January 27th) until February 3, 2015.

Once the giveaway has closed, I will select a winner using a random number generator and announce that person's name on Facebook and/or Twitter shortly thereafter. If doing so is possible, I will also try to contact the winner directly by email or Facebook private message to let them know that they won and to obtain their address, which I'll pass along to the publisher who will send your prize to you directly.

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I genuinely adore Vintage Notions and would have happily reviewed and penned every last word that I said in today's post regardless of if I received it as a review gift or not. It is en elegant, sweet, wholesome, timeless tome and homage to the domestic arts that deserves a place in homes and lives of those with a passion for any branch of this field and/or history in general - plus, those who sport 1920s and/or 30s fashions are bound to especially love that the patterns in it hail from those decades.

Thank you, Amy, for writing this book and introducing Mary Brooks Picken’s wisdom, advice, and knowledge to a new generation for whom - as I'm certain Mary herself would have known – it remains as pertinent today as it was more than eighty years ago when it was first presented to the world.

Book review - 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook by Emmanuelle Dirix

When one looks back over the course of human history in relatively recent decades, it is impossible not to stop and take notice of the fashions that comprised and defined the 1940s. This was an era that was fraught with heartache, suffering, brutality, and challenge the world over, and yet, no matter how dire the straights, strict the rations on clothing, or grim the situation, women - and those in the industry who created fashions for them - refused to let style, much like hope itself, die. This point, like many other excellent examinations of the fascinating path that fashion took during the decade, is highlighted in the recently released book 1940s Fashions: The Definitive Sourcebook. 




{Note: this image, like all others throughout this post, was taken of my personal copy of 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Handbook, using my cell phone and can be found, along with other images from this book not included herein, on my Instagram stream.}



I caught wind of this book a few months back on the blogs of some fellow vintage loving ladies in the UK and Europe, where it was released first (before making its way to North America and elsewhere) and instantly knew that it was destined to land on my bookshelf as quickly as possible. When my birthday rolled around and I received some funds to spend as I please, I thought instantly of this book and got a jump on Amazon.com and .ca (where it had yet to be released), by ordering it directly from The Book Depository in the UK.
 
It arrived in snap and I set to work savoring the informative, beautiful pages housed within instantly. My first reaction was to curl up with it and do a marathon read, but a few pages in, I knew that I wanted to stretch this vintage fashion filled tome - it's 512 pages long - out over the course of August, and that is precisely what I did. When I'd finished, I went back a couple of days later and did as my initial gut reaction had urged, reading it cover to cover a second time in a single delightful afternoon. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that further readings will ensue over time.




1940s Fashion opens with a thought provoking, intelligently written essay focusing on the effects that various elements of WW2 had on women's clothing (this book, it should be noted, deals exclusively with womenswear), as well as a look at the styles that proceeded and followed those of the war years. 

The heart of the matter is that time frame however, and it is here where writer Emmanuelle Dirix shines as she digs well beyond the surface of this subject and takes readers on a what feels like a trip in a time machine back to various European countries (including England, France and Germany) that saw years of ongoing conflict firsthand, as well as America, as she explores how the war shaped and defined women's styles during the period.




This book is the third in series (it was proceed by the 1920s and 1930s, respectively) dedicated to encompassing a great deal of the history of, and behind, the fashions of a given decade. Both prior titles had been on my reading wishlist for quite some time, however I had not yet even so much as flipped through them in person, so I didn't have any preconceived notions when it came to the 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook. That said, I did have certain hopes that I wanted this book to fulfill.

I hoped that it would be expertly written, well structured, widely encompassing, informative, and chalked with beautiful images. On all of those points, and many more, it hit things right out of the ballpark. Proceeding beyond the introductory essay (which in and of itself, would be more than enough to paint a clear picture of 1940s fashion to someone who was just beginning to learn about the topic), the book is divided into chapters focused on different elements of women wear, such as daywear and work wear, with each new chapter being kicked off with a small, yet thorough, introduction to the topic it covers. 




The the examples were not presented in a strictly chronological order, which some might prefer, however I didn't find this detracted from the images one iota, especially because they're accompanied by a very brief description (usually with a date) and because they were all grouped with like being alongside like.

Many, many crisp, clear photographs and illustrations, pulled from sources as diverse as Hollywood publicity shots to France's famous Echo de la Mode magazine go to work illuminating example after swoon-worthily marvelous example of various types of clothing, as well as making sure to draw attention to supporting fashion players, such as hairstyles, shoes, handbags and accessories throughout the book.





It's a fair bet to say that most people reading this review already have a serious interest in the fashions of the 1940s. Many of us wear, or have worn at different times in our lives, forties styles. For a good number, this may even be the sole decade that your wardrobe and personal style focuses on. Some folks will know only the utmost of basics about the subject, others will be experts to the point where they could have all but penned this book themselves, and many will fall somewhere in between. No matter at what point on the spectrum you find yourself, this book is exceedingly likely to appeal to you because it is so all-encompassing in its scope and magnitude.

No one book can ever truly cover every single element of a topic (for example, my own country, Canada, which was a major player in the second world war, and its respective womenswear scene during the 1940s, receives virtually no mention anywhere in this book), but when it comes to the fashions of the 1940s, this title more than lives up to its name. Not only is it a sourcebook, but for those of us who collect and/or wear vintage clothing from the era, it is a lookbook (thanks to its stellar selection of 600 different images) and an endless source of wishlist fodder all in the same go.




I'm extremely glad that I bought this book and read it as I did. For in doing so, I got to satisfy both my desire to slowly lap up the insightful writing, stunning images and general atmosphere that it presented, as well as to then go back and give myself the the pleasure of flipping working my way through it quickly, like a kid let loose in an all you eat candy store until I was almost drunk with the kind of euphoria that only studying and surrounding oneself with vintage fashion can create.

Whether you buy or borrow, this is a book that deserves to be in the hands and on the bookshelves of every vintage fashion lover the world over, regardless of it the forties fill your wardrobe or not. Emmanuelle Dirix has done a superb job of exploring many of the diverse facets of fashion during a time when nothing in the world was certain and each day reverberated with change, both before and after the war, as Dior's iconic New Look was ushered in and fashion began to traverse ever closer to the silhouettes, shapes and styles of the fifties.

This is a book packed with as much important cultural history as it has inspiration, and if for that reason alone, 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook deserves a place on every vintage fan's reading list.

Book giveaway and review: A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

 It's a safe bet to say that the twentieth century decade that is on most people's lips these days in the 1920s, a fact that is spurred on largely by the latest film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, which recently hits theaters across the world. I've always been a Fitzgerald fan and looking forward to seeing this film asap; however the roaring twenties have been on my mind for months now, long before DiCaprio sashayed onto the big screen as Jay Gatsby.

The reason for this stems almost entirely from the fact that last year, as I mentioned in this post, Tony I finally started watching the show Boardwalk Empire, were instantly hooked, and promptly worked our way through every single episode that had been released up until that point.

There are many reasons to enjoy this show, but without a doubt one of the main ones for me has been the superb, detail oriented costuming. Unlike many shows and movies that have been set in the twenties over the years, Boardwalk Empire doesn't just focus on flapper fashions (though there are scads of those, too), but instead encompasses a wide range of clothing that women of various socioeconomic classes wore during the era.

It's refreshing to see such outfits, and to imagine what I would have been likely to have worn myself had I been alive at the time. Between the hair (including some longer, non-bobbed styles), make-up, and clothes presented on the show, a passion for the twenties was rekindled in a new way in my heart, and I've found myself more and more drawn towards the era ever since.

As such, when I was recently contacted by a lovely lady from Big Honcho Media on behalf of Harlequin Books who was curious to know if I'd like to review (and hold a giveaway for) a copy of New York Times best selling author Deanna Raybourn's latest release, A Spear of Summer Grass, which is set in the 1920s, I gladly jumped at the chance.

I tend to be much more of a non-fiction and classic lit reader, generally spending considerably less time with modern fiction than either of those two categories. As such, it was a refreshing change of pace to settle in with a hot-off-the-presses piece of contemporary fiction recently while I continued to recover from my surgery in April.

A Spear of Summer Grass tells the tale of a young woman named Delilah Drummond, who boasts both a checked past and a rather sorted present, and who finds herself fleeing her wild life in Paris, when a particular scandal (involving her recently deceased husband) begins taking up too much space in the gossip columns.

Leaving Europe and nearly everyone she knows (save for her cousin, Dodo) behind, Delilah embarks to Kenya, where she takes up residence in one of her ex-stepfather's (Delilah's mother doesn't exactly have a spotless record in the romance department herself) homes, which is called Fairlight. Gradually she finds herself falling for both the exotic landscape and a chap named Ryder White who acts as her guide in this foreign, exciting, beautiful - and at times dangerous - landscape.

Drama, seductive romance, intrigue and life lessons a plenty unfold for Delilah as her stay in Kenya continues, while Raybourn takes the reader on their own journey through this corner of the the Dark Continent, painting a vivid, engaging picture of a time and place that both seem wildly distant and close enough to reach out and touch. The plot, centered as it may be in the 1920s, could just as easily have taken place twenty, forty, or even some ninety years later, in the present day world, a trait which I didn't find off-putting in the slightest to the context of this tale.

The storyline moves along fluidly and enjoyably, and one finds themselves empathizing to a certain degree with each twist and plot turn that comes Ms. Drummond's way (some of which are, undoubtedly more than a little self-inflicted), as well how she often tries to make the best of the less than stellar situation she finds herself amply thrust into at Fairlight, where life is rarely a bed of African violets for her.

Delilah, like most memorable literary characters is rather far from perfect, but one finds in her a a certain reliability and the desire to see life ultimately work out for this enigmatic, troubled, adventurous young woman before the final chapter comes to a close.

This is the first book by Deanna Raybourn (who is well known for her Lady Julie Grey series) that I've ever read, and overall I quite enjoyed it. Raybourn shines as a writer when it comes to the lyrical, captivating way she describes the landscape of Kenya, and it was this element of the story that I found myself most enjoying as the book progressed. A Blade of Summer Grass was what I'd consider to be a light, enjoyable, easy read. The 1920s timeframe and African backdrop worked well together, and created an imaginary setting that one could easily picture themselves in, perhaps under different circumstances, too.

If, like me, you're in a 1920s mood these days or simply enjoy a good historical fiction read, then I've got great news for you, because this week we're giving away two paperback copies of A Spear of Summer Grass.

One copy will go to a reader in either Canada or America, and will be shipped out from the publisher. The other is up for grabs by one lucky reader from anywhere else in the whole wide world and will be sent to you from me directly (the books themselves that each reader will receive are identical, it's just that the only way I could open this giveaway up to readers around the world was to mail out that copy myself).

You can earn as many as six separate entries in this giveaway, by doing any (or all) of the following things.

1. Leave a comment in which you tell me one or more reasons, of any kind, why you like the 1920s.

2. Like Chronically Vintage on Facebook.

3. Post about this giveaway on Facebook, providing a link back to your post in your comment here.

4. Follow Chronically Vintage on Twitter.

5. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, including a link back to this post in your tweet.

6. Write about this giveaway on your own site, including a link back to this post. Once you've done so, be sure to come back and leave a comment letting me know about your post.

Please make sure to leave a separate comment specifying each of the ways in which you entered this giveaway, so as to increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway will run until 11:59 PST on Sunday May 26, 2013, and will, as detailed above, have two winners - one from either Canada or America, and one from any other country in the world. Both winners will be drawn using a random number generator and will be announced in a blog post here within 48 hours of the giveaway concluding.

I found Deanna Raybourn's latest offering to be precisely the kind of book that be perfect for a day of leisurely reading on the beach (where no doubt the sand beneath your toes would only help add further dimension to the author’s beautiful descriptions of Kenya) or anytime you're in the mood for a the kind of face paced, easy-to-get-through story that is packed with the promise of romance, excitement, and early twentieth century life.

Thank you very much in advance to all those who enter this giveaway for a chance to win your own copy of A Spear of Summer Grass. Best of luck to everyone!