Book 184: This Old Thing by Dawn O'Porter
Book 184: This Old Thing: Fall in Love with Vintage Clothes .
Author: Dawn O'Porter, 2014.
Genre: Fashion. TV Tie-in. Non-Fiction.
Other Details: Hardback. 144 pages.
Give your wardrobe a thoroughly modern vintage makeover with Dawn O'Porter and her team of style experts! Tying-in to her new prime-time six-part Channel 4 show of the same name, journalist Dawn O'Porter is a woman on a mission: to ignite Britain's passion for vintage fashion! We're a nation obsessed with cheap, disposable clothing - but Dawn and her team of vintage style experts are here to show you why hunting for one-of-a-kind fashion gems is more exciting, better value for money, and a lot more fun. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
I caught an episode of Dawn's TV show and then sought out this book via the library. While I am not sure vintage clothes are for me (let's face it I'm old enough to have lived through some of those decades) this was a terrific guide to the subject. Vintage clothing is defined as that over 30 years old going back to the 1920s; items before that is classified as antique. She gives an overview of the decades from the 1920s through the early 1980s. She also provides a history of various iconic trends such as the LBD, flares, the Maxi and Mini, as well as a guide to having a clear-out of your existing wardrobe.
Dawn obviously has a lot of fun writing this guide and that was infectious. It is beautifully illustrated with many colour photographs from the various decades as well as Dawn modelling some of her finds. I admit to envy at some of these. At the end of the book is a guide to shopping for vintage clothing in the UK both in speciality shops and on-line and a section on DIY tailoring.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested in getting into vintage clothing. Despite my feeling that vintage might not be for me, within a few days of reading this book I found the confidence to purchase via Etsy a vintage 1970s maxi. and also gave my wardrobe a good clear-out.
Dawn O'Porter's website - packed with goodies.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.