High Fashion Hats: 1950-1980 [ペーパーバック]

VERY DISAPPOINTING...Schiffer's fashion books in the past have usually been very well written with rare examples of clothing and accessories, and I had high hopes when I purchased this on-line and sight unseen, but overall..I found this a Highly Disappointing book. Strictly for the beginner or amateur hat collector. From the book's wrong title (there are almost no true high fashion hats in here) to the poor and too small photos, to the sparse, stilted, poorly written and sometimes inaccurate text, the book is not for the serious or educated millinery reader. The authors admit in thier bios, that they have no background in millinery, or in hat collecting, which shows, and makes one wonder why they were chosen by the publisher to write this book? Written on what seems a grade school level, without any new information to offer the reader. From the title, one would expect to find some classic and beautiful examples of real High Fashion Hats; those unusual,unique millinery creations by coveted designers that make your mouth water, and I was expecting that, but I found none.. save for a few, but none really impressed me. The book has mostly small photos of common, run of the mill lower end hats that can still be found today in second hand shops and tag sales. The writers did not seem to go out of their way to find any truly special hats, and that is not hard to do if you know where to look and what a REAL high fashion hat IS. Mostly showing small photos of inexpensive ready-to-wear hats that originally sold in Pennsylvania and Pocono Mountain mid range department stores that catered to the middle classes and rual communities, and many photographed on styrofoam wig heads (YES!!) the book really disappoints anyone looking for examples of fine millinery. As a dealer in antique and vintage millinery in New York and Los Angeles for over 25 years, and a 35 year long collector of hats, I can say that the price guide is totally useless, and way off, with values placed much higher or lower than the hats are worth, which I feel would hurt and misguide a beginner dealer and or collector. As an example, a small cello straw pillbox with a smidge of veiling, no other trims, circa 1960's with NO label..priced at $45.00? Wool mass produced hats from the 1970's for $75.00 or more? And hand crocheted and hand knit home made caps (please.. these do not belong in this book) referred to as High Fashion Hats? You get the idea. There are some inaccuracies in the text (what little text there is) and glossary of terms as well. .....The 1950's was an exciting time for hats and millinery; from the New Look, the Romantic Post War Revival, The French influences, New York's millinery shops and milliners, Los Angeles and Hollywood milliners and costumers, American couture millinery, Chicago's fantastic millinery artists, St. Louis' hat centers...Southern shops, etc, etc....all very important influences in thier day, but most or all are sorely lacking or not found at all in this book...and any true collector of that time period's hats will surely find this book a complete waste of time and money. Sorry, but this, and other Schiffer fashion books have not been up to their usual high standards lately. It might be fun to leaf through the book, as it only took me 10 minutes to read the entire thing..but certainly not worth purchasing for any serious or seasoned millinery lover.

More than a fashion guide, this detailed and authoritative reference compendium focuses on collectible designer hats from 1950-80 and is very highly recommended for both fashion collections in art libraries and collector's reference libraries with its fine survey of the hairstyles, hats and history behind them. The millinery glossary pairs well with period photos of the hats in use and the fine color photos throughout, making for an excellent collection of images, price guides and history perfect for either art or collector's references.