The first illustrated monograph dedicated to the history of the House of Worth, the world’s pioneering haute couture label Arriving in Paris in 1845, at the age of twenty and with only a few francs in his pocket, Charles Frederick Worth would go on to build the most prominent, innovative, and successful fashion house of the century. He was inspired by a love of fine art, luxurious fabrics, and his vision of the female ideal, and was the first to set out to dictate new styles and silhouettes to his elite clientele— not the other way around. He hosted them in his rue de la Paix salons, which included groundbreaking sportswear and maternity departments as well as silk, velvet, and brocade rooms, and a special salon with closed shutters and gas lighting designed to allow clients to try on ball gowns in lighting conditions precisely matched to those of the event at which they would be worn. Organized chronologically and illustrated with striking ensembles, paintings, and documents sourced from both private family archives and the best fashion collections from museums around the world, The House of Worth is an inspiring tribute to the house that started it all.

Legendary British-born designer Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895), with enormous talent for design and promotion, built his fashion house into an empire during the last quarter of the 19th century--the first busi­ness of its kind with global reach. His company, through his heirs, endured until 1952, when his great-grandson retired. Profusely illustrated, this astonishing book explores Worth’s success in the realm of haute couture after 1890. Hundreds of photographs selected from the V&A’s unique archive of more than 7,000 official house records capture the Worth style and offer valuable insights into the daily routine at Maison Worth in Paris. Images and text tell the intriguing story of these creations, providing historical context and describing Worth’s inter­national clientele of elegant women of wealth and power.

“Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated . . . indispensable to anyone interested in the era.” —Tasha Alexander, New York Times–bestselling author of the Lady Emily series What did a Victorian lady wear for a walk in the park? How did she style her hair for an evening at the theater? And what products might she have used to soothe a sunburn or treat an unsightly blemish? USA Today-bestselling author Mimi Matthews answers these questions and more as she takes readers on a decade-by-decade journey through Victorian fashion and beauty history. Women’s clothing changed dramatically during the course of the Victorian era. Necklines rose, waistlines dropped, and Gothic severity gave way to flounces and frills. Sleeves ballooned up and skirts billowed out. The crinoline morphed into the bustle and steam-molded corsets cinched women’s waists ever tighter. As fashion evolved, so too did trends in ladies’ hair care and cosmetics. An era which began by prizing natural, barefaced beauty ended with women purchasing lip and cheek rouge, false hairpieces and pomades, and fashionable perfumes. Using research from nineteenth-century beauty books, fashion magazines, and lady’s journals, the author of the Parish Orphans of Devon series brings Victorian fashion into modern day focus—and offers a glimpse of the social issues that influenced women’s clothing and the outrage that was a frequent response to those bold females who used fashion and beauty to assert their individuality and independence. “An elegant resource that I will be reaching for again and again.”—Deanna Raybourn, New York Times-bestselling author of the Veronica Speedwell novels

Published to accompany an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, December 1995-March 1996. A lovely presentation of designs that exemplify the rise of haute couture--that is, fashion driven by the artistic expression of the designer rather than by the dictates of clients. The thoroughly captioned selections represent the history of haute couture from its beginings in mid-19th century Paris to the present-day creations of major designers. Tailoring and dressmaking techniques as well as the decoration produced by embroiderers, beaders, lace makers, feather workers, and other craftspeople are discussed in the explanatory text. No bibliography. Distributed by Abrams. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"Paul Poiret (1879-1944) led the fashion world in the first decade of the twentieth century and his autobiography tells the extraordinary story of his meteoric rise to fame. From his humble Parisian childhood to his debut as a couturier, to his experiences during the First World War, Poiret reveals all in this captivating tale, first published in 1931. An astute businessman, Poiret translated the spirit of Art Deco into revolutionary garments, and his memoir brings this astonishing period to life."--Publisher's description

Published in conjunction with an exhibition on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 5-Aug. 15, 2010, and at the Brooklyn Museum, May 7-Aug. 1, 2010.

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING JACK REACHER SERIES THAT INSPIRED TWO MAJOR MOTION PICTURES AND THE STREAMING SERIES REACHER A heart-racing page-turner that hits the ground running and then accelerates all the way to a colossal showdown “Jack Reacher is the coolest continuing series character now on offer.”—Stephen King, in Entertainment Weekly There’s deadly trouble in the corn country of Nebraska . . . and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he falls foul of the Duncans, a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing child, already decades old, that Reacher can’t let go. The Duncans want Reacher gone—and it’s not just past secrets they’re trying to hide. They’re awaiting a secret shipment that’s already late—and they have the kind of customers no one can afford to annoy. For as dangerous as the Duncans are, they’re just the bottom of a criminal food chain stretching halfway around the world. For Reacher, it would have made much more sense to keep on going, to put some distance between himself and the hard-core trouble that’s bearing down on him. For Reacher, that was also impossible.

Many people consider haute couture died in 1950 when ready-to-wear fashion came on the market. Since then fashion has undergone fundamental changes. Nonetheless, there will always be a certain demand for beautiful, individually made clothes, but the future will never be as lavish and as magnificent as the period here investigated. The author traces its history from Charles Frederick Worth, the first global fashion dictator and Imperial French dressmaker, to Geoffrey Wallis who wished to make good design available to all. -- Google books

* Examines the relationship between Haute Couture and Pret-a-porter collections* Conversations with dozens of renowned fashion photographers and designers including Colin MsDowell, Vivienne Westwood, and Jackie NickersonHaute couture often dazzles us with its precision, craftsmanship and the extravaganza inherent in it. Clothing items are made out of proportion; unique materials are used and everything is hand-finished. But, the Pr�t-�-porter collections of today comply with the classic principles of Haute Couture. The items shown on the catwalk should theoretically be wearable, but often in reality this is not entirely the case. Haute-�-Porter examines the relationship between Haute Couture and pr�t-�-porter collections and shows the evolution in their relationship over the past 25 years.Includes conversations with Angelo Flaccavento, Antonio Mancinelli, Alexander Fury, Colin McDowell, Farida Khelfa, Irene Silvagni, Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni, Nicole Phelps, Pierre Hardy, Robin Schuli�, Rick Owens, Stephen Jones, Thom Browne, Tim Blanks, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Zandra Rhodes, Viktor & Rolf and many more Photographs and artworks by Ali Mahdavi, Anthony Maule, Brian Griffin, Daniel Jackson, Erik Madigan Heck, Fabien Baron, Fran�ois Berthoud, Giampaolo Sgura, Jackie Nickerson, Kevin Tachman, Luigi & Iango, Michal Pudelka, Mikael Jansson, Miles Aldridge, Peter Lindbergh, Rene Habermacher, Txema Yeste, Sebastian Kim, Sheila Metzner and others.Text in English and Dutch.