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FASHIONABLY MASHED

Name: FASHIONABLY MASHED
Author: Heidi Olinger
ISBN: 978-0-9894467-2-3

THE STEM OF FASHION DESIGN

by Heidi Olinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2013

A useful, experience-based accompaniment to a fashion class, but less effective as a stand-alone textbook.

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A textbook-style guide to the basics of fashion design, aimed at tween and teen girls.

In this debut fashion textbook, Olinger guides students through the fundamental elements of fashion design and production, using a simple T-shirt as the focus of the lessons. The first section covers the design process, from creating a mood board, which incorporates inspirations and representations, to color selection and initial garment design. In the following sections, the focus shifts to the business side of the fashion industry, as students are led through cost analysis, sustainable production methods, an explanation of margin and retail markup, and marketing. The book concludes with a teachers’ guide that provides further guidance for the book’s hands-on lessons. Exercises throughout the book, such as describing the attributes of an ideal client and understanding the relationship between production volume and unit cost, provide a complementary theoretical framework for the practical activities. Though clearly intended for use in a classroom setting rather than as a stand-alone text, the book has its origins in a class taught by the author, and it seems best suited to teachers who already have a substantial knowledge of the fashion production process. For instance, one exercise asks students to draw conclusions about the nature of cotton harvesting based on a photograph of workers in a cotton field and a photograph of a cotton boll, yet no information is provided that could help either the student or the teacher evaluate those conclusions. Citations and suggestions for further exploration are included in footnotes, but not always effectively: In directing students to a YouTube video, the text instructs them to “Go to www.youtube.com > Forever Tango—A Evaristo Carriego.” The back of the textbook includes a helpful “Guidelines for Teachers” section as well as appendices that recommended additional skills fashion students should pursue in the scientific and technical fields.

A useful, experience-based accompaniment to a fashion class, but less effective as a stand-alone textbook.

Pub Date: July 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-9894467-2-3

Page Count: -

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.