This book is much smaller than I expected it to be looking at it on the computer screen when I ordered it. However, it does have lots of great photos and resources and I'd say its worth getting for your collection or it would make a great gift. I wish it would have gone by year, rather than style. Also I hoped that by the name "fashion fiascos" we would see more extreme styles of platform boots and shoes and other stereotypically 70's styles. Don't get me wrong, there are some, but not nearly as many as I'd thought and most of the book focuses on the "Marsha Brady" era of clothes, more so than the later 70's when you had a totally different style that was more 80's than 60's. The style of hair worn by somebody like Pam Dawber on Mork and Mindy in 1979 was radically different than the hard, sculpted styles of the earlier 70's. Clothes changed as radically as music did in the 70's. Even the sound of disco between the early stuff like "That's the Way I like it" was radically different from the later Disco sounds, such as Donna Summer and that change took place within only 5 years. Perhaps the author would do a Fashion Fiascos Vol 2 to include the onset of Disco to the end of the 1970s. This book doesn't even feature a John Travolta white suit. Still, aside from everything, it is a nice book for my collection and reference for those who sew period clothing. 70s Fashion Fiascos: Studio 54 to Saturday Night Fever
What a cool book! It brought me back to the optimism of the 70's. Ms. Valdes Marsh really knows her stuff and has the ads to prove it. The book is well laid out with an incredible array of fashion photos from the 70's (when fashion don'ts were fashion do's). Sadly, I must admit I actually thought I spotted a couple of my own fashions from high school days...
All kidding aside, the 70s FASHION FIASCOS[sic]:STUDIO 54 TO SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is a fantastic book filled with color pictures of 70s fashion. But don't expect to see photos of either Studio 54 or the movie Saturday Night Fever in this little over 8 x 7 inch book. The wonderful pictures here are on the real people.
Mostly taken from department store catalogs like Sears, Montgomery Wards, JC Penny and others, the book shows you many of the hottest trends in the 70s. From platform shoes to the leisure suit--and everything in between--it's all in here. And both men and women are featured, which is a plus! Most fashion books only concentrate on women's clothes but in 70s FASHION..., much like the decade, men get to play too.
Author Maureen Valdes Marsh does a great job describing the time and provides little bits of trivia peppered throughout. She also gives descriptions of the clothes and provides the info as to which store featured them.
Another great section is the resource guide in the back. In it, Valdes-Marsh provides information on vintage stores that are online so readers can check out and buy some cool clothes if they get inspired by the book.
I loved it. Although some of the clothes were absolutely horrid, there were many pieces that looked ultra-chic and I would definitely love to wear some of them. Anyway, I recommend this book to budding fashion designers, fashionistas, cool people and anyone who remembers the 70s.
This is the most amazingly fun and informative book I have ever seen! For anyone who grew up in the '70s, it is full of fantastic memories. Fashion historians should love it for the amazing facts behind the styles -- it is really the best book on '70s fashion I have ever seen. It is incredibly informative, easy to read, and tons of fun to look at.
Even though it's kind of small, it packs a punch!
The 70s were a decade of flamboyant styles and fashion statements influenced by the hippie era, and 70S FASHION FIASCOS captures them all, with full-page color photos capturing styles accompanied by notes on designers, objectives, and culture. Any collection interested in contemporary fashion trends will love the attention to flashy detail of the 70s, offering plenty of whimsical, fun moments.
This is a fantastic, high quality book in full color (wouldn't get the effect if it was in black & white, that's for sure!). It brings back memories of when I was a kid in the 70's. It's like looking through the old photo albums and making fun of what mom and dad were wearing. The color pictures, the ads, the history, the little tidbits of info.. what fun! Sure to bring back memories for anyone who was around in the 70's, and some of the fashions will.. well.. make you cringe. :) The book even gives some shopping resources on where to find some of these vintage 70's fashions if you'd want to dress like that. Overall, a very fun book! I love it! I hope Maureen Valdes Marsh comes up with an 80's fashion book.
When first 70s Fashion Fiascos: Studio 54 to Saturday Night Fever by Maureen Valdes Marsh crossed my desk, I admit, I screamed in horror. The caftan on the book cover alone was enough to put me in a swoon. But a pleading letter came with it, begging me to give this book my imprimatur.
Look it up.
Little did I know that I would be swept up by its contents: a blend of American social history, wit, and truly hideous clothes! Ms. Marsh is a marvelous writer, with a knack for the mot juste. Of leisure suits, she writes, "Color became the key to individuality, and no shade was too effeminate for the 1970s man to wear."
Since the youth of today has taken a great interest in the clothing of the decade, Ms. Marsh has even provided an up-to-date Shopping Resource Guide in the back.
- excerpt from my review in my blog, "Diary of a Mad Fashionista" at blogspot dot com.
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