Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Unlimited inspiration for fashion designers, stylists, collectors and style-setters everywhere

* Explores every aspect of a woman's vintage wardrobe in over 1,000 stand-out examples, from dresses and skirts to hats, shoes and bags, drawn from fashions from the 1920s to the 1980s.

* Not just another history of fashion, this is a survey of how fashion past continues to inspire fashion present - as seen on the street, on the catwalk, and on devotees such as Kate Moss and Sienna Miller.

* Designs by world-famous names feature alongside lesser-known brands beloved of collectors, such as Lilli Ann and Horrockses Fashions.

* Unique handmade pieces as well as icons of vintage fashion, from Marilyn Monroe's bra to the Ossie Clark dress that famously features in David Hockney's painting.

* Includes invaluable practical tips on how to build a collection, and how to date, clean and care for vintage clothing.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Since the 1970s vintage clothing and style-meaning dressing in a way that transcends a particular decade or era of fashion-has become popular. Part of the appeal of vintage apparel and accessories is the beauty or distinct charm of a garment from the past. Focusing on such clothing, this book by London-based stylist Albrechtsen (The Printed Square) is organized into three parts: by "Decades" from the 1920s through the 1980s; "Elements," which covers genres of fashion from hats, gloves, and scarves to knitwear and wedding dresses; and "Hallmarks," which concentrates on themes in vintage garments such as botanical prints, nautical style, and polka dots. On every page, numerous wonderful images illustrate these topics. But what makes this book different from others is that while there are images of clothes by high-fashion designers, the majority of the often striking visual examples are items that an average person could purchase at a vintage clothing shop or even a thrift store. VERDICT Recommended for anyone who collects, wears, or is interested in vintage fashion. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Vintage, Yves Saint Laurent explains in his introduction to this spectacular showcase, encompasses the collective fashions of past eras that are worn today simply because they are beautiful, and therefore always desirable. Fashion stylist and vintage clothing collector Albrechtsen has organized this large, superbly well-designed, and lushly colorful volume in three sections. Decades is a chronological stroll through the finest of fashion, from the 1920s to the 1980s. Elements focuses on imaginative hats, gloves, shoes, handbags, and evening wear from across the vintage spectrum. Hallmarks identifies timeless themes, from botanicals to polka dots to lace to the little black dress. Albrechtsen's commentary is fluent, witty, and informative as she charts fashion traditions and innovations, matching design trends to social change, from war to economic booms and busts to surges forward and back in women's quest for gender equality. New photographs of clothing and accessories are mixed with vintage ads, fashion spreads, and images of glamorously attired celebrities. Guidance on buying and caring for vintage clothes completes this enlivening fashion history, this feast for the eyes, this wish book.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2014 Booklist