What I'm Reading...Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

Browsing at the library this week, I saw this book - Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible.  I picked it up primarily because it had Gunn on the cover, thus breaking the "Never judge a book by its cover" rule.  I was also drawn to it because the blurb on the cover caught my attention.  It says, "The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet".  This book is fascinating and it's really beautifully done in a visual sense.  But before I get into the book itself, let me give a bit of background about why I was drawn to it in the first place.

I'm not into "fashion", and I certainly don't dress fashionably, but I absolutely adore Tim Gunn.  I fell in love with him after seeing him on Project Runway.  I became a Project Runway fan about a year ago.  I hadn't given any thought to watching it before that even though it had been on for years, because I'm not drawn to runway fashions.  If I see runway action, I usually stare at the TV wondering how in the world "those outfits" can be considered beautiful, sheik or even wearable to the average person.  I don't "get" fashion, and I have little interest on seeing clothes I could never begin to afford on models whose wafer thin sizes are nowhere remotely near the average American's sizes.  In all honesty, I was harshly judgmental about fashion and pooh-pooh'd anything to do with it. 

But one day I wanted background noise while I cleaned so I left the TV on, and eventually came back to a Runway marathon.  Before long I was sitting on the couch and cleaning was forgotten.  The creative person inside me came to love Project Runway because, at it's simplest, Runway is about creative people who are given a project, a budget and a deadline for completing it.  Then it's up to each of them to "make it work", as Tim Gunn often encourages.  It is creative competition with some drama thrown in for good measure.  

I love seeing what the designers can come up with for each project, and I love watching the ways they adapt to meet the challenges that come their way.  Like any reality TV show, game-changing surprises are thrown in along the way to increase viewer interest.  Some designers do a great job meeting the challenges and others hit a wall.  This is 

exactly what I and probably all designers and crafters face as we create.  Creativity is tumultuous enough when I'm in my studio alone. I can't imagine what it would be like on a national stage! 

Tim Gunn is the added bonus in the scrumptiousness that is Project Runway.  First of all, he's so intelligent!  He has a degree in fine arts, was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design there.  He's a mentor to the designers on Runway, and I've also seen him fill in as a judge on the show.  What I've come to love about him is the compassion and nurturing attitude he has towards the designers.  He can give some terse critique to them, but does so only as a means to strengthen their design and their achievement.  He deeply cares about the success of each competitor, and I've seen him get emotional on several occasions.  He also has a fantastic sense of humor!

So back to the book.

I love history, and at first glimpse I thought this book would be more about textiles and the process of actually manufacturing garments, but once I started thumbing through it I realized it was a history of where each article of clothing comes from and a sort of timeline from Ancient times to 2012.  It's not too detailed, so it isn't like reading an in-depth history, but it definitely gives a broad look at how fashion has changed across the times and across the globe; what has evolved, what has been eliminated and what is now considered essentials. 

Here are some of my favorite bits: 

Each section is devoted to a type of garment - the dress, pants, belts, even underwear (my favorite chapter!)  The chapter looks at the origins of the garment, the transformations it has been through, and the way it is viewed, used or disregarded in our modern society.  Thrown in are personal anecdotes from Gunn's own experiences - and sometimes they are rather snarky!  I'd never seen this side of Gunn before, but I like it!

I love all the photos he includes, and for a variety of purposes.  Some simply give us a glimpse of fashion in a certain time period.  Other photos demonstrate specific popular styles.  On this particular page, Gunn was using photos of Joan Crawford (left) and Wallis Simpson (right) to show dresses that became hugely popular after these icons wore them.  

Gunn also addresses the crazy fads and trends that are memorable for all the wrong reasons.  Who can forget all the crazy sweaters that Bill Cosby wore on the Cosby show?  According to Gunn, those sweaters were just as horrible as those crazy Christmas sweaters everyone wears.  Did you know that those Cosby sweaters still cost over $300?  I love these bits of trivia tossed in.  

Gunn includes several ads from various decades.  They are intriguing because they provide not just a glimpse of fashion history, but history as a whole.  The ads depict important events and people of the times, sexism, racism, lots of other "isms" and other fascinating depictions of our society across time. 

When there are multiple styles of any given garment, Gunn helps the reader distinguish between them.  This feature was especially useful in the chapters on skirts, jeans and dresses.  Who knew there could be so many variations on a given article of clothing!

Where pertinent, Gunn adds some instruction as to how to best wear a particular piece or how to select the right size/fit/style.  This element was what took this book from merely enjoyable to truly useful for me.  Not only am I learning some entertaining info, but I would also value this book as a reference before a shopping excursion.  

He even includes a little section at the back to aid in evaluating the contents of our current wardrobe.  I'm completely inadequate when it comes to determining what fit I need, (although I am wise enough to know better than to purchase skinny jeans or anything spandex!)  This book gives me a practical way of determining what's right for my body type as well as my personal preferences, and the worksheets sum it all up. 

A final plus - Gunn is very budget conscious.  Living in NYC and working in the fashion industry, I imagine that it's very difficult to maintain a concept of what average consumer's can afford, but he does!  Some might say he's too frugal, (especially when it comes to what women should spend on a good handbag!), but I find it very refreshing to get fashion advice that is applicable in my ordinary life. 

I devoured this book in two days - and it's substantial.  I never would have thought that a book on fashion would be so appealing to me, but I definitely enjoyed it and am strongly considering adding it to my own collection of books.  What are you reading?