Dior Hats

The great hats of Dior, as chosen by Stephen Jones, one of the most revered milliners of our times. Christian Dior himself wrote in his Little Dictionary of Fashion: "A hat is essential to any outfit. It completes it. In a way, a hat is the best way to express your personality." Published on the occasion of the 2020 exhibition at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, France, and authored by renowned milliner Stephen Jones, this volume celebrates more than seventy years of exquisite hats. Opening with a focus on hats designed by Christian Dior himself, the book explores the house's headdresses over the years--from the first millinery of the New Look to Yves Saint Laurent's Venetian masks, the toques of Marc Bohan, dramatic boaters by Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano's extravagant confections, the graphic neck bow by Raf Simons, and romantic designs by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Jones's insightful texts are accompanied by contributions from leading experts and enlivened by drawings and photographs from Dior's archives; shots by famed photographers, such as Richard Avedon, Sir Cecil Beaton, and Craig McDean; and exclusive new images by Sølve Sundsbø.

Fashion.

Using beautiful full-color tutorials, Jenny Pfanenstiel teaches the basics of hat-making, from materials and fabric selection to stitching and finishing. All of the projects are scaled for difficulty so that readers can learn each of the highlighted skills while creating their own hats. Styles include cloche, fascinator, straw-brimmed, and other hats.

Reaching beyond the intimate setting of the fashion show, the photographer paints a portrait of haute couture that takes the couturier’s intention to enchant the public and elevates it to the level of the sublime. The great names in photography, the mythical photos that have constructed Dior’s image, and the emblematic subjects of the house’s iconography—whether they are dreams of a faraway place or captured in the vast open-sky “studios” of Paris or Versailles—are all evoked in this vast panorama that takes us through more than sixty years in the history of fashion photography. Published to accompany the Dior and Fashion Photography exhibition presented at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, France, this lavish volume presents a wealth of gorgeous photographs that bring the character of the couturier’s dresses to life, with each photographer interpreting them in his or her unique style. Legendary contributors include Horst P. Horst, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson, Henry Clarke, William Klein, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi, Nick Knight, Ines Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Tim Walker, Willy Vanderperre, Patrick Demarchelier, and many more. Stunning, glamorous, and iconic, Dior and Fashion Photography exemplifies how the haute couture house transcended fashion to enter the realm of legend.

An illustrated view of 2,000 years of head coverings, this engaging and literate survey features over 800 drawings depicting the headgear of both genders, all classes, and many nationalities.

An exquisite look into the legacy of the rose at the House of Dior, from Christian Dior’s early passion for gardening to contemporary floral-inspired designs. Christian Dior discovered gardening at his childhood home in Granville, France. Roses profoundly influenced the designer, especially with his famous New Look aesthetic, where they were placed beneath the iconic corolla symbol. Published on the occasion of the exhibition at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, this volume explores the rose’s importance in Dior’s history. The inspiration for Christian Dior’s flowery vision of femininity runs deep throughout the House’s collections; reinventions by subsequent artistic directors pay homage to Dior’s wish to design dresses for “flower-like women.” A focus on a new variety of rose, the Rose de Granville, underscores the perennial significance of the rose today—from inspiring Haute Couture creations to perfume making. This fascinating immersion in Dior’s universe continues with texts by experts Éric Pujalet-Plàa, Vincent Leret, and Brigitte Richart, accompanied by sublime photographs, including shots by the most acclaimed twentieth-century masters as well as contemporary photography.

Charlotte Smith had already had more than her fair share of fabulous dresses and adventures. She lived life to the fullest in London, Paris and New York before falling in love with Australia and making it her home. Then she discovered that she had inherited a priceless vintage clothing collection from her American Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell. When the boxes started arriving, they were filled with more than three thousand pieces dating from 1790 to 1995, from Dior and Chanel originals to a dainty pioneer dress. But when she unearthed her godmother’s book of stories, the true value of what she had been given hit home. This wasn’t merely a collection of beautiful things; it was a collection of lives. Women’s lives. Tiny snapshots of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic. This is a book for any woman who knows a dress can hold a lifetime of memories.

Illustrations of designs by Christian Dior on card stock, in paper-doll format; biographical information about Dior on endpapers.