Obsessed By Dress

Are you obsessed by dress? Do you wonder if your obsession is a virtue or a vice? The flourish of a creative spirit or a sign of conformity to social norms? If so, you're in good company. Juxtaposing quotations from Virgil to Coco Chanel, Tobi Tobias reassures us that the obsession with clothes is as old as human history itself. Jane Austen, Mae West, Christian Dior, Virginia Woolf, Andy Warhol, and Mark Twain are among the many who have their say. Arranged with incomparable flair, their comments will help you answer the eternally vexing question, "What shall I wear?"

A history of the women who taught Americans how to dress in the first half of the 20th century—and whose lessons we’d do well to remember today.

Join a bridesmaid's hilarious journey to the altar in this sharp-witted story of family, friendship and embracing your true self, no matter what you’re forced to wear. A pitch-perfect teen read from bestselling author Keren David.

Stylish Dress Book features a selection of beautiful clothes that you can wear every day. Using simple shapes and individual details, this book shows you how to craft a stylish collection of garments to your own taste. For anyone who knows the frustration of going to the mall and finding racks of identikit clothes in cheap fabrics, this book offers a fabulous homemade alternative. As every sewist knows, DIY fashion is the best way to be stylish. What makes these Japanese sewing books different from other guides on the market is the simplicity of the projects. The instructions come through a series of simple, step-by-step diagrams, so the sequence of construction is easy to follow. The book also includes four actual-size patterns. Choose from 26 different garments and then set to work to make your own unique outfit.

“Set in an alternate Victorian London–like past, this blends competition and cooperation for compelling drama. A unique debut with plenty of flair.” — Booklist “Krause deftly handles the oft-belittled personal and political power of clothing, and fans of couture and fabulous fashion will enjoy the extravagant clothing and glamorous world that Emmy is determined to enter.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “No one expects Emmaline, a girl from the country, will have anything to offer. Forced to adapt to a ruthless environment, Emmaline will surprise them — and surprise herself, too. If you binge Project Runway and gobble down YA dystopias, then A Dress For the Wicked is for you.” — Refinery 29

A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder—and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side—in this powerful and inspiring memoir. Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home. But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality. It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing. Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future. Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.

In the theater of war, how important is costume? And in peacetime, what purpose does military spectacle serve? This book takes us behind the scenes of the British military at the height of its brilliance to show us how dress and discipline helped to mold the military man and attempted to seduce the hearts and minds of a nation while serving to intimidate civil rioters in peacetime. Often ridiculed for their constrictive splendor, British army uniforms of the early nineteenth century nonetheless played a powerful role in the troops' performance on campaign, in battle, and as dramatic entertainment in peacetime. Plumbing a wide variety of military sources, most tellingly the memoirs and letters of soldiers and civilians, Scott Hughes Myerly reveals how these ornate sartorial creations, combining symbols of solidarity and inspiration, vivid color, and physical restraint, enhanced the managerial effects of rigid discipline, drill, and torturous punishments, but also helped foster regimental esprit de corps. Encouraging recruitment, enforcing discipline within the military, and boosting morale were essential but not the only functions of martial dress. Myerly also explores the role of the resplendent uniform and its associated gaudy trappings and customs during civil peace and disorder--whether employed as public relations through spectacular free entertainment, or imitated by rioters and rebels opposing the status quo. Dress, drills, parades, inspections, pomp, and order: as this richly illustrated book conducts us through the details of the creation, design, functions, and meaning of these aspects of the martial image, it exposes the underpinnings of a mentality--and vision--that extends far beyond the military subculture into the civic and social order that we call modernity.

Janie wanted everything, she wanted it all. Everything this life has to offer and moreBut most of all she wanted him. More than anything else in this world. The one thing she couldnt have, because he belonged to someone else. Cam Konner, talented rock star. Blonde, blue eyed hunk that Janie obsessed about. She'd follow him off the face of the earth, anywhere, just to get him to notice her. Thats all she wanted. She wanted to show him just how much he meant to her. She wanted to dance on stage for him. Her friends thought she was crazy. They told her it would kill her some day. She was out to prove them wrong.