Explore the Old Books category for a unique collection of digital scans from rare and antique books. Dive into ‘The Language of Fashion’ for a comprehensive fashion encyclopedia, ‘Liberty’s Victorious Conflict’ for a photographic journey through WWI, and ‘The ABC Book of Birds’ for a colorful glimpse into turn-of-the-century children’s literature. Each book is meticulously scanned to the best of my ability, offering a digital window into the past for historians, fashion enthusiasts, and collectors alike.
Here are more pages from The Language of Fashion dictionary. Of most interest to me was the illustrated and defined types of heels. In 1938, it looks like what I think of as a “stiletto” was called a Spanish Heel. I hope it helps with your identification of vintage and modern shoes!
Among other things, these next 10 pages define and illustrate the different types of mens and womens hats. Special emphasis seems to have been placed on the types of hats that were fashionable for women in 1938 (including the halo, mushroom, skimmer, profile, sailor, Chou, cartwheel, and bumper brim hat styles).
Here are 12 more scans from The Language of Fashion, a fashion dictionary published in 1939. I found the “different types of fancy dress” most interesting in these pages, and funny that it includes a Disney drawing of a dwarf (from Snow White) to illustrate and define a Dwarf Costume.
Different types of coats, illustrated and defined. These include the Box Coat of the 1930s, the Blouse coat of the 1920s, coachmens’ coats, 17th century buffcoat, coolie coat, Balmacaan, Duster early 1900s, Raglan coat, Women’s Cutaway Coat, MacFarlane, and more types of coats.
These pages also cover different types of coifs and collars, including the Bertha collar of the 1920s, the Chin Collar of 1916, and the Buster Brown collar.
Here are more fashion definitions from the “C” part of this 1930s fashion dictionary. It’s quite a feat to be scanning it all!
These pages define different types of cheques, chemises, and chingons.
These next four pages are primarily defining and illustrating the different types of caps, and then several types of capes are shown.
Cap types include the Charlotte Corday Cap, the Juliet Cap, the Mary Stuart Cap, the Tarboosh, and Canadian Tuque.
Dive into the fascinating The Language of Fashion: A Fashion Dictionary (1939) to uncover the evolution of blouses and other iconic garments throughout history. This resource, brimming with precise definitions, beautiful illustrations, and historical fashion insights, is perfect for vintage clothing sellers and history enthusiasts alike. From 19th-century basque bodices to 1930s bouffant skirts, each garment tells a story about its era. Read on to explore how fashion trends from the past continue to inspire today’s vintage styles!
There is the preface and table of contents from The Language of Fashion. The preface contains a pronunciation key, old fashion words vs new fashion words, a note about how color is described in the book (since it was just published in black and white), as well as a paragraph about the use of trademarks.