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20th out of 20 books
—
5 voters
The Fashion File: Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men
From Joanie's Marilyn Monroe-esque pencil skirts to Betty's classic Grace Kelly cupcake dresses, the clothes worn by the characters of the phenomenal Mad Men have captivated fans everywhere. Now, women are trading in their khakis for couture and their pumas for pumps. Finally, it's hip to dress well again. Emmy-Award winning costume designer Janie Bryant offers readers a p...more
Hardcover, 175 pages
Published
November 4th 2010
by Grand Central Life & Style
(first published October 1st 2010)
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What an utter disappointment. This book may be marketed as an insight into the costume design behind Mad Men, but the reality is that it has very little to do with the iconic show. Instead, Bryant presents a forgettable book filled with recycled style tips that might have been pulled from any generic women's magazine. Try getting a bra that fits! Oh, really? Thanks for that. In addition to this oh-so-original advice, Bryant attempts to show readers how they can incorporate elements of vintage st...more
This really is a beautiful book, perfect for fans of "Mad Men" and fashion in general. The illustrations in the book are absolutely gorgeous! I loved every single one!
I really liked the author's philosophy of embracing and loving yourself the way you are. She repeats the message throughout the book and never suggests making changes beyond style and fashion.
However, sometimes the fashion suggestions come off as slightly snobbish. I would have loved to have seen at least one footwear option other...more
I really liked the author's philosophy of embracing and loving yourself the way you are. She repeats the message throughout the book and never suggests making changes beyond style and fashion.
However, sometimes the fashion suggestions come off as slightly snobbish. I would have loved to have seen at least one footwear option other...more
This is a good, thorough style book. A lot of it is the usual stuff you’d find in any style/fashion guide – dressing for your body type, picking colors that work for you, how to accessorize - but hearing it from Janie Bryant's perspective made it worth reading and more inspirational than most. I liked the section on vintage clothes and accessories and how to work them into a modern wardrobe, and the little tidbits throughout about her work on Mad Men. I also like that she talks about "underpinni...more
A few weeks ago I entered a giveaway for a copy of The Fashion File: Advice, Tips & Inspiration From the Costume Designer of Mad Men by Janie Bryant. Lots of publishers give away books on Goodreads and if you are a member its one click entry, so when I saw this book listed I figured why not? I've been seeing this book posted around on the blogs and it seemed pretty cool, but fo $27 it's out of my price range for just a fun book. Luckily for me, I won a copy and it arrived a couple of days ag...more
I am a big fan of the tv show Mad Men and never miss an episode. And while I find the authentic sets and clothing beautiful (and a trip down memory lane), I'm not obsessed with the styling like I see some people are. There are women redecorating their homes, getting total Mad Men makeovers and having Mad Men themed parties. That's not me.
This is a beautiful book written by the stylist behind the show, Janie Bryant. You get behind the scenes looks at her process for dressing each character and t...more
This is a beautiful book written by the stylist behind the show, Janie Bryant. You get behind the scenes looks at her process for dressing each character and t...more
I usually don't like fashion tip books. I find that the advice they give is often shallow and only viable for a short amount of time, and is therefore is better suited to periodicals. This book has elements of your typical fashion book, but because it focuses a great deal on vintage fashion and its application as costume in television, it offers more than the average book.
Janie Bryant shows us how she uses vintage clothes and styles in her look everyday but manages to modernize them to suit her...more
Janie Bryant shows us how she uses vintage clothes and styles in her look everyday but manages to modernize them to suit her...more
I thought I was going to love this, but I didn't really. The bits about costuming - choosing colors, fabrics, styles, how the wardrobes are put together - are fascinating and I enjoyed those. But that was just a small bit of the book. A lot of it was creating your own style and while she would shove a "Dress to please yourself! Love what you wear and you'll be beautiful!" every couple pages, she really didn't seem to believe that. It was all shoulds and shouldn'ts and how to be very very feminin...more
Janie Bryant has had a huge influence on fashion the past several years with her costumes for Mad Men. This is *not* a coffee table book of her work for the show, nor is it a look book, but her general fashion advice book, a la Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style. The advice was insightful, interesting, and well-presented in digestible chunks. It did not change my life, but if you are looking for a style advice book you could do a lot worse. Docked one star for the uniformly anatomical...more
The Fashion File by Janie Bryant, was more exciting, visually appealing, and just fun to read, but ultimately not particularly useful. The book is "dishy" and fun but it offers nothing really new. It looks at dressing with the eye of a costume designer, which is fine and not at all unexpected considering that Janie Bryant is a costume designer, and as I mentioned before the illustrations are fabulous. The sections where Ms. Bryant wrote about how she defines the character by clothing and cut and...more
I now want to be Janie Bryant when I grow up. Not only are the illustrations fantastic, but the advice she offers is generally both usable and down-to-earth. I heard much the same advice from Stacy ("What Not To Wear" Stacy), so you know it's gotta be true:
Dress to suit your shape,
Find out what your true measurements are and BUY CLOTHES THAT SIZE
Always always always try it on in the store, and
(the part I find most important):
Style is not about being an unsustainable size -2, style is about bein...more
Dress to suit your shape,
Find out what your true measurements are and BUY CLOTHES THAT SIZE
Always always always try it on in the store, and
(the part I find most important):
Style is not about being an unsustainable size -2, style is about bein...more
If you are fans of Bryant's work on Mad Men, this might not be your first book to go to - it contains very little information on her work on that show, and very few images.
What the book IS good for, is a basic overview of "how to be stylish." As someone who is stylish, it is probably a book I won't revisit too much (though it's great coffee table decor), but for women who are unsure of how to establish their personal style, who have felt like they need a refresher on their wardrobe, or who are...more
What the book IS good for, is a basic overview of "how to be stylish." As someone who is stylish, it is probably a book I won't revisit too much (though it's great coffee table decor), but for women who are unsure of how to establish their personal style, who have felt like they need a refresher on their wardrobe, or who are...more
Aside from an interesting section on vintage shopping, most of The Fashion File's content is pretty generic -- "pears should wear this, apples should wear that", 10 essential items every woman should own, work out your bra size, wear heels and makeup, etc. It's not bad, but if you've heard all of that a hundred times before, you'll probably be disappointed.
If you're looking for fairly basic fashion advice, this should fit the bill, but you could probably do better elsewhere. If you're looking fo...more
If you're looking for fairly basic fashion advice, this should fit the bill, but you could probably do better elsewhere. If you're looking fo...more
I'm not saying that Bryant gives bad advice, she obviously knows what she's doing and is very good at her job, but honestly? Keeping a fashion diary? Fat ankles as the one flaw you need to overcome in order to dress the way you want? A whole chapter on menswear adressed to the woman who wants her man to dress better? And how many women do you know who collect It-handbags? The style was just too over the top for me to take seriously, so any good advice buried within the heaps of pretentiousness w...more
If you want a little fashion advice, then this is the book for you! This book is filled with lots of great tips to help you look good!
This book can help you learn what your style is, where to shop for it and how to accessorize it to make you look your best!
From shapewear to shoes and accessories this book will teach you all the tips of the trade from Emmy winning costume designer Jamie Brant who has created the look on TV’s Mad Men. Monica Corcoran Harel is a style writer for InStyle, Variety, F...more
This book can help you learn what your style is, where to shop for it and how to accessorize it to make you look your best!
From shapewear to shoes and accessories this book will teach you all the tips of the trade from Emmy winning costume designer Jamie Brant who has created the look on TV’s Mad Men. Monica Corcoran Harel is a style writer for InStyle, Variety, F...more
For fans of Mad Men, The Fashion File gives readers insight on the show's costuming process. The costume designer really begins building the character from the outside, and it makes for a fascinating study. For example, Bryant describes Betty Draper's white outfits as manifesting her desire to be a "perpetual bride". I'll definitely look closer at the characters' costumes from now on!
From a fashion standpoint, Bryant urges readers to apply the same concept to their own clothes: find your "charac...more
From a fashion standpoint, Bryant urges readers to apply the same concept to their own clothes: find your "charac...more
Gorgeous photos and illustrations, help to set right the style tips and philosophies offered by Mad Men's costume designer, Janie Bryant.
Offers exactly what the title promises along with pep talks (Chapter One "You as a Leading Lady") and educating examples. Most valuable is perhaps the advice on how to mix vintage with modern, and or how to create an inspired look from different periods in time.
The one section for guys, "The Don Draper Makeover", was defintiely educational in navigating the f...more
Offers exactly what the title promises along with pep talks (Chapter One "You as a Leading Lady") and educating examples. Most valuable is perhaps the advice on how to mix vintage with modern, and or how to create an inspired look from different periods in time.
The one section for guys, "The Don Draper Makeover", was defintiely educational in navigating the f...more
I don't know why I pick up books like this. Thank goodness we have such a wonderful library system. I'd hate to think of spending money on this. I know it's easy to look around and see just how many people don't know how to dress, shop, iron or store their clothes. And, like a train wreck, I keep reviewing the books that try to tell them how. I'd take Nina Garcia's 100 over this any day.
3.5 stars. An attractive and quick-reading style book for Mad Men fans, this, like so many style books, blends fashion with history and a little memoir. The illustrations and photographs are excellent (I only wish there were more of them). Overall I enjoyed this but I am growing a little weary of reading things that say "you have to wear high heels." Recommended for fans of the show.
Asks the reader whether they are a Joan or a Betty, along the lines of the episode that contemplated the Marilyn or Jackie question.
Anyway, some of us are *so* clearly Peggy, and it makes us feel left out!
It was interesting, but I would have preferred just information on the costuming and set decoration, and less of the same old advice about finding your style.
Anyway, some of us are *so* clearly Peggy, and it makes us feel left out!
It was interesting, but I would have preferred just information on the costuming and set decoration, and less of the same old advice about finding your style.
The Fashion File is filled with beautifully designed clothes and amazing tips. What I liked most was the part about finding the perfect bra size, because so many women wear the wrong size. Another great piece shows you the ten different items every woman should have in her closet, which was interesting. This would make the perfect gift for the diva in your life.
Somebody else's fun. Somebody else's feminine. Alas, not even vicarious thrills to peak in on this alternate univer$e. (Where high heels are a must and you take your broken purse strap to a cobbler.) Point of agreement: the unsatisfying t-shirt. Appreciated the nod to appreciating one's shape, though it rang hollow.
Beautiful illustrations, but not really much new material for anyone who knows much about personal style. Considering the detail and work put into the costumes on Mad Man, I was really hoping for something more for advanced... this book, while interesting, was definitely geared towards style beginners.
I am a fan of MAD MEN, and the era of the 60's is by far my favorite, BUT this book is a major disappointment!
Maybe it's because I'm a fashionista, but none of the "advice, tips, and inspiration" are new. In fact, they're dated and you can learn more about the MAD MEN era from wikipedia.
Maybe it's because I'm a fashionista, but none of the "advice, tips, and inspiration" are new. In fact, they're dated and you can learn more about the MAD MEN era from wikipedia.
A fantastic book on developing your own sense of style. I particularly loved the advice on taking your own measurements, and how to measure for your correct bra size. For the men, there is also a chapter on how to dress like Don Draper. :) Very informative and well-written.
If your goal is to dress better, read "The Fashion File" by Janice Bryant. Janice Bryant certainly has the credentials - she's the costume designer for "Mad Men" - and after looking at all the beautiful photos and drawings, I feel inspired!
--Review by Lauren
--Review by Lauren
Really enjoyed this book. Even though I'm up on vintage fashion (the 40s, 50s and 60s are constant inspiration to my wardrobe and ensembles), this book was all the more inspiring. I especially liked the tips on caring for authentic vintage clothing and fabrics.
I got this for Christmas 2010-I still love turning the pages every now and then. Until I saw the show, I had no idea there was another side to 60's fashion (I thought it was all hippie wear!) I could so dress like this all the time!
I enjoyed this book for the thoughts on how to mix vintage style with a modern look. Even though she's a costume designer, she seems to want to avoid a costumed look in "real life" and as I'm a vintage vixen, I appreciated her thoughts.
I casually picked this book up, planning to thumb through it, but the content was so compelling I read it cover to cover. Well-written text and great images! Very educational regarding the style and re-purposing it for today.
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Jul 28, 2011 08:02pm