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The Complete Book of Oscar Fashion: Variety's 75 Years of Glamour on the Red Carpet
A lavishly illustrated display of celebrity fashion encompasses seventy-five years of Oscar glamour and glitter, capturing in more than five hundred photographs the stunning gowns, outrageous fashion mistakes, and risky statements, all in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Academy Awards. 50,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 8, 2017
Look, it's not overly comprehensive, which is what everyone seems to be whining about, but if you can get past that, and just enjoy the book for what it is, which is a sampling of designs over the years, without heavy and dense editorializing, then it's a decent book and a fun read.
If you want a more comprehensive book, with thousands of photos and detailed analysis, well, let me know when that 59 pound book becomes available, because I'd certainly buy it. But as far as I know, it doesn't yet exist.
If you want a more comprehensive book, with thousands of photos and detailed analysis, well, let me know when that 59 pound book becomes available, because I'd certainly buy it. But as far as I know, it doesn't yet exist.
February 25, 2018
This book, presented by Variety Magazine, takes the Oscars decade by decade in style, year by year in memorable dresses and tuxes, in this glossy velvet-covered hardback.
As someone who already knew an incredible amount of Oscar trivia before reading this book, I didn’t find it very informative. It felt like Reeve Chace couldn’t decide between an Oscar tidbit book and an Oscar fashion book, and tried to create both. Unfortunately, since only one page is given per year, it’s impossible to both include memorable moments and memorable fashion. For example, in 1985, Chace included a picture of Sally Field giving her famous “You like me!” speech. The photograph only shows the bodice of her gown, and the caption of the picture neither gives more explanation of the dress nor credit to the designer. Most designers are not credited, except for two-page spread at the start of every decade which mentions the hottest designers of the time period, and the trivia given feels out of place in what was touted as a fashion book.
Obviously, since this book was published in 2003, it’s no longer complete. The last Oscar year included is 2003, with Kate Hudson’s gold beaded Versace gown and Halle Berry’s one-shouldered Prada gown (both credited in the captions) completing the 75 years of fashion. All in all, I wouldn’t call it a bad read, but for anyone seriously interested in Oscar fashion, this might not be the most enjoyable coffee table book.
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/the-co...
As someone who already knew an incredible amount of Oscar trivia before reading this book, I didn’t find it very informative. It felt like Reeve Chace couldn’t decide between an Oscar tidbit book and an Oscar fashion book, and tried to create both. Unfortunately, since only one page is given per year, it’s impossible to both include memorable moments and memorable fashion. For example, in 1985, Chace included a picture of Sally Field giving her famous “You like me!” speech. The photograph only shows the bodice of her gown, and the caption of the picture neither gives more explanation of the dress nor credit to the designer. Most designers are not credited, except for two-page spread at the start of every decade which mentions the hottest designers of the time period, and the trivia given feels out of place in what was touted as a fashion book.
Obviously, since this book was published in 2003, it’s no longer complete. The last Oscar year included is 2003, with Kate Hudson’s gold beaded Versace gown and Halle Berry’s one-shouldered Prada gown (both credited in the captions) completing the 75 years of fashion. All in all, I wouldn’t call it a bad read, but for anyone seriously interested in Oscar fashion, this might not be the most enjoyable coffee table book.
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/the-co...
January 24, 2018
This book was fine, but seeing that it's a book about Oscar fashion, I think there could have been a lot more photographs included. For there to be only one or two pics in the earlier decades, which I find most interesting, was disappointing. I don't need a bunch of pictures that I've already seen 400 times on the cover of People/US in the past 10 years.
January 29, 2023
- Revealing of cleveage came gradually, then became a common staple
- Cher never wears anything (cleveage rule above doesn't apply to her though)
- Skirt length goes up and down all the time - fashion runs in cycles
- (The book's cover is velvet... Wooo...)
- Cher never wears anything (cleveage rule above doesn't apply to her though)
- Skirt length goes up and down all the time - fashion runs in cycles
- (The book's cover is velvet... Wooo...)
January 7, 2020
Its half Oscar fashion/half history. I enjoyed the tidbits about the ceremonies, and how the era influenced what Hollywood wore on their biggest night.
March 5, 2008
This poorly-written, poorly-edited, poorly-designed book doesn't serve its subject matter very well. The photos did not reproduce well (not even the recent photos!) and some of the design choices (like the circles that highlight details on the various gowns) have no value from an editorial or visual standpoint.
There are many years that are represented by only three or four gowns -- even recent years! Surely there have been more standouts than that? I expected this book to be a feast for the eyes, an endless parade of gowns ranging from elegant to outrageous, but the pickings are indeed slim.
I thought there were some grievous omissions. Geena Davis comes to mind -- love her or hate her, there's no denying the fact that the statuesque form of this six-footer is hard to ignore. Why isn't she represented anywhere? Why not more about men's fashion? Why not more profiles of designers, a closer look at Oscar-night jewelry and how it's loaned out, even a spread or two of how one actress's Oscar fashions progressed throughout the years? The scope of this book isn't terribly imaginative or (as the title proclaims) complete.
The writing is awful. This isn't really the sort of book you pick up for the writing anyway but, seeing as how the pictures weren't even that good, I ended up reading the little blurbs of writing and found them full of clunky, poor word choices and bad jokes.
Speaking of bad jokes, yes, we all know Cher can be wacky. We've all seen her black zigzag outfit with the crazy rooster headdress a million times already. Is there any reason for no fewer than THREE photos of this godforsaken getup to appear in this book? Especially since the author repeatedly expresses a dislike of it? Making fun of Cher's sequined rooster outfit is nothing new; it's been done to death, and by funnier, more articulate people than this author. We didn't need more of it in this book.
Just show us more beautiful gowns!
There are many years that are represented by only three or four gowns -- even recent years! Surely there have been more standouts than that? I expected this book to be a feast for the eyes, an endless parade of gowns ranging from elegant to outrageous, but the pickings are indeed slim.
I thought there were some grievous omissions. Geena Davis comes to mind -- love her or hate her, there's no denying the fact that the statuesque form of this six-footer is hard to ignore. Why isn't she represented anywhere? Why not more about men's fashion? Why not more profiles of designers, a closer look at Oscar-night jewelry and how it's loaned out, even a spread or two of how one actress's Oscar fashions progressed throughout the years? The scope of this book isn't terribly imaginative or (as the title proclaims) complete.
The writing is awful. This isn't really the sort of book you pick up for the writing anyway but, seeing as how the pictures weren't even that good, I ended up reading the little blurbs of writing and found them full of clunky, poor word choices and bad jokes.
Speaking of bad jokes, yes, we all know Cher can be wacky. We've all seen her black zigzag outfit with the crazy rooster headdress a million times already. Is there any reason for no fewer than THREE photos of this godforsaken getup to appear in this book? Especially since the author repeatedly expresses a dislike of it? Making fun of Cher's sequined rooster outfit is nothing new; it's been done to death, and by funnier, more articulate people than this author. We didn't need more of it in this book.
Just show us more beautiful gowns!
March 27, 2019
I'm pretty interested in fashion and the changing trends of clothing, and recently I've been getting interested in specifically celebrity fashion, the kinds of things they wear to awards shows and red carpets. Naturally, when I saw this (velvet-covered!) book, I had to pick it up. It isn't very in-depth, and though it certainly doesn't claim to be comprehensive, I think it could have covered a lot more. In addition, the photos aren't great. That said, I did enjoy the sort of summing-up it gave to each decade in terms of fashion. It's not great, but it's something to leaf through if you're interested in this sort of thing.
January 22, 2014
It was interesting reading about the changes in oscar fashion, though there weren't that many great gowns till the 60s, 70s, 90s, and early 2000s. The 40s were plain, the 30s, not that glamorous, and the 80s sucked.
December 10, 2010
read sections at random many times
February 17, 2010
Nice history, breathtaking pictures. Well. Except for the 80's.
September 15, 2013
Picked this up at the library on a whim. I think it'll be a nice watching companion and leafing through may help me happily endure tonight's repetitive shitshow.
April 27, 2016
Beautifully done!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews