Style Dictionary

by Rubén Toledo, Richard Martin (Introduction)

With irreverent wit, a sharp eye, and a brilliant palette of colors, Ruben Toledo both celebrates and skewers fashion trends. His playful illustrated alphabet will tickle not only beauty-business insiders but anyone who marvels at the variety of personal statements visible on the sidewalks. With pen and brush, Toledo captures the range of possible looks, whether attractive or absurd, from the everyday sight of teenagers' thrift-shop chic to the purely surreal - for example, his rendering of evening gowns built of brick, stone, or wood.

Genres: Art, Fashion

106 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

Rubén Toledo paints, sculpts, illustrates and draws. His work has been exhibited in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the textile museum at the Louvre and the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Reviews

[Kristen Northrup · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was from 1996; I wish he'd do another. (He did a limited-run signed thing in 2006 that is already sold out.) I'd love to buy this one, but it's out of print and used copies are around $150. There's one two-page spread I would probably even slice out and frame. Fun and quirky but also very lovely. And definitely European.

[Christina Cathcart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disturbingly surreal.

[yoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful if dated. I now need to research what was happening in the NY fashion world of the late 80s!