STYLE: Photographs for Vogue

Este libro es algo para coleccionar, para disfrutar visualmente, incluso podríamos decir que para decorar. Pero a Amazon solo le importa que es un artículo que debe ser enviado de la forma más barata y cutre posible. Resultado: un libro que es arte que llega con los bordes y cubierta destrozados. Si queréis libros así, molestaos en encargarlos en alguna tienda especializada, os van a cobrar prácticamente lo mismo y os ahorraréis la decepción.

Bel libro, ottima veste grafica e selezione di immagini e soggetti

Una joya !

STYLE is “the first book solely devoted to Norman Parkinson's stylish and beautiful contributions to Vogue magazine, from the 1930s to the end of his contract in the early 1980s.” So writes author Terence Pepper in the introduction to this lavish volume of photographs – some iconic, some freshly rescued from obscurity, all thrilling. Pepper was for 40 years the Curator of Photographs at London's National Portrait Gallery, and in that role has written more than 15 books, including works on Helmet Newton, Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Lewis Morley, James Abbe, and Horst P. Horst. He was also the lead curator of the 1981 exhibition, “Norman Parkinson: 50 years of Portraits and Fashion.” Clearly there is absolutely no one better qualified than Pepper to give us this gorgeous, informative new work on the quirky and unrivaled British fashion photographer, Norman Parkinson. (Pepper was savvy, too, to have the assistance of the fashion researcher and model, Grace Lee.) Pepper explains that “the majority of the images in this book have been selected from original vintage prints or new prints from negatives to show Parkinson's published Vogue images.” And what images they are! Wenda Parkinson rides an ostrich in South Africa (May 1951)... four fashion models in colorful hats perch on the roof of the Conde Nast Building on Lexington Avenue NYC (October 1949)... Jerry Hall poses in a red bathing cap and bathing suit with coordinated Manolo Blahniks ready to dive off the top of a plinth in the USSR (January 1976). Also here are photographs of celebrities, including: Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Cliff, Jean Seberg, Princess Anne, and Katherine Hepburn. Unlike the majority of books of this type, Pepper offers us information and insights into the models who appear in Parkinson's photographs. From Carmen Dell’Orefice to Iman, Twiggy, and Loulou de la Falaise – with Grace Coddington in between – just about all of the top models of the period were captured by Parkinson’s camera. Pepper should be commended for fleshing out the stories of the women pictured. And, of course, Parkinson’s unique eye, coupled with his love of travel, result in settings that are frequently stunning and exotic. As a fashion historian with 30 years of experience researching photos, I was personally delighted to find that there are pages and pages of photographs that are new to me. The previously-unseen fashion advertisements from 1930s Vogue alone are worth the price of this book. My only real criticism of this book Is not leveled at Terence Pepper, but at the publishers. Between the rose-tinted pages and the tiny size of much of the text, they could have made this beautiful book easier to read. Yet, with its richly embossed cover, featuring Parkinson's exquisite 1950 photograph of top model Jean Patchett in a Jean Desses evening gown, this book is a must-have for anyone excited about 20th century fashion. It will add “Style” to any coffee table. I would be thrilled to find this book on the bedside of any guest room I happened to visit. Currently reduced on Amazon, I will definitely buy more copies and secret them away for friends’ and daughters’ birthdays and holiday presents. As Vogue itself stated: “Norman Parkinson will never go out of style.”

The book is lovely and the price was fantastic. It's a shame that it was sent in a large box with no padding and was subsequently beaten around. All in all though, I was grateful to receive it.