R. D. Franks bookshop, London

[Salv]

For UK Loungers, and visitors to London, R. D. Franks is well worth a visit. It's a specialist fashion bookshop, and has a huge range of books dealing with fashion history as well as current fashions. A few that caught my eye are:

• A WELL DRESSED GENTLEMANS POCKET GUIDE
  Oscar Lenius
  Published: 1998
  Do you know a Brogue from a Budapest? Or a Homberg from a Borsalino?
  A British Warm from a Chesterfield? Or which of these are shoes, which are
  hats, and which are coats? This is a history of classic style for gentlemen. The book covers the entire wardrobe from suits, coats, shirts and shoes to the finer details, from umbrellas to underwear - their history, manufacture, tailoring, materials, patterns and colours.
  £9.99 Reprinting
  ISBN: 1853752762
  UK
• 20TH CENTURY NECKTIES - PRE 1955
  Roseann Ettinger
  Published: 1998
  Over 400 colour photographs illustrate the development of the necktie from the turn of the century, through the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, and the War years.
  £24.95
  ISBN: 0764305786
  USA
• 50s POPULAR FASHIONS FOR MEN, WOMEN, BOYS & GIRLS
  Roseann Ettinger
  Published: 1995
  Over 600 colour photographs and sales catalog advertisments bring the clothes right into your living room.
  £24.95
  ISBN: 0887407242 PB
  USA
• ART OF THE FLIGHT JACKET
  Jon A Maguire/John P Comway
  Published: 1995
  Classic leather jackets of World War II.
  £39.95
  ISBN: 0887407943
  USA
• EVERYDAY FASHIONS OF THE THIRTIES - AS PICTURED IN `SEARS' CATALOG
  Stella Blum
  Published: 1986
  133 representative pages from rare `Sears' catalogs of the period, hundreds of illustrations record what men, women and children were actually wearing in the 1930s.
  £14.95
  ISBN: 048625108X
  USA
• EVERYDAY FASHIONS OF THE FORTIES - AS PICTURED IN `SEARS CATALOGS'
  JoAnne Olian
  Published: 1992
  Reveals in sharp detail the broad range of clothing fashions available during a period when wartime gasoline rationing made mail order shopping reach new heights of popularity.
  £14.95
  ISBN: 0486269183
  USA
• EVERYDAY FASHIONS OF THE FIFTIES - AS PICTURED IN `SEARS CATALOGS'
  Joanne Olian
  Published:2002
  Comprising of 120 fully illustrated and captioned pages of `Sears' catalogs from the 1950s, provides an entertaining and comprehensive view of what men, women and children were wearing in that decade.
  £14.95
  ISBN: 0486422194 PB
  USA

...and those are just from the first page, from A-F!

 

[magneto]

That sounds so great, although I would be terrified for the health of my credit card should I visit. (And the "Everyday fashions of the..." books are very enjoyable, FWIW. at least the 20s and 30s ones I've seen).

 

["Doc" Devereux]

My non-fiction publisher slipped me a free copy of the Lenius (it's on a different imprint, but the same company) a couple of months ago, and I found it rather a good read. Full of basic, solid advice and worth a place on the shelf for moments when memory fails Definitely a good book to give someone who's trying to get their head round the rules.