Ari Seth Cohen loves older women and it shows. “Ever since I can remember,” he writes, “I have been captivated by amazing older women. My Grandma, Bluma, was my best friend.”

Cohen is a blogger who focuses on the fabulous street style of the women of New York in his blog called Advanced Style. Now, he has a new book by the same name to showcase these fabulous people.

Some are shamelessly flamboyant with flaming red hair and fluttery long lashes. They sport outrageous hats, jewelry and oversized glasses. They don’t just wear purple, but also embrace orange, chartreuse, hot pink and fire-engine red.

Others are studies of classic elegance: tweed jacket over camel cashmere sweater, gloves, pearls and cloche hats.

What shines through with them all is the utter confidence they have with their own appearance. In a culture where young women often seem tortured by self doubt, it is thrilling to encounter those who are so thoroughly comfortable in their own skin.

Fashion is an art form and it’s great fun to see people committed to decorating themselves with élan. They make me want to try harder.

If you think that fashion and style are properties of the young and beautiful, Cohen will make you think again.

- Jane

Janet’s two cents:

While this book is definitely about style, I’m really drawn to the portraiture feel of it. Faves for humor are the women with twinkling eyes and gleeful smiles on pages 78 and 79. For poise, see the charming ladies on pages 100 and 219. Just love them.

If you are pursuing a career in fashion design or just curious about the industry, check out the new edition of Research and Design. The book promises to lead you through the essential stages of fashion research and how to translate the research into fashion design ideas.

What we are talking about here is the creative investigation that precedes the development of a collection. It includes visual inspiration for the concept, gathering information about materials for the collection as well as consumer or market research.

You learn that sources of inspiration may be found in many places: museum and art galleries, architecture, flea markets, film and theatre and street culture. The author provides sketch-book examples to demonstrate.

New technologies produce new synthetic fabrics. For example, E-textiles embed computing and digital components into everyday garments. In addition, materials investigation includes the exploration of ethical issues and sustainability.

The author explores methods to compile the information gathered and offers exercises to translate the research into design.

Throughout the book, interviews with established designers provide examples of how the process works for them in creating a new collection.

Today's blog comes from Janet, Central Library staff:

The Red Dress by Valerie Steele is a fascinating book for those who enjoy couture. It has the fabrics, design and punchy, high-end photography that are expected; but the historic images are a surprise. Along with the 20^th century fashion designs, Steele has scattered paintings such as Hans Holbein the Younger’s (1497-1543) red dress on Anne of Cleves (Queen of England at the time) and graphic designer posters.

I have several favorites from this book, one of which has to be Issey Miyake’s “dress” wrapping multiple models in one huge stretchy band of red. This is just like Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s wrapped art works!

My next favorite design would be Yohji Yamamoto’s suede dress. It’s the photography that is the thing here. Red-tinged, big black hair, boots walking on air and swirling fabric on a deep black background—great shot. The writer says it’s Mongolian inspired; but I’m reminded of a really dramatic scene in the film Memoirs of a Geisha set in Japan.

One thread of interest leads to another; so you might check out Christo & Jeanne Claude: on the way to the Gates by Jonathan Fineberg. Our collection also includes the book, the film and the soundtrack of Memoirs of a Geisha, as well as a portrait of the film by David James.

-Janet