"Fashion Illustration, 1930 to 1970"

Fashion Illustration: 1930 to 1970 is not unlike this blog: lots of illustrations with brief commentary.

The pictures all come from the British edition of Harper's Bazaar, and are taken from advertisements appearing in the magazine as well as pictures commissioned by the editors.  While this book could be read as a history of women's fashions in the mid 20th century, it is in fact better interpreted as a guide to graphic design in the same period.  The styles of the pictures range from Art Deco in the early thirties, to Op- and Pop-art influenced drawings in the sixties.  Many other schools of art influence the graphics appearing  in the magazine in the years in between.  There is even a touch of Soviet Realism in some of the pictures published in the war years!

The cover illustration is taken from a picture of a swimsuit which first appeared in Harper's Bazaar in March 1959.

(London: Batsford, 2010.  ISBN 9781906388812)