Bookmarks – 1950s Fashion Print

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book entitled "1950s Fashion Print" by Marnie Fogg surrounded by vintage 1950s fabric

Today’s Bookmarks book review is 1950s Fashion Print….

front page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg surrounded by vintage 1950s fabric

…one in a series written by Marnie Fogg and published by Anova Books.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with bird print

The book’s arrival was perfectly timed as it appeared hot on the heels of our vintage fabric haul which we blogged about recently.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with carousel print

It’s very attractive visually.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with ballerina print

Holding the book, with its tactile, textured cover is almost like handling a piece of barkcloth.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with still life on a tabletop print

An initial flick through the enticing photos contained within persuades you to delve deeper.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with figurative print

There are endless examples of superb, period fabric designs to drool over…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with atomic print

…full-colour, detailed images of vintage prints on every page.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with red atomic print

Some very recognisable patterns as well as ones you’ll probably not seen before.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with trio of atomic prints

It isn’t however, just a collection of pretty pictures…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s female figure composed from various printed fabrics

…it’s extremely well researched – Fogg really knows her subject.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with leaf print

She used to be a lecturer in Visual Studies and the Culture of Fashion at the University of Nottingham.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s Lucienne Day fabric

In addition to details about the actual fabric designs, the book encompasses related topics such as interior design and social & historical influences.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing illustrated female figure dressed in the New Look style in 1950s printed fabric

Another strong point of the book is the photo captions – they’re full of additional information and incisive comments.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with stylised plant pot print

It’s a wonderful leisure read, but also a great resource…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing full, gathered skirt made from vintage 1950s fabric

… an inspiration for design projects or for identifying fabrics that you may be lucky enough to find!

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s Tibor Reich

There’s also a useful bibliography of where to go next if your appetite for 50s patterns has been whetted.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a trio of vintage 1950s fabric with different geometric prints

It’s a must for devotees of textile designers such as Lucienne Day, Marian Mahler, Robert Stewart, Jaqueline Groag, Sylvia Chambers & Tom Mellor to name but a few – along with manufacturers such as Heals, David Whitehead Ltd and Edinburgh Weavers…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a 1950s magazine ad for Sundour fabrics

…and for fans of Mid-century Modern design in general.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a collection of swatches of vintage 1950s fabrics

This book is going to be a permanent fixture on our shelves.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with leaf print

1950s Fashion Print can also be bought from Amazon, Abe Books and Hive.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with figurative print

We’ll be following up in the very near future with a review of Fogg’s 1960s Fashion Fabrics

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with Marian Mahler

…we’re very much looking forward to it!

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with sun print on a red background

Olive green horizontal dotted line

[Many thanks to Anova Books for supplying this review copy.]