The Hundred Dresses: The Most Iconic Styles of Our Time
Ebook
Overview
From the Sack to the Sari, each dress makes a powerful statement about the woman who wears it. Inspired by the Eleanor Estes’ children’s classic The Hundred Dresses, Erin McKean’s classic-to-be by the same title, with chic illustrations by Donna Mehalko, is a definitive and witty look at what one hundred iconic dress styles, vintage and modern say about their wearers.
Each beautifully illustrated entry looks at the history of that particular style, famous wearers (if applicable), possible accessories, where the style could be observed, and what message, subtle or overt, is conveyed by the dress.
Featured are The Wench; The Vreeland; The Wrap; The Austen; The Beckham; The Siren (any style, as long as it’s red); The Chanel Ingénue; The Caftan; The Guinevere; The Jackie; ; The Biohazard (any dress dangerous to bystanders or the wearer: think Lady Gaga); and many more.
Part style commentary, part fashion blueprint, part clever field guide, The Hundred Dresses will ensure that no woman (or man) ever underestimates the power of the dress.
A stylishly illustrated and informative A to Z of the 100 iconic dresses--from The Bandage to The Sack, The Baby-doll to The Siren, and everything between--that have made their mark on the world.
For fans of “What Not to Wear,” “Project Runway,” and "Fashion Star."
The perfect gift: For mothers, daughters, bridesmaids, fashionistas--it will speak to anyone who has ever worn a dress, envied a dress on someone else, or paged through a woman’s fashion magazine!
Handsome package: The Hundred Dresses will be stylishly designed object, as attractive as the dresses it describes.
Built-in audience: Readers of McKean’s blog, A Dress a Day (www.dressaday.com), which follows the author’s dressmaking adventures, will flock to the book.
Four-color illustrations throughout: Mehalko’s stunning pen and watercolor depictions of the dresses are oh-so-a-la-mode.
Special sales potential
This glorious book sews together a story for every style and makes you look at your own wardrobe anew and wonder what adventures you should be having with your own dresses.
Celebrities, movie stars, literary and historic figures, you and I wear them, wore them, or want them. This wonderfully illustrated book of iconic dresses is told with wit and wisdom…a joy to look at and to read.
What a supremely witty, highly informative, and great-looking book this is! It made me want to be a woman.
Like a wonderfully illustrated bird-watcher’s guide, but to frocks, The Hundred Dresses: The Most Iconic Styles of Our Time is a whimsical and inspirational taxonomy: from the J Lo, via the Space Empress to the Vreeland.
In this book Erin McKean, with a little help from talented illustrator Donna Mehalko, details one hundred dresses that she deems the most iconic styles of our time ... Information on background, accessories, related items and the people who made it famous accompany each dress in the book, and there is a
healthy dose of humour too.
[This book] is a wittily written guide to the most iconic styles of our time. Each dress is well illustrated and Erin’s pithy descriptions are fun ... In addition you get an accessories guide, a worn by whom and names of designers of such dresses. This is the formula for the book, Erin’s crisp observations keep the book going ... I’ll never look at clothes the same ever again.
- Title: The Hundred Dresses: The Most Iconic Styles of Our Time
- Authors: Erin McKean, Donna Mehalko
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 224
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781472535856, 9781408190500, 1408190508, 1472535855
- Resource ID: LLS:9781472535856
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T10:59:02Z
Erin McKean is the author of the bestselling novel The Secret Lives of Dresses, inspired by her popular blog, A Dress a Day (dressaday.com), which features vintage clothes and patterns. A lexicographer by day and the founder of Wordnik.com, she has been published widely, including in the New York Times Magazine and the Boston Globe. She lives in Burlingame, California.