Art Design

Joséphine Bonaparte, future Empress of France; Térézia Tallien, the most beautiful woman in Europe; and Juliette Récamier, muse of intellectuals, had nothing left to lose. After surviving incarceration and forced incestuous marriage during the worst violence of the French Revolution of 1789, they dared sartorial revolt.

Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell's Skirts looks at the history of twentieth-century womenswear through the lens of game-changing styles like the little black dress, as well as more obscure innovations like the Taxi dress or the Pop-Over dress, which came with a matching potholder. These influential garments illuminate the times in which they were first worn—and the women who wore them. At once an authoritative work of history and a delightfully entertaining romp through decades of fashion, Skirts charts the changing fortunes, freedoms, and aspirations of women themselves.

For fashion journalist Lauren (“LoLo”) Scruggs, a short flight to look at Christmas lights turned into a nightmare when she was struck by the plane’s spinning propeller blades. As Lauren was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life, the world watched in shock and horror. Several major surgeries and thousands of prayers later, Lauren was still alive. But she had suffered brain trauma and lost her left hand and left eye. Some thought that this would be the end of everything for her, a beautiful young woman working in an industry focused completely on appearance. They were wrong.

Since its improvised creation at Microsoft in the mid-1990s, Comic Sans has become one of the most used and talked—about typefaces of the digital age. The subject of April Fools pranks and endless internet discourse, it has spawned a movement to ban it, inspired revivals and spinoffs, and continues to be widely promoted by educators. In this delightful history, bestselling author Simon Garfield tells the story of how Comic Sans emerged from speech bubbles on educational software to become one of the most recognized—and reviled—typefaces on earth.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in July of 1969, they wore spacesuits made by Playtex: 21 layers of fabric, each with a distinct yet interrelated function, custom-sewn for them by seamstresses whose usual work was fashioning bras and girdles. This book is the story of that spacesuit. It is a story of the triumph over the military-industrial complex by the International Latex Corporation, best known by its consumer brand of "Playtex" - a victory of elegant softness over engineered hardness, of adaptation over cybernetics.

Le Corbusier famously said, "A house is a machine for living in." We now confront the litany of environmental challenges associated with the legacy of the architectural machine: a changing climate, massive species die-off, diminished air and water quality, and resource scarcities. Brook Muller offers an alternative: water-centric urban design that fosters sustainability, equity, and architectural creativity.

Best-selling authors and business experts Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O'Connell contend that most companies, both digital and brick-and-mortar, B2B or B2C, are not designed for service - to provide an experience that matches a customer's expectations with every interaction and serves the company's needs. When customers have more choices than ever before, study after study reveals that it's the experience that makes the difference.

Many designers struggle with creating profitability in their design businesses. This is because they do not have the tools to build a creative business that thrives financially.

For architects working on sites with fewer than 12 units, it’s all too easy to feel stuck. You juggle client pressure, planning constraints, and tight margins—while trying to decipher a habitat metric that reads like a spreadsheet from Mars. And yet, every decision—every hedge, every tree, every layout tweak—can make or break your project. This book shows you how to take back control

How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic. Experiencing first-hand la belle vie - the beautiful life - Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live.

Madame Grès : qui se cache derrière la célèbre créatrice au turban, icône de la mode pendant plus d'un demi-siècle ? Mondialement reconnue pour ses drapés antiques, elle pare Marlène Dietrich, Barbra Streisand ou Silvana Mangano de robes somptueuses, et s'entoure d'artistes comme Jean Cocteau ou Tamara de Lempicka. Ses clientes et amies comptent parmi les femmes au coeur du pouvoir : Jackie Kennedy, Liliane Bettencourt, Marella Agnelli, la princesse Grace de Monaco... Travailleuse passionnée, le "sphinx" dirige avec panache la Maison Grès, 1 rue de la Paix, qu'elle a créée en 1934.

From her troubled childhood to her time as a young editor at Vogue to her partnership with cobbler Jimmy Choo to her very public relationships, Tamara Mellon offers a gripping account of the episodes that have made her who she is today. The result is a must listen for entrepreneurs, fashionistas, and anyone who loves a juicy true story about sex, drugs, money, power, high heels, and overcoming adversity.

The Art of Lazy Luxe is a guide for women who crave elegance without exhaustion. Discover how to curate a wardrobe that works harder than you do, build beauty routines that shine in under ten minutes, and create a home and life that feels like a boutique hotel. From capsule closets to glam shortcuts, from daily mindset rituals to stress-free entertaining, this manifesto shows you how to embrace a soft, stylish, and soulful life. Think cozy cashmere, messy buns that still win compliments, candles that cost less than coffee but smell like luxury—and a deep belief that you deserve ease.

まさしく歴史的な転換点に立つ日本．大震災を経て，とりわけ経済・文化活動のあらゆる側面において根本的な変更をせまられる今，この国に必要な「資源」とは何か？　マネーではなく，美を，幸福を，誇りを得るために，立ち戻るべきは「感受性」である──．

Sports journalist and veteran shoe tester Brian Metzler takes runners and kicksologists deep inside the $10 billion running shoe industry with a behind-the-curtain look at what makes iconic running shoe brands tick. Kicksology follows a shoe from inspiration to store shelf to show how innovative ideas evolve into industry-wide trends and fads. Metzler tours shoe labs where scientists advance our understanding of shoes and running mechanics as well as the domestic and overseas shoe factories where the world's favorite kicks are assembled.

What we wear matters. It matters because looking and therefore feeling like yourself is essential. Clothes can make the difference between a good day and a bad day. Clothes have the power to make your mood ten times worse or one hundred times better.

Little black dresses. Fake pearls. Jersey knit. Blazers. Ballet flats. Today - and for nearly the last hundred years - we all see some version of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel every time we pass a woman on the street. But few among us realize that Chanel’s role in the events of the twentieth century was as pervasive as her influence on fashion, or how deeply she absorbed and then brilliantly reimagined the historical currents around her.

The Nature of Fashion is an epic sweep through history, revealing how plants have been used to make and dye our clothes. Textiles have transformed the human world–and the natural world. Now we need to re-root clothes-making in plants, rather than plastic, to find a new material future. Fashion is at a turning point–to look forward, we need to look back.

Welcome to the amazing world of drawing! In this audiobook, I have joined my passion for the Arts & Crafts with the brilliant artist Joana Rubinstein to bring you the One Day Drawing Mastery. As an amateur drawer, I've been blessed to have had an incredible teacher in Joana who has guided me in my practice - and I'm thrilled that you will allow us to help you learn this beautiful art.

Since Kate Middleton was thrust into the spotlight, her style has evolved from safe and conservative to elegant and chic. This unique audiobook looks at her transformation from student to socialite and follows her ascent into the influential fashion pack. Meet the girl who would grow up to marry a prince and see what it takes to become a style icon and modern-day princess.