Next in our Fashion History series of catalogue book reviews is not one but two books, covering the Jazz Age.
First up: Sears of the late steam and early diesel eras, during which fashion evolved from late Edwardian and Art Nouveau era into flapper styles and Art Deco.
It’s pretty amazing to see how these styles evolved fairly rapidly and then stuck to that typical 1920s silhouette for quite some time.
This book gives you a wide perspective of the evolution into typical Jazz Age fashions, which is great if you want a nuanced look at the sartorial evolution or an era-specific outfit.
The book contains styles for different body types (although not as many as it should, in my opinion) as well as a variety of children’s, women’s and men’s clothing.
1920s Fashion, on the other hand, focuses — as the title suggests — entirely on that decade. You get the best representation of the era by putting the two books together, but just this volume alone will pretty much tell you everything you need to know about 1920s fashion.
Focusing on a single decade allows the book to present a much wider variety of pages dedicated to hats, undergarments, jewelry and accessories, as well as fashions for children, teenagers, women and men.
Plus it is nice to see a change from a Sears catalogue.
If you don’t much care for the prelude, and just want 1920s fashion, then go for 1920s Fashion. If you can’t get enough of 1920s fashion, then I can wholeheartedly recommend doing what I did and buying both.
