Categories / Books, Retro Women's Fashion

Vintage Weddings book by Marnie Fogg

Vintage

If your planning a vintage twist with your big day, you might want to get your name down for a copy of the forthcoming Vintage Weddings book by Marnie Fogg, which is published by Carlton Books.

According to the pre-release write-up, it's a 'visual journey through 100 years of wedding styles and dresses', looking at key periods, styles and designers, as well as significant ceremonies and cultural influences in wedding fashions. Organised chronologically, the book shows how to recognise the silhouette that will best suit your body shape, how to pick the right fabrics and how to source appropriate accessories, from gloves and shoes to flowers, veils, jewellery and table decorations.

Designed for both the collector and the future bride looking for inspiration, the book is out on 12th May, but available for pre-order now, discounted at Amazon to £16.25.

Find out more about the book at the Amazon website

Categories / Architecture, Books

CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed book by Frédéric Chaubin

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Fans of weird and wonderful extreme, space age and brutalist architecture will no doubt love CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed book by Frédéric Chaubin, which is published by Taschen.

Photographer Chaubin highlights 90 buildings that were constructed from 1970 until the break-up of the Soviet Union, a diverse range of architecture that has one thing in common – all of it has the power to amaze. From a crematorium adorned with concrete flames to a summer camp inspired by sketches of a prototype lunar base and a technological institute with a flying saucer crashed on the roof, it's all here and more.

Supported by words of explanation over the 288 pages, you can 'browse' the book at the Taschen site and you can see another image over the page. It's much cheaper to buy at Amazon though, with around a third off the RRP, selling for £22.74.

Find out more about the book at the Amazon website

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Categories / Books, Retro Women's Fashion

The Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife by Anne Fogarty

Well dressed

Looking for some authentic 1950s fashion advice? You may want to pick up a copy of The Art of Being A Well Dressed Wife which was written in 1959 by American fashion design Anne Fogarty.

The book is being reprinted by the V&A as part of their series of retro style guides which also features works by the likes of Dior, Hardy Amies and Edith Head. It details what to wear on every occasion, from travelling to entertaining to sporting events – even how to match your car to your outfit!

The book is cloth bound and contains both Fogarty's original illustrations and period photographs from John French. Offering a fascinating, if somewhat terrifying, insight into the period, it's surely the ideal gift for any retro bride-to-be. 

The book is available for £6.49 from Amazon

Categories / Books, Kids

Vintage Mr Men Notebooks

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The Vintage Mr Men Notebooks are part of a range of stationery that recall the early incarnations of the popular children’s books.

Whilst Mr Men books are still popular and readily available today, the books today are brighter and more modern looking, which inevitably means they lack some of the charm of the originals. For this collection, the illustrations are taken from the older books and are reproduced in more muted colours. The collection includes an A5 Mr Bump Notebook, A6 Mr Funny Notebook and A6 Little Miss Naughty Address Book.

The Vintage Mr Men collection is in the sale at Campus Gifts, where all of the items the items can be bought for not much more than £5.

Categories / Art and Photography, Books

Angelheaded Hipsters display at the National Theatre

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Fans of the Beat Generation should try to check out the new Angelheaded Hipsters display at the National Theatre, London.

The title for the show comes from Allen Ginsberg's infamous poem Howl and the display, organised by photographic agency Corbis, features prints made from images in Ginsberg's archive. Mainly snapshots taken in the early 50s, together they create a fascinating insight into the scene and feature images of the likes of Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady. 

If that captures your interest, you may also be interested in an event the National Theatre is hosting on 19 Feb. Subtitled 'discovering the beat movement', poet Michael Horovitz and Barry Miles, co-founder of International Times and Ginsberg's biographer, have been invited along to discuss the lasting influence of the Beats. 

The display is free, while the event costs £5. 

Find out more online

Categories / Books, Music

The Story of Northern Soul book by David Nowell

Northern

With all the hype surrounding the Soulboy movie still fresh, it's perhaps the perfect time to update a book on the subject of northern soul. That book is The Story of Northern Soul by David Nowell.

Published by Portico and now on the shelves (virtual or otherwise), it's essentially an updated version of the long out of print Too Darn Soulful, kicking off with the emergence of sould music in the mod clubs of the 1960s, working its way through the northern scene as it developed, throwing in some anecdotes, photos and flyers plus, in this new version, a chapter covering developments and changes since 1999, when the original book was first published.

Amazon has it in stock, with this 330-page book selling right now for just £7.67.

Find out more about the book at the Amazon website

Via Modculture