Book Review: Shopping For Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Fashion by Funmi Odulate

Shopping For Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Fashion

This is another one of my library pickups, although it can easily be obtained at a low premium.  The major focus of the early part of this book is on individual designers.  This isn't really in line with the shopping style, as my tastes are limited to my pocketbook and my patience, but the information is interesting and well researched.  The book gives between one and three paragraphs on each designer.  One or two designers are described per page.  The book is fully illustrated in a beautiful but not greatly realistic style, which is helpful for visualization.  These illustrations are not however very detailed or photo realistic, so I'm not sure if I gathered much from them.  Short sections are included on jewelry, shoes and bags.  Some space is included on collecting and the types of shops where vintage clothes can be found.  This guide includes one of my least favorite features in a book of this nature, a list of shops where you can buy vintage clothing.  These establishments are all over the planet, which is not terribly useful information for those of us who are not of considerable means.  I think it's altogether better to use a phone book or an internet if you are looking for a shop in your area.  It would however be useful if you're planning a vacation around vintage shopping.  But then, you'd have to do some research to ensure the establishments where you plan to stop are still in business.  This sort of feature is much more useful if it's a list of websites.

Overall, it's a rather quite enjoyable book if of limited use for my purposes.

Rating:  4 stars.