ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
So good that I'm breaking a rubric about normally not giving five stars to competent non-fiction that didn't make me cry ... why? Because:
1. Gorgeous. Beautiful Color. Huge (which is important, because it means you can really see the outfit, with your eyes at normal reading distance the kimonos fill up the visual space they would if their wearer were standing about 8 feet away, rather than off in the distance).
2. It covered a lot of ground--I was worried it would just about the Kimono's influence on modern fashion, when I really wanted a historical account, and it did both--it did everything--with a variety of authors each, chronologically, taking on a chapter that matched their area of specialization.
3. Despite having all these authors, the tone stayed the same, showing either some very well-behaved academics, or a particularly effective author. And it was a good tone, easy to read, but accurate and academic when necessary. I followed, I learned, and (most importantly) I remembered--it wasn't in one ear out the other.
4. Gorgeous, beautiful, huge. I know i've mentioned that, but I'm book-ending with it, because really, it's just such a glorious thing to behold--it's like the publishers said "how can a book resemble a kimono, other than by being somewhat rectilinear," and then they came up with this.
My only quibble (I have one!) is so minor it's almost embarrassing to write, but I wish somehow everyone talked about the kimono on the page, rather than a kimono a page or two (or several chapters) before or after. I know, I know, that's easy to do in a non-academic photo book, which I didn't want--but I feel like I'm cheating by rifling through pages ahead to get a look at a picture in a later chapter to understand what they're talking about now. That's my quirk. Also, once or twice an author will refer to a page number rather than an image number, and at first I was thrown. That's it for quibbles. I mean, that's nothing for a book this size, from so many contributors. I should have masses of quibbles. I don't. So, 5 stars. This book's pretty much perfect.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
1. Gorgeous. Beautiful Color. Huge (which is important, because it means you can really see the outfit, with your eyes at normal reading distance the kimonos fill up the visual space they would if their wearer were standing about 8 feet away, rather than off in the distance).
2. It covered a lot of ground--I was worried it would just about the Kimono's influence on modern fashion, when I really wanted a historical account, and it did both--it did everything--with a variety of authors each, chronologically, taking on a chapter that matched their area of specialization.
3. Despite having all these authors, the tone stayed the same, showing either some very well-behaved academics, or a particularly effective author. And it was a good tone, easy to read, but accurate and academic when necessary. I followed, I learned, and (most importantly) I remembered--it wasn't in one ear out the other.
4. Gorgeous, beautiful, huge. I know i've mentioned that, but I'm book-ending with it, because really, it's just such a glorious thing to behold--it's like the publishers said "how can a book resemble a kimono, other than by being somewhat rectilinear," and then they came up with this.
My only quibble (I have one!) is so minor it's almost embarrassing to write, but I wish somehow everyone talked about the kimono on the page, rather than a kimono a page or two (or several chapters) before or after. I know, I know, that's easy to do in a non-academic photo book, which I didn't want--but I feel like I'm cheating by rifling through pages ahead to get a look at a picture in a later chapter to understand what they're talking about now. That's my quirk. Also, once or twice an author will refer to a page number rather than an image number, and at first I was thrown. That's it for quibbles. I mean, that's nothing for a book this size, from so many contributors. I should have masses of quibbles. I don't. So, 5 stars. This book's pretty much perfect.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
isweedan's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely exquisite pictures and detail shots with very nice cultural context notes.
crispinsday's review against another edition
4.0
This is a Thames & Hudson coffee table book about the Khalili collection of kimono (and only the Khalili collection, which is apparently extensive). Although the images are interspersed with interesting and learned essays on various aspects of Japanese fashion I confess I was here for the photographs, which are fabulous, and well-captioned. If you have any interest in Japanese textiles, this is a wonderful book.
rejecteddounut's review against another edition
5.0
This book contains beautiful photos of kimonos dating back to the 1600s, which are worth picking up the book, but it also has a few pages on the significance of the kimono during each era that Japan experiences. The book goes into the cultural and historical impact of the kimono as well as how it has changed through fashion. It describes some of the artistic influences that has impacted kimono fashion along with the kimono affecting Western art.
It was a really interesting read and the kimonos were absolutely gorgeous.
It was a really interesting read and the kimonos were absolutely gorgeous.
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