Books about Couture from Amazon.com

Sewers who have ever longed to create clothing with the distinctive look of haute couture will love this book. They'll learn the finer points of hand sewing, shaping, and finishing for a high-end, professional look. This book is for all sewing enthusiasts who appreciate fine workmanship..
Price: $13.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Randy Couture -- voted "The Greatest Fighter of All Time" by viewers' choice -- recounts his record-breaking career, which has made him an undisputed UFC legend.

Randy Couture wins fights with the seemingly effortless ease with which lesser mortals eat or breathe. He's the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, and he's the only six-time title earner in UFC history.

In Becoming the Natural, Couture tells his story for the first time, beginning with a childhood spent in search of an elusive father figure, followed by the pure adrenaline rush that accompanied his first wrestling bout in grade school. In 1997, at the age of thirty-three, Couture made his UFC debut, defeating two opponents in the heavyweight class and then scoring a TKO victory against Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort to earn the nickname "The Natural." He won his first heavyweight title that same year. At the age of forty, he defeated five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the undisputed light heavyweight title. Couture retired in 2006, only to reemerge the following year and seize the heavyweight championship title once again.

Becoming the Natural is the remarkable story of one of the world's most gifted and dedicated athletes -- a born fighter whose skill and showmanship have helped to lift mixed martial arts out of the shadows and into the mainstream..
Price: $14.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In 1947, Christian Dior’s “New Look” was greeted with both shock and delight, making headlines around the world. Accompanying the exhibition opening at the Victoria and Albert Museum in September 2007, this lavish book focuses on Parisian and British couture between 1947 and 1957, the decade Dior hailed as fashion’s “golden age.”

The “New Look” symbolized a new femininity. The full skirts and hourglass silhouettes were considered highly decadent, synonymous with luxury and prosperity, in marked contrast to the austerity of the WWII years. Nevertheless, the “New Look” caught the public imagination and ushered in a period of remarkable creativity. The Golden Age of Couture features stunning gowns and exquisite tailoring from Dior as well as from such designers as Balenciaga, Balmain, and Givenchy, along with evocative photographs by the likes of Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton.

This beautifully designed book reveals the skill and craftsmanship of haute couture along with the inner workings of the exclusive design houses, and the inspiration behind some of the most famous styles of all time.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, September 27–January 6, 2008.
Price: $29.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Elegant equestrians in impeccable attire; glorious hunt balls held in museums; a procession of regal foxhunting paintings in a home fit for a polo king and his brood—the world of horses is full of imagery Extending far beyond the stable, the racetrack, and the polo field, our love of all things equine appears everywhere from our closets to our dining rooms.

Now journalist and horse-world fixture Vicky Moon captures the equestrian way of life with an unprecedented peek into dozens of stunning residences. You’ll visit a French-accented mansion decorated with contemporary horse art; an equestrian resort on 395 acres, complete with cottages for rent and a large private collection of carriages; a spa with a swimming pool for horses; and a working barn that Kathryn Ireland decorated to do double duty as a home for a professional horseman, riding instructor, and model whose students included Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Horse enthusiasts will be delighted to find familiar names and faces of the horse world gracing these luxurious pages, from art masters of the past such as painter George Stubbs and sculptor Herbert Haseltine to today’s most popular artists, including Liza Todd Tivey and Beverly Zimmer. Equestrian devotees, such as the up-and-coming star Mayan Lopez, show jumper Georgina Bloomberg, and the late Allaire du Pont, are profiled with their beloved horses and the collections and fashions that reflect their passions. With beautiful photographs, richly detailed stories, and practical advice, Equestrian Style is certain to inspire horse lovers everywhere to bring a stylish bit of the stable into their homes.

In this luxurious tour through stylish equestrian-themed interiors, Vicky Moon captures the rich details—from the coveted to the quirky—of the art, architecture, clothing, and people inspired by the classic horse motif.

Equestrian style begins with a basic love of horses. It is more than a feisty, wet Jack Russell terrier, a pair of Wellington boots, and a tweed jacket. It goes beyond hanging a hunting print on the dining room wall to actually leaping over stone walls on your favorite hunter. An unspoken equestrian philosophy surpasses wearing an Hermès scarf; it celebrates riding over jumps in an Hermès saddle. Equestrian style reaches its apex among people ­who not only love horses, but also practically live with them. It is an enduring tradition..
Price: $32.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Randy "The Natural" Couture is the most respected and celebrated MMA combatant in the history of the UFC. A UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion, and a UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture's reputation and fighting style are among the best in the world.

Now, with Wrestling for Fighting: The Sport of Mixed Martial Arts, Couture presents the techniques and strategies that allowed him to devastate the world s best strikers and grapplers time and time again. His unique fighting system, a mix of martial arts, wrestling, boxing and jiu-jitsu, is broken down clearly and concisely for amateurs and seasoned veterans alike. Couture also includes important information on creating fight game plans, and a variety of training tips you won t find anywhere else..
Price: $17.12 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $16.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Though ostensibly a how-to manual on wedding gown construction, this magnificent book teaches all about advanced dressmaking skills, and its principles can be applied to creating many other types of haute-couture-style gowns. The very thorough text details all aspects of fabrics and construction: the unique characteristics of each type of fashion fabric, including extensive information on manipulating lace; preparing the muslin mockup (a necessary first step to ensure a perfect fit); adjusting the bodice, sleeves, and skirt and joining them all together; adding ornamentation; and handling bustles and trains. The final chapter presents all the specifics of making four gowns of different styles. The novice and even the advanced sewer will learn much here, and perhaps best of all, pattern-drafting experience is not required--the author works her transformations on purchased patterns. If you're ambitious enough to make your own wedding gown, this book is absolutely essential, but even if you're hiring someone else to custom-make your gown, you'll find this an invaluable guide. And anyone pursuing a dressmaking career should have this important reference work on the shelf. --Amy Handy.
Price: $16.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Take a raw, revealing look into the steamy world of sex in bathhouses, gyms, parks, peep shows, swinger’s clubs, men’s rooms, and cruising on the Internet

PEEK: Inside the Private World of Public Sex is an up close and personal look at impersonal sex, exploring where-to, how-to, and when-to have sex in public. This educational and instructive guide reveals the steamy world of sex in bathhouses, gyms, parks, peep shows, swinger’s clubs, men’s rooms, and cruising on the Internet. The book provides interviews of a broad range of men discussing their diverse sexual escapades, from traditional to the definitely nontraditional.

PEEK: Inside the Private World of Public Sex offers a responsible overview of the entire public sex spectrum, discussing bisexuality, aging and sex, male prostitution, and HIV and safer sex practices. The book may be an essential guide for anyone fascinated with—and wanting to find—gay sex in the 21stcentury.

Other topics discussed in PEEK: Inside the Private World of Public Sex include:

• etiquette for a bathhouse
• swinger’s clubs
• park sex
• tearooms and men’s rooms
• peep shows
• hustlers
• gay nudists
• finding sex online

PEEK: Inside the Private World of Public Sex is for educators, students, or anyone studying deviance, sexuality, public sex, gender studies, law and sexuality, and queer theory..
Price: $14.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

It's time to get subversive, again! The downtown divas of Sew Subversive are back with another happy helping of straightlaced sewing advice for stylish results every time. Transform tacky bridesmaid gowns and pleated pants into picture-perfect tops, skirts and accessories. The two Melissas and a Hope deliver 30 great projects that are achievable for even the new sewer. Subversive Seamster is your secret roadmap to the jewels of thrifting and the ins and outs of refashioning. This book has shortcuts, tips, and secrets to the wide world of inexpensive, individualized fashion. Our clothes make a statement about who we are. What better way to say, "I am an individual!" than to wear one-of-a-kind items made out of other one-of-a-kind items? We derive the most fashionable satisfaction knowing that we are reusing and recycling what already exists in this material world--and looking darn good doing it!.
Price: $8.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]