The Design MuseumRecensioni

You don't have to be a fashionista or a design aficionado to enjoy this fascinating look at the power of one dress to change society.

No they didn't.

A book best bought with spare change 2nd-hand and best looked at in fleeting idle moments or longer tipsy ones. Modern hats, many of them designed for Hollywood movies or worn only on the catwalk, almost all of them ephemeral. Clever design with remarkable craftsmanship displayed in good photography described in text that occasionally falls into twaddle.

Other books in the publisher's Design Makes Changes! series are 50 Typefaces That Changed History, 50 Traffic Signs That Changed International Relations, and 50 Teapots That Changed Marxist Analysis.

I've read a few other books about influential dresses, so a lot of the material covered here was not new. All the basics were covered from Chanel's flapper dress to YSL's Mondia-inspired art piece and beyond, but the presentation lacked the glamour and sophistication of other sources.

Although the selection made was from a very british point of view, it nevertheless presented an interesting choice of dresses, that somehow influenced how we perceive fashion.

It was delightful. Nearly every dress I could say - Yes! I know that dress. Now explain it to me. I thought the authors did a moderately good job of that.

Would have liked a little more detail, but still fun!