This book deals with the techniques of improving natural beauty or of achieving its illusion; it is written for those whose interest is personal an for those embarking on careers helping others make the most of their appearance.

GLAMOROUS 1940s
DRESSMAKING/DESIGN/SEWING BOOK

Fabulous black and white photographs capture the style of the 1940's and 1950's. This book is  a must-have for anyone studying vintage fashions or costume design. An absolute treasure.

Topics Covered Include

PERSONAL APPEARANCE VALUES

Personal Appearance and Social Values ~ Development of One's Clothing Behavior ~ Appearance Affects One's State of Mind.

This book is addressed to young women who want to learn the techniques of improving natural beauty or achieving the illusion of beauty.  It's based on the "assumption that a good appearance is important to the success in business, that it paves the way to harmonious social relations, and that women are more effective in the difficult pursuit of happiness for themselves and others when they have not only cultivated inner graces but have also made themselves as outwardly pleasing as possible."

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THE MEANING OF STYLE

Style versus Fashion ~ Judgment and a Sense of Values ~ Standards and a Sense of Values ~ Contemporary Standards of Style ~ Importance of Good Fabrics ~ Importance of Good Workmanship and Fit ~ Some Intangible Secrets of Style

"One might try to find out what style is by considering what it is not. Style does not consist in wearing one's hat off balance....nor does it consist in preening oneself in front of street looking glasses, nor making up one's face in a public place...nor indulging a passion for ornament."

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EXPRESSING PERSONALITY THROUGH COSTUME

Personal Expression-It's relation to costume selection ~ Evidence of opposing characteristics ~ Individual differences recognized among characters in history and art ~ Nature expresses opposing qualities ~ Evidences of opposing traits among contemporary women ~ Life goals reflected in personal qualities ~ Some Conveying individuality through costume.

A woman is far more interesting and distinctive if her clothes are made to express her own individuality than if they merely express a type or reflect the prevailing fashion.

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TECHNIQUES OF SELF MADE BEAUTY

Personal cleanliness ~ Good skin ~ Perfection in grooming ~ A sound healthy body ~ Meaning of good posture ~ Correct standing posture/walking/sitting ~ The physical self ~ Proper weight ~ A pleasing voice ~ Pleasing facial expressions ~ Cultivating self-made good looks ~ The Use of Make-up.

We are now embarking on the study of the techniques needed in making one's appearance interesting and attractive....
Real beauty comes from within... plain women of intelligence use modern methods to make themselves very good looking indeed, since modern beauty is just as much a skillful job of personal attention as a gift of nature.

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DESIGN ESSENTIALS FOR GOOD COSTUME

Lines ~ Form, spacing, and shape defined ~ What makes a beautiful or distinguished design ~ Silhouettes ~ Distinguished line ~ Importance Good spacing.

"One who is learning the meaning of taste and distinction in costume must think of it as an art...understand what constitutes good design...and learn to distinguish real beauty and elegance... from the tricky or eye-catching so frequently found around us!"

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PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

Balance ~ Proportion and scale ~ Everyday proportion problems ~ Rhythm ~ Rhythm in costume ~ Dominance-subordination ~ Unity of idea ~ Expressiveness of lines, space and shape

Learn to see in fine costume the fluidity of line as a fusion or melting of one surface into another, each element so depends on another for is existence that the whole becomes alive and moving.

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DARK AND LIGHT

Distinguished shapes form the structure ~ Well-balanced values ~ Dark against light-light against dark ~ Expressiveness through value contrasts ~ Dark-light in prints and all-over fabrics ~ Characteristics of different types of prints

The designer sees to it that he has distinguished shapes in his dark-light pattern. He also manages his background spaces well, for he want these areas  to be pleasing in order to be effective in contrast with his dominant shapes.

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 THE FUNDAMENTALS OF COLOR

How to use color ~ The science of color ~ Color and light ~ Color systems~ How colors influence each other ~ Applications of law and contrast ~ Fundamental principles for combining colors.

Good costume today seems more than ever to depend for it's effectiveness on dark and light contrast between the parts of the garment itself.... or in ensembles, the contrast of accessories used with the garments which compose them."

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THE ART OF COMBINING COLOR

Planning the areas of a color harmony ~ Color to express emotion and convey meanings ~ Procedure for combining color.

What impression is the scheme to convey - vitality, force, joy, gaiety, dignity, maturity, conservatism, or the dramatic?

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TEXTURE AND TEXTURE COMBINATION

Importance of knowing nature of cloth ~ Textures as affected by light/sense of touch ~ Factors in appearance and hand ~ Decorative textures ~ Textures influence the silhouette ~ The art of combining textures ~ The occasion governs the texture ~ The appreciation of textures of past times ~ Glossary of costume textures

When selecting clothes, the average woman is apt to be influenced by their color and line, whereas it may be that, for her, a more important consideration should be its fabric.

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ENHANCING PERSONAL COLORING

Analysis of skin tones ~ Eye coloring~ Analysis of the colors in hair ~ Choosing make-up ~ Creating illusions with make-up ~ Choosing costume colors ~ Selecting clothing based on hair types.

In the study of personal coloring and the means of enhancing it, we come to another of the high points in the subtle art of costuming...

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SELECTING BECOMING CLOTHES

Clothes to express temperament ~ Characteristics of costume expressing yin or yang effects ~ Clothes to improve irregular figures ~ Contemporary figure ideals ~ Means of improving figures ~ Techniques of creating optical illusions ~ Figure types

The contemporary woman's striving for the semblance of a perfect figure corresponds to the creative artist's admiration for personal distinction and aesthetic refinement.

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HATS AND HAIRDRESSING

Hats and hairdress probably reflect fashion changes more rapidly than do any other parts of the costume.

The difficulties in being well hatted ~ Keeping in step with the fashions ~ Contemporary trends ~ Hats to convey personal expression ~ Good hats are suited to occasions ~ Types of hats ~ Good design important in hats ~ Hats to camouflage shortcomings ~ The importance of smart, becoming hairdress.

The face has been called the "reflection of the soul" and forms the center of interest of the personality. Most of us notice the face when we meet someone for the firs time; and in fact, it is discourteous to fasten the eyes on any part of the person other than the face. Hats  and hairdress form a frame for the face; if hats are to be becoming and are to give the wearer style, the coiffures which accompany them must be right for the hats as well as becoming to the wearer.

"The most important part of a woman's appearance, most people would agree, is her head...her face and her hat and her hair. For if the hair is done in a bad line or is poorly arranged, or if on top of it sits a hat that is too large, or too small, or unfashionable, or too anything not just right...and otherwise lovely picture is spoiled."

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WARDROBE BUILDING

Taste and your clothing budget ~ Stretching the clothing dollar by sewing at home ~ Procedure for planning a wardrobe ~ Wardrobe analysis ~ Building a versatile wardrobe ~ Types of occasions established by convention ~ Accessories ~ The college girl ~ Wardrobe costs

You may look like a million on more taste than money.
After assembling a basic wardrobe, one may then be entitled to a color splurge if one wishes and if one's budget will permit.

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Appendix A ~ Color Terminology
Appendix B ~ Popular Color Names
Appendix C ~ Glossary of Costumes Textures 
Index
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The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance by Grace Margaret Morton

Author: G.M. Morton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
Binding: Hardcover
Copyright Dates: 1943, 1955 & 1964 
ISBN: 0471618454
Keywords: General, Sociology, 1940s and 1950s Fashion Style

Vintage COSTUME DESIGN~CHARM~MILLINERY~HAIR~FASHION Book

Grace Margaret Morton was head of the textiles and clothing division at the University of Nebraska for over twenty years.  During that time, she was appreciated by her students and fellow faculty members as a person of unusual talents. A scholar of wide interests, she had a vision that placed her ahead of her time in sensing the psychological and economic implications possible in as study of clothing.

Her expressed goal in her teaching of both undergraduates and graduates was to help students to recognize and value beauty, to strivee to bring it into their surroundings, and to achieve real creative satisfaction in their use of color, line and texture in their study of clothing.

A tall and striking figure, Grace Morton evidenced her creative abilities in her own manner of dress and in her beautiful home.  Both showed the distinction and elegance which were a part of her unique personality.  Her untimely death came a few months after the publication of The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance in 1943. Through the generosity of her family, the rights to her book were given, ten years later, to the University of Nebraska as a memorial to her. The accumulated royalties have provided a substantial addition to the Grace Margaret Morton Scholarship Fund.

From the Preface of the 1964 Edition

Textbooks, and especially textbooks devoted to costume and fashion, need revision from time to time. The farsighted vision of the author, Grace Margaret Morton, has made it possible to incorporate an appreciable amount of the original material. Especially notable was her application of basic principles and discriminating aesthetic sensitivity in selecting timeless illustrations. An attempt has been made to retain Grace Morton's philosophy as well as the scholarly way in which the first edition was written.