When I was at the Love Vintage Fair a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend the launch of Nicole Jenkin's new paperback encyclopedia of loveliness of the same name, and pick up my copy of the tome while I was at it! Nicole is a lifelong vintage lover and owner of well-known Melbourne style mecca Circa Vintage. I related so much to her launch speech where she talked about discovering that first vintage frock which ignited her passion (I think I can trace my love of vintage back to my mum's collection of 1970's evening frocks, one of which I updated and wore to my Year 11 formal), and I admired her motivation for writing the book, so that ladies can learn what "real" Australian women wore in decades past, rather than just the haute couture evening wear that dominates most fashion books. I've now read my book cover-to-cover and I will definitely be dipping into it in the future. The first half of the book dissects each era from the 1920's to the 1980's, with photographic examples from Nicole's own collection as well as other local collectors. The next section - called Style by Garment - is a breakdown of every available style per garment, with notes on the eras in which they were most popular. I've never come across this in a vintage book before, and it is a fantastic reference tool. This section is nicely illustrated with retro advertising. The latter part of the book looks at fabric, quality and how to shop for vintage. There is also a handy table of care instructions, which I will definitely be making use of as I have been known to ruin a few beloved vintage pieces in the past (sob, sob).
Love Vintage is available through Carter's and Nicole also has a list of bookstores where you can pick up a copy, on her blog.
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