Product Description

Women photographed by Vogue magazine feature in this book, which follows the forms that female beauty has taken over the 20th century, featuring such icons of 20th-century beauty as Elizabeth Taylor and Lady Diana Cooper.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #936794 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Review
Women have been looking to Vogue magazine for guidance on style, glamour and taste for nearly a century. Vogue has published photographs of beautiful and stylish women since 1916, and here Howell raids the archives to bring us some of the best images of some of the most striking women of the last century: from Tallulah Bankhead to Twiggy, from Princess Diana to Greta Garbo, photographed by the greats including Cecil Beaton and David Bailey. For anyone interested in the history of fashion, this is a must. (Kirkus UK)

From the Publisher
media reviews
VOGUE WOMEN by Georgina Howell

‘Georgina Howell’s Vogue Women is a coffee-table book with a message…some of the most beautiful shots in the book are barely photographs of women at all; they are fashion pictures, portraits of a line, a look, a colour sense’ THE OBSERVER REVIEW

‘A new book charts the changing nature of Beauty and fashion this century’ DAILY EXPRESS

‘‘Distinguished or notorious, beautiful or striking, the women who grace the pages of this lavish book are all icons of their time…spectacular photographs are accompanied by an illuminating and witty text’ BOOKS FOR GIVING

‘’Vogue Women by Georgina Howell features more than 120 images from Vogue’s unique archive. It is the ultimate tribute to the most glamorous women of our times’ VOGUE MAGAZINE

‘ Inspired Vogue Women may be a testament to master fashion photographers such as Cecil Beaton and David Bailey, but it’s also a tribute to the women who inspired them…includes essays on themes of royalty, models and society girls’ INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

‘The women chosen by Vogue over the last 100 years have set exceptional standards. This collection of spectacular images and text reveals not only their achievements but also the changing place of women in society’ METRO

Customer Reviews

stunningly beautiful
If you think of any glamourous and beautiful woman in the 20th century from hollywood to london they are in this book. Vogue women is a good "coffee table" book and is great to pick up and put down at your leisure. I loved the photographs especially of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.

"reveals our aspirations and the changing place of women"
This book is brilliantly written and edited by Georgina Howell about the images of women in British Vogue. As fine as the photographs in this book are (done by many of the 20th century's most talented photographers), the thoughts about these images are even more interesting and valuable.

Conde Nast's original purpose for Vogue was to "produce the most beautiful and tasteful magazine that had ever existed."

The subjects for the photographs have changed a lot since Vogue was founded. Originally, all of the subjects were either royalty or society women. As Ms. Howell points out, you can never get rid of royalty if you are Vogue, but you can move on in other areas. At the start of the century, the aspiration was to look like an aristocrat or an actress. By the end of the century, the desire was to "look like television presenters and the wives of football [soccer] stars."

The book is organized around type of photographic subject, with a marvelous essay in each case exploring the meaning portrayed by those photographs. The sections are royalty, society girls, inspirations, muses, dynasties, models, stars, exotics/eccentrics, waifs, and icons. Here are my favorite photographs from each section:

Royalty -- Helen Windsor, taken by Lord Snowdon, 1982

Society Girls -- Jemima Khan, taken by Oberto Gili, 1998

Inspirations -- Mother Teresa, taken by John Downey, 1981

Muses -- Ines de la Fressange, taken by Albert Watson, 1985

Dynasties -- (Mother) Nena Von Schlebrugge, taken by Norman Parkinson, 1958; (Daughter) Uma Thurman, taken by Albert Watson, 1994

Models -- Cindy Crawford, taken by Arthur Elgort, 1995

Stars -- Charlotte Rampling, taken by Clive Arrowsmith, 1970

Exotics/Eccentrics -- Diana Vreeland, taken by Horst P. Horst, 1979

Waifs -- Marianne Faithfull, taken by David Bailey, 1965

Icons -- Diana, taken by Patrick Demarchelier, 1997; Greta Garbo, taken by Cecil Beeton, 1946

Where many books with photographs of beautiful women simply try to overwhelm you, this book instead features photographs to illustrate the essays. The theme here is to examine "beauty that survives radical changes in taste and fashion." The subjects are "distinguished or notorious, pretty or striking, and sometimes all four . . . ." This is done in a way consistent with Vogue's purpose to "dress the mind as elegantly as the bodies" displayed here.

The essays don't take the subject as seriously as all this sounds. For example, Ms. Howell is quick to point out that "happy endings have been few and far between" for those who have been portrayed in Vogue's pages. So we are dealing with an illusion of a perfect person and a perfect life. Illusions can be helpful in setting appropriate aspirations. The question the Vogue images raise is whether following the "trendiest" of the time is appropriate. The book itself suggests that it is not. In fact, I found the essays to be an interesting counterpoint to Vogue's usual monthly issue in suggesting what timeless values are and should be for women. And that was more than I expected or had a right to expect from this book. So I was very pleased with it.

My expectation had been to see some terrific photography done by great photographers. And there was plenty of that. But the social commentary is the most valuable part of this book.

To better put this book in perspective, you will find it valuable to take a look at David Bailey's "Birth of the Cool" to see lots of terrific Vogue photography from the 1960s. You will be struck by the contrasts immediately between establishing a look and a feel as fashion in that book, and seeing images here for establishing a socially meaningful perspective. I think you will enjoy both books.

After you have finished viewing these books and their fine images, why don't you think about what your aspirations are for yourself. Are these consistent with your own heart? If not, could some of these aspirations come from the popular media? If so, can you identify which ones? Then, examine each to see if it merits your support.

Be yourself, beautifully!

"reveals our aspirations and the changing place of women"
This book is brilliantly written and edited by Georgina Howell about the images of women in British Vogue. As fine as the photographs in this book are (done by many of the 20th century's most talented photographers), the thoughts about these images are even more interesting and valuable.

Conde Nast's original purpose for Vogue was to "produce the most beautiful and tasteful magazine that had ever existed."

The subjects for the photographs have changed a lot since Vogue was founded. Originally, all of the subjects were either royalty or society women. As Ms. Howell points out, you can never get rid of royalty if you are Vogue, but you can move on in other areas. At the start of the century, the aspiration was to look like an aristocrat or an actress. By the end of the century, the desire was to "look like television presenters and the wives of football [soccer] stars."

The book is organized around type of photographic subject, with a marvelous essay in each case exploring the meaning portrayed by those photographs. The sections are royalty, society girls, inspirations, muses, dynasties, models, stars, exotics/eccentrics, waifs, and icons. Here are my favorite photographs from each section:

Royalty -- Helen Windsor, taken by Lord Snowdon, 1982

Society Girls -- Jemima Khan, taken by Oberto Gili, 1998

Inspirations -- Mother Teresa, taken by John Downey, 1981

Muses -- Ines de la Fressange, taken by Albert Watson, 1985

Dynasties -- (Mother) Nena Von Schlebrugge, taken by Norman Parkinson, 1958; (Daughter) Uma Thurman, taken by Albert Watson, 1994

Models -- Cindy Crawford, taken by Arthur Elgort, 1995

Stars -- Charlotte Rampling, taken by Clive Arrowsmith, 1970

Exotics/Eccentrics -- Diana Vreeland, taken by Horst P. Horst, 1979

Waifs -- Marianne Faithfull, taken by David Bailey, 1965

Icons -- Diana, taken by Patrick Demarchelier, 1997; Greta Garbo, taken by Cecil Beeton, 1946

Where many books with photographs of beautiful women simply try to overwhelm you, this book instead features photographs to illustrate the essays. The theme here is to examine "beauty that survives radical changes in taste and fashion." The subjects are "distinguished or notorious, pretty or striking, and sometimes all four . . . ." This is done in a way consistent with Vogue's purpose to "dress the mind as elegantly as the bodies" displayed here.

The essays don't take the subject as seriously as all this sounds. For example, Ms. Howell is quick to point out that "happy endings have been few and far between" for those who have been portrayed in Vogue's pages. So we are dealing with an illusion of a perfect person and a perfect life. Illusions can be helpful in setting appropriate aspirations. The question the Vogue images raise is whether following the "trendiest" of the time is appropriate. The book itself suggests that it is not. In fact, I found the essays to be an interesting counterpoint to Vogue's usual monthly issue in suggesting what timeless values are and should be for women. And that was more than I expected or had a right to expect from this book. So I was very pleased with it.

My expectation had been to see some terrific photography done by great photographers. And there was plenty of that. But the social commentary is the most valuable part of this book.

To better put this book in perspective, you will find it valuable to take a look at David Bailey's "Birth of the Cool" to see lots of terrific Vogue photography from the 1960s. You will be struck by the contrasts immediately between establishing a look and a feel as fashion in that book, and seeing images here for establishing a socially meaningful perspective. I think you will enjoy both books.

After you have finished viewing these books and their fine images, why don't you think about what your aspirations are for yourself. Are these consistent with your own heart? If not, could some of these aspirations come from the popular media? If so, can you identify which ones? Then, examine each to see if it merits your support.

Be yourself, beautifully!