Ever wondered why your ceiling is shaped like the arches in a gothic cathedral? Or why your offi ce building looks so different from its neighboring counterparts? The ABC of Style invites you to explore the many different architectural and decorative interior styles from their ancient origins to the 1940s. Take a journey through history to see how the French aristocracy styled their palaces and castles to the simple designs of the Dominican monastic churches during the middle ages. Often, political changes implicate a stylistic transformation. Thus, the different European styles were frequently named after a sovereign or a historical …

What is the social merit or purpose of all those bras and panties on perfectly sculpted bodies that we see spread across billboards and magazines? Many women indulge in lingerie to please men. Yet, ever since Antiquity, women have always kept lingerie hidden away under outer garments. Thus, lingerie must be more than erotic bait. Authors Muriel Barbier and Shazia Boucher have researched iconography to explore the relationship of lingerie to society, the economy and the corridors of intimacy. They correlate lingerie with emancipation, querying whether it asserts newfound freedoms or simply adjusts to conform to changing social values. The …

What do the thousands of images of bras and panties on perfectly sculpted bodies that we see spread across billboards and magazines say about our society? Many women indulge in lingerie to please men. Yet, since antiquity, women have always kept lingerie hidden away under outer garments. Thus, lingerie must be more than erotic bait. Authors Muriel Barbier and Shazia Boucher have researched iconography to explore the relationship of lingerie to society, revealing the economy and corridors of intimacy. They correlate lingerie with emancipation, querying whether it asserts newfound freedoms or simply adjusts to changing social values. This Mega Square …

El abanico es un objeto cultural que combina la utilidad práctica con la moda, lo que ha contribuido a su prolongada historia, caracterizada por multitud de formas, materiales y colores diferentes. Este libro presenta los ejemplos más elaborados creados entre los siglos XVIII y XX. A la extravagancia de las formas y la presencia de materiales preciosos en los adornos hay que añadir la frecuente inclusión de dibujos basados en curiosos acontecimientos sociales, imágenes iconográficas e incluso partituras musicales. Su práctico formato hace del volumen Abanicos un regalo ideal para los apasionados de los objetos culturales y la artesanía creativa …

Schlüpfen Sie in die idyllische Welt des ländlichen Schwedens zur Zeit der Jahrhundertwende mit dieser Monographie, die Carl Larsson (1853-1919) gewidmet ist, dessen zarte Zeichnungen und Gemälde eine Vision seines charmanten Familienlebens geben. Begleitende Details zu jedem Kunstwerk bieten einen wertvollen Einblick in die exquisiten, liebenswürdigen Details, die Helligkeit, Farbigkeit und lebendige Fröhlichkeit dieser Bilder, die näher betrachtet werden müssen. Der beliebte schwedische Künstlerhat sich einen guten Platz in den Herzen seiner Landsleute verdient. Jetzt bekannt für seine verinnerlichten, leuchtenden Bilder seiner Familie und ihres idyllischen Lebens in der schwedischen Landschaft, kämpfte er zunächst für viele Jahre als Maler und …

Men’s fashion, particularly the trends involving undergarments, was once reserved for the elite; today it has become democratised, clear proof of social progress. The aestheticism of the body so highly valued by the Greeks seems to have regained a prominent place in the masculine world. Mirroring the evolution of society’s values, the history of underwear also highlights the continuous, dancing exchange that exists between women’s styles and men’s fashion. Undergarments are concealed, flaunted, stretched or shortened, establishing a game between yesterday’s illicit and today’s chic and thereby denouncing the sense of disgrace that these simple pieces of clothing used to …

Si à une certaine époque la mode masculine, et celle des sous-vêtements en particulier, était réservée à une élite, elle s’est aujourd’hui démocratisée, preuve manifeste de l’évolution de notre société. L’esthétisme du corps tant prisé par les Grecs semble retrouver une place prépondérante dans l’univers masculin. Miroir de l’évolution des mœurs, l’histoire des sous-vêtements souligne également le ballet incessant d’emprunts existant entre la mode féminine et la mode masculine. Les dessous se camouflent, s’exhibent, s’allongent ou se raccourcissent, instaurant un jeu entre l’interdit d’alors et la mode d’aujourd’hui, et dénoncent de fait l’aveu que pouvait trahir, autrefois, un simple vêtement. …