Fashion a la Mode: The Pop-Up History of Costumes and Dresses 
Reviews
Pop-up books are no longer just for children. I am constantly amazed at the workmanship that goes into one of these books. I never buy a used pop-up book, especially ones that say some of the pop-ups don't work. Then why buy it! Take my advice, buy this book and you'll be hooked on pop-ups too. I even bought pop-up Christmas cards this year and a 2006 calendar. Robert Sabuda is my all-time favorite pop-up artist.
-Egypt
-The Court of Elizabeth I
-The Court of Marie Antoinette
-At the Opera
-The Art of the Kimono
-Coco Chanel: Liberating the Ladies
-Fashion as Art
My favorites are the kimono and art(Mariano Fortuny and Issey Miyake) spreads. I really love the Fotuny paper doll in her Delphos gown and loose fitting cloak, despite their being less than well rendered.
As a pop-up collector and hobbyist, I'm disappointed with this book. Though a great subject, the form and function of the pop-ups don't mesh well for me. There's an assortment of pull tabs, lift the the flaps, accordion fold outs and free standing pop ups that can be totally detached from the book. The many movable items are well organized by theme, but the parts are always catching on each other. I also had some trouble securing the freestanding stuff back into the book because it's not immediately obvious how the tabs and slots work with each other. For the price, I think the illustrations could have been better looking. In the end, the mish mash of the contents and sometimes ugly illustrations killed this book for me. I didn't hate it enough to go through the trouble of returning it, but it sits in its plastic wrapper collecting dust.
