We are pleased and excited to share with you some of the Caring for Textiles team’s favorite textile books of all time. Read through this list, savor, pick and choose (order some stocking stuffers or gifts?!) then send us your favorites. We would be thrilled to hear from you with your suggestions!
Julia has been deeply influenced by this one:
by the extraordinary Elizabeth Wayland Barber, 1994. As Ms. Barber explains,
Women create thread; they somehow pull it out of nowhere, just as they produce babies out of nowhere. The same image is latent in our own term life-span. Span is from the verb spin, which originally meant ‘draw out, stretch long.’
—Elizabeth Wayland Barber: Women’s Work, The First 20,000 Years, 1994.
Digging into archeological records, Barber has shaped the history of textiles as that of the power of women, art, technology, and economics. Textiles were the domain of women and inextricably connected to motherhood, creation, artistry, and entrepreneurship in the most intimate ways. Time to reclaim your history? Grab this book, it’s a page-turner.
This book has been a favorite of Julia’s since childhood:
by Beatrix Potter, 1903. I’ve always loved the illustrations and the story of mice working all night to help an old tailor, creating such tiny stitches and beautiful clothes. How magical!
Here’s another kid favorite, this time from our Lauren Klamm’s (almost!) 2-year-old:
This is a most well-suited book for the daughter of a textile conservator. It’s all about Joseph and how he remakes his overcoat until finally all he can make is a button for his suspenders. “Lily makes me read this over and over,” Lauren says of reading with her daughter. “I never mind since it is so brightly colored and uses collage and cutouts to tell the story.”
Katilyn recommends a great kid’s book, also—but this one is super for adults, too!
by Patricia Polacco, 1988. Made from a basket of old clothes, this quilt tells the story of multiple generations and of always a loving home. Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco.
We all recommend this one, for adults and children:
by Jennifer J. Merz, 2020. An extraordinary woman and this lively book is illustrated with collages made of paper and textiles. It is super fun!
Kaitlyn Munro recommends:
by Elizabeth Hawes
A must-read for insight into the American fashion industry during the 1920-30s. Elizabeth Hawes, whose sleek bias-cut beauties are in many museum fashion collections, sets out to defy the French Legend; “All beautiful clothes are designed in the houses of the French couturiers and all women want them.” Hawes becomes one of the first American fashion designers to present a collection in Paris. Her witty and confident writing style is reflective of her personality and life philosophy.
For a change of pace, check out these touching and pithy short vignettes that Julia recommends:
by Emily Spivak, 2014
In our lives of fast fashion and mountains of unwanted homeless pieces of clothing, Spivak singles out guest writers who tell wonderful, unexpected, crazy, and sad stories about one piece of clothing, mostly everyday ones. Have you ever wondered if your clothes have feelings, are offended when they are never worn and adorned, or itchy when left soiled, or have a hidden story of a past wearer?
More recommendations from Julia:
by Elizabeth Keckley, 1868. Reissued 2017.
Attacked and vilified when she published it, Keckley defended her integrity and her extraordinary and frank historic biography. From enslavement, buying her freedom, moving to Washington DC, and becoming a successful businesswoman and the dressmaker and confidante of Mrs. Lincoln. There exist today important examples of her exquisite designs and dressmaking, which I have had the honor to see in person and install one capelet.
Annie Jeffrey suggests:
by Clare Hunter
Two books are recommended by Lorenza Lattanzi:
by H.P. Mera
by Françoise de Bonneville
Dawn Chitty was inspired by:
Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, Thailand, 2018.
“These batiks are so beautiful!” Dawn gushes. “I’d love to see some of them in stationary and design projects.”
Anni Reffsin is inspired and motivated by:
Exhibition catalog
The book is incredibly comprehensive and explores the designer’s thought process; beautiful photos and quotes. It’s philosophical and demonstrative.
Kaitlyn Munro wants us all to dig into:
by Alison Hawthorne Deming
“Part memoir, part elegy, part cultural history, A Woven World celebrates the fading crafts, cottage industries, and artisans that have defined communities for generations.”
Sometimes our most treasured reads come to us as gifts, and this one was sent to me by my grandmother. Alison Hawthorne Deming takes a unique approach in her storytelling, weaving three seemingly unique and unrelated threads of her life into a glittering tapestry. Poetic and captivating.
Julia’s pandemic favorite (and who didn’t have at least one book that carried them thru the pandemic):
by Claire Wilcox, 2020.
Spinning a yarn, twisting a fable, weaving a parable, unfolding a secret…this is what Wilcox does in this exquisite collection of stories. (some make me cry) It is a memoir told through her personal ‘threads’ and how we all love them, lose them, wear them out, save them presumably in perpetuity. Chapter headings read: Beginning, Brink, Verdant, Catch, Unbound, Entwined, Love, Gather, Sensate, Seam, Loss, Immersion, Mist, Home…….
He is nearing the end of his life and, when I brush his coat, I can feel his ribcage. His hearing is going – although it’s always been selective. I notice he sleeps more and more, sprawled on his bed – a grubby square of memory foam – as if it were a life raft.
Patch work: A life amongst clothes, page 203
Katherine Hill McIntyre’s career choice was inspired by
by Hamish Bowles, Arthur M. Schlesinger and Rachael Lambert Mellon, 2001)
Katherine says: “This was the catalog that accompanied the exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery (RIP) in 2002. Seeing such a beautiful exhibition of clothing in the museum space, helped me make the final decision to apply for graduate school in the field of museum/costume studies. I am still inspired by this gorgeous book, the garments and the meticulous mannequin dressing in this exhibition.”
Katherine’s other recommendations include two great photography books for late 19th-century fashion reference and a book with a universal message from an undeniable icon:
Alison Gernsheim, 1982
Joan Severa, 1995
Dolly Parton, 2016
I have loved reading this to my children and they understand the message but I feel that it’s a great lesson for everyone.
what a wonderful array of books for those of us who love fashion and textiles! Many thanks for compiling it
What a wonderful collection. Stitched & Sewn: The Life-Saving Art of Holocaust Survivor Trudie Strobel is a memorable book I would add.
Thank you Angel – your picks are always amazing. We shall add this to an ever growing additional list and to our own piles beside our beds. Julia
Marvelous list, some I know but many I don’t. Will the list be available And added to? I want to reference in a book review I am working on.
Hi Jeanne, We can try to do another updated book list, based on the responses of our community. We’ve received a few favorites to add. What are yours? THanks Julia