Berlei
Sydney: Berlei Ltd., 1936.

A bound set of the complete volume 15 of The Berlie Review, being the company journal for Australian lingerie company Berlie for the year 1936. Volume 15 comprises 10 parts, with January/February and October/November being double issues. Founded by Fred R. Burley and first operating in Sydney from 1910 as Unique Corsets, before Frenchifying to Berlie in 1917, with the vision “To Design and Manufacture Corsets and Brassieres of such perfect Fit, Quality, and Workmanship, as will bring pleasure and profit to all concerned, while at the same time rendering such excellent service to our Clients and Consumers as will merit their permanent patronage.” Burlei Australia is still operating today.

Mona Moncrieffe
Sydney: Bebarfald’s, 1927.

1920s ladies’ fashion, though more extensively a guide to succeeding as a crafty and fashionable woman with a particular focus on the successful use of colour for different types of women. The majority of the illustrations signed Hilton, possibly Cecil Hilton Jones, also Alec J. Wood.

Celanese Corporation of America
New York: Celanese Corporation of America, 1928.

Early promotional booklet for Celanese, a cellulose acetate “artificial silk” fabric, produced by the Celanese Corporation of America. The firm, a Fortune 500 company still operating today as Celanese, the name being a portmanteaux of cellulose and ease, promoting the new product as easy to clean and care for. The booklet is illustrated throughout by Robert L. Leonard (1879-1958), a pioneering figure of American decorative arts, design, and illustration. Having studied and worked as an illustrator in Munich, Berlin, and Paris before migrating to the United States in 1923, he brought with him a modernist style which is on full show in the colourful art deco illustrations. Leonard was a founding member of the American Union of Decorative Artists and Designers and edited the first Annual of American Design in 1931. A rare treat of 1920s fashion and illustration, with only 1 copy recorded in OCLC, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Library.

The Savoy Taylors’ Guild Ltd.
London: Savoy Taylors’ Guild, No date.

1920s men’s fashion catalogue for the well dressed man. Founded in 1906 Savoy Taylors Guild based in London’s Strand (and operating there until only recently) aimed “to supply high-grade outfitting for men, in commodious surroundings, giving honest value and exercising an unceasing effort to satisfy the wishes of its customers”. This early catalogue, illustrated by Minister & Co., shows a range of suits for everyday, lounging, formal occasions, around town, playing golf, and while driving the automobile or travelling aboard the steamer. OCLC shows no holdings of any Savoy Taylors Guild catalogue or archive. This copy with two 1928 newspaper clippings laid in, being Parts II and III of Clothes and the Man by Clive Hamilton.

Andrea Horwood
Perth: Australian Style, 1993.

First issue of Australian 1990s fashion magazine Australian Style featuring Kylie Minogue on the cover. This issue features a series of portraits of Minogue by Tony Notarberardino smoking, but with the cigarette edited out, though one image remains with stick in hand. Also features Greta Scacchi, Andrew Ettinghausen, Graeme Murphy, rodeo sports, Stompem Ground ’92, Hunters and Collector’s Mark Seymor, and more.

Mika Ninagawa
Kyoto: Mitsumura Suiko Shoin, 2013.

Photographic portraiture of colourful Tokyo subcultures.

Simon Wood; Sneaker Freaker
London: Phaidon, 2021.

“Soled Out is an epic compilation of nearly 900 vintage print advertisements sourced from the golden age of sneakers. Featuring sporting and cultural icons such as Andre Agassi, Paula Abdul, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, MC Hammer, and Shaquille O’Neal, every page is packed with unforgettable imagery, bold graphics, and outrageous trash talk devised by the footwear industry’s biggest players. Sit back and enjoy the spectacular scenery ahead as Soled Out powers through a 720-page marathon celebration of the rubber, leather, and mesh we wear on our feet!” (publisher’s blurb)

Rin Tanaka
Osaka: West Coast Shoe Co., 2018.

A history of American boot manufacturer West Coast Shoe Company, also known as Wesco. Provides an illustrated history of the company as well as an illustrated catalogue of their boots throughout the years together with archival and contemporary photographs and ephemera. The book comes housed in a custom cardboard box resembling an original box the boots would be sold in. Unrecorded in OCLC.

Teijin
Tokyo: Teijin, 1960.

Program for a 1960s fashion show in Tokyo featuring Parisian models Nicole Crassat, Chrstine Saunier, Laure Nicole, Anne-Marie Bocheux, and Marianne Leroy-Beaulieu. Rare, unrecorded in OCLC or CiNii.