Over the Counter #221

What books caught my eye this week as they passed over the library counter and under my scanner? It's retro this week...

First up is Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide:  Here you are - everything I learned as a teenage model about good looks, grooming and personality...all my secrets of poise and glamour in one big book to help YOU become the most popular girl in your set! by Betty Cornell.

From the publisher, Dutton Books:

"Available again for a whole new generation of readers, the original 1950s popularity guide that was the inspiration for teen author Maya Van Wagenen’s memoir Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek!

Filled with fun tips and vintage wisdom, Betty Cornell’s Teen-Age Popularity Guide offers advice and guidance for teens who want to be poised, self-confident, and “shiny bright.” Betty covers topics ranging from “Figure Problems,” “Good Grooming,” and “What to Wear Where” to hints on dating, hosting a great party, and becoming “the most popular girl in your set!”

Next up was Fabulous Frocks by Sarah Gristwood and Jane Eastoe.

From the publisher, Pavillion Books:

"No item of clothing has endured for longer than the dress. Yet the last century alone has seen the most radical changes of style – hemlines swinging from ankle to thigh; outlines alternating between the body-hugging and the bell – and our fascination with the ‘frock’ has not gone away. From Gres’ draping to Dior’s New Look, from Mary Quant’s mini to Hussein Chalayan’s mechanical marvels, this book looks at the dress in twentieth century fashion. Thematic chapters – Changes, Feminine, Sex, Must-haves, Fantasy, Classical and Art – set out the inspirations and implications for each new change alongside the stunning photography. It is more than eighty years since Coco Chanel invented the little black dress, but every woman still has one in her wardrobe today. It’s decades since women discovered trousers and separates, but every woman dreams of wearing a glorious, glamorous gown at least once, whether it’s on a Hollywood red carpet, or just on her wedding day. Fabulous Frocks is a book to fire a fashionista’s imagination."

(Over the Counter is a regular feature at A Bookworm's World. I've sadly come the realization that I cannot physically read every book that catches my interest as it crosses over my counter at the library. But... I can mention them and maybe one of them will catch your eye as well. See if your local library has them on their shelves!)