what’s in vogue . . .

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events

rizzoli publishes some of the most beautiful books in print today; when i lived in new york, i often found myself tempted into their shop on my way to or from work appointments. though i never had enough spare cash to indulge myself in a glossy new book on west 57th street, i often had very good luck further downtown in scoring some of their fine art books secondhand.

there’s no better way to pass the time than to leaf through a high quality book, with its scholarly writing, heavy paper, and beautifully turned out photos—who could ask for more?

actually, there might be just one thing—what about doing an absolutely gorgeous publication on our favorite wooly topic? well today i’m holding just that—a delicious new offering from rizzoli about vogue knitting.

the book tells the story of vogue knitting magazine, beginning with a brief history of the publication, told in words and pictures.

a good number of vintage covers are used to illustrate the magazine’s timeline, a reminder of its history as knitting’s premier fashion magazine.

VK has been graced with the work of fashion’s best photographers as well—even today, it continues to present knits in fashion stories that occur within a constructed photographic “setting”.

while we now have several beautiful knitting magazines, each with a slightly different approach to presenting knit fashion, vogue knitting has the longest history among those currently published.

and during the 80s and 90s, it was the only one we had and whatever it was showing was considered the height of current knitting trends. i know that personally, i always looked forward to seeing what was shown next.

and while these large, oversized sweaters were never a good fit for my frame, i still very much enjoyed the presentation of current fashion trends presented by VK.

my favorite inclusions though were always their new takes on classic sweater designs—i loved to see colorwork and texture used in ways that married very traditional techniques with new shapes or updated detailing.

the book includes a wonderful retrospective of some of VK’s best designs as well as some of its trendiest—there are many sweaters included that i still would knit today.

and fortunately, the book includes patterns for all of the sweaters featured in this review.

the magazine not only featured well-known photographers, but also clothing designers and continues to do so today. perry ellis, calvin klein, and isaac mizrahi are just a few that have contributed to the magazine.

this direct link and crossover with 7th avenue fashion houses distinguishes vogue knitting from other magazines of our craft.

having such a long running publication history enabled the editors to include a feature that i just loved and looked forward to in each issue—the “[XX] years ago in vogue” feature, where a beautiful sweater from another era was resuscitated and made new again by the magazines design staff, complete with before and after photos.

the rizzoli edition covers all of these much-loved facets of the magazine’s history, including instructions for the pieces shown throughout, taking us right up to the current decade

similar to the the rowan compendiums, but with lots more history included.

a short section of techniques and and explanation of abbreviations used throughout the patterns is included at the back.

the book is a wonderful tribute to a magazine with such a long and illustrious history; i like that so many of my own favorites are compiled into one volume.

and fortunately for us, rizzoli has generously set aside one copy of vogue knitting to be mailed to one lucky reader.

if you’d like to win a copy, leave a comment at the end of this post by 9 pm EST on thursday, nov 17 and you’ll be in the running. we’ll announce as soon as possible after that; i’m teaching at a retreat over the weekend and i’m not sure when i’ll be posting (definitely by next tuesday, though).

have a good week; i’ll be back with some knitting news soon.

427 thoughts on “what’s in vogue . . .

  1. Of course I would love a copy…and the time to knit myself down through vogue’s knitting history!

  2. How great! I used to subscribe, but would love to see what I might have missed before and after!

  3. I saw the book last weekend – used to knit sweaters from the old VK in the 1960’s when we were in college. I would love to have this book!

  4. Looks so beautiful- I’d love to have this out on my coffee table so the DH will be able to browse over his breakfast. Something like this would be great to introduce him to how many different yarns & patterns there are to play with, and can only help when the need to stash crops up. 😉

  5. Wow the book sounds fantastic! I wouldn’t say no to winning. Thanks for the opportunity. I look forward to reading each new blog post and the chances to win special treats are the icing on the cake.

  6. wow – what a wonderful and generous offer! I’ve loved vogue knitting for a long time – great eye candy…thanks for sharing!

  7. Should you be stuck in NYC with time to kill and the desire for expensive books, there’s always the Strand. Oh – and this Vogue Knitting Classics ? Yes, I ‘d love one.

  8. Well, I knit two of those bubble sweaters! :-))) I just loved them and wore them to death, they were so cosy!

  9. Some of the sweaters look amazing. I would love to have a copy of this and give them a try. Thank you for offering it to us.

  10. What a beautiful book (crosses fingers : ) Ha Ha ) Hope you have a lovely retreat and a safe trip.

    Nicole

  11. I looked through my magazines and found a match. A great thing about looking back is seeing how much I’ve improved as a knitter – and to think I was doing it as a job then….

  12. This is soooooo exciting. Can’t wait. Getting my needles warmed up. Could be a good and busy winter.

  13. Vogue have always made such an important contribution to making fashion accessible for women, to combine their knitting into a glorious book… sigh…
    I would adore this book if I am lucky enough to win it!!

  14. I have been collecting VK magazines since the early 80’s. It is so surprising that back then it was the only magazine and now we have so many magazines choices. It is nice that knitting has made a comeback in such a big way. This book would be such a welcome to my library, thank you for the giveaway.

  15. thank you so much for the opportunity, I have been reading vogue knitting for about 2 years now and would love to see some of the patterns from the past. love your blog. thanks again.

  16. I’m always up for drooling over beautiful books. Love your blog — the gardening and cooking as well as the gorgeous knits!

  17. I am not the only who would love a copy apparently! VK is one of the only magazines I buy regularly because I like the fashion angle and photography even when I don’t make anything from the issue.

  18. One gorgeous book after another (can you tell that I missed a day?) Agree that some of the styles are a little extreme, but still eye candy for knitters!

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