Self-help ✦ Penny’s Take
Victorian and Edwardian Fashions from "La Mode Illustrée
JoAnne Olian · 1998
76/100
👍 Worth It
Over 1,000 faithfully reproduced period illustrations spanning 54 years of French fashion, curated by a museum professional — this is exactly what a costume designer or fashion historian needs on the shelf. It is almost entirely pictures with minimal scholarly commentary, so it functions as a visual anthology rather than a full study. For the right reader it is genuinely valuable; for anyone wanting analysis, it falls short.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety98
substance72
craft70
originality74
accuracy82
hype88
age-fit85
human-eye76
Penny’s verdict76
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