It is more than eighty years since Coco Chanel invented the little black dress, but every woman still has one in her wardrobe. 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 on her wedding day.

It is more than eighty years since Coco Chanel invented the little black dress, but every woman still has one in her wardrobe. 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 on her wedding day.

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 set out the inspirations-and implications for each new change in style alongside stunning photography.A celebration of the dress in all its forms, Fabulous Frocks is sure to fire any fashionista's imagination.

Chapter One:Changes 1908-1958

Chapter Two:Changes 1959-2008

Chapter Three:Must Have

Chapter Four:Classical

Chapter Five:Fantasy

Chapter Six:Sex

Chapter Seven:Feminine

Chapter Eight:Art

Timeline

Index

Bibliography

Acknowledgements