This was a very informative book about Hollywood fashion. I didn't know very much at all about costuming when I started reading this book and I feel like I learned alot. The pictures were gorgeous too!

A stunning book with 300+ images of amazing items from the L.A. icon, the Palace Costume & Prop Co., with dozens of interviews with Oscar-winning designers and gorgeous film stills of clothes and accessories they used for the movies. A must-read for anyone who loves Hollywood costumes!

If I had a physical copy of this book I would give it a hug from the shear joy its beauty brought me! It was beautifully shot and I loved how they included interviews with renowned costume designers. It was intriguing to see how everything is selected and how important the character’s fashion is to bringing a story to life. This is a must have book for fashion and film lovers!

Palace Costume is beyond gorgeous. Full of vibrant and texture filled images that belong on a Wes Anderson set, it also showcases the history and use of the place. Reading this makes me want to roam around and let the collection's pieces speak to me the way those interviewed had it speak to them.

Breathtaking! I felt as though I needed to read this book twice - once simply to gaze at the photographs, because all the words kept distracting me, and then again to soak up what all the interviewees were saying. An astonishing glimpse into something that's done so well, we all take it for granted.

Such a fun and enjoyable travel through time! This book highlights some of the greatest fashion pieces many of us have become familiar with through film. Palace Costume & Prop Co. serves as home to many of the unique, creative, and not to mention award-winning pieces we have seen throughout the years in films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and Beloved. Details about the pieces are given to us in interview form, which I personally loved. I feel it gives the reader more of an understanding of the pieces' purpose, the designers, stylists, and collectors' inspirations, as well as fun and fond memories at Palace Costume. The latter half of this book graces us with beautiful and colorful pictures, all of which are creative, unique, and fun!

Thank you NetGalley, Chronicle Books, and Mimi Haddon for this beautiful ARC!

Palace Costume:Inside Hollywood's Best Kept Secret
by: Mimi Haddon
due 9-10-24
Chronicle Chroma Books
5.0 stars

Melody Barnett is the Godmother of retro clothing, and costume design. Her love of retro-clothing began with her excitement over finding and collecting different fabrics, and styles of clothing. 'Palace Costume' is a deep dive into her collection. Opening a small boutique in Hollywood on Melrose, she quickly became the go-to for theatre, movie sets and famous people who need retro and era-specific clothing; she began her rental service, but exclusively for in-trade-only use. Soon she had to move to a larger location. Her collection is now housed in a 30,000 square foot warehouse, with over a half million pieces. I would love to go and just browse, but it is not open to the public. Pieces featured in movies, worn by actors would be amazing.

Barnett's extensive and phenomenal collection has been documented for years by Mimi Haddon. Over 300 of her photographs are featured here. It's history is told by interviews with well-known costume designers. The interviews help us understand the extensive and special care that these items need- keeping them clean, and useable. Some are hundreds of years old.

I really enjoyed the history of style and the interviews, with Academy Award winning costume designers about the clothing and accesories that they have used from her collection. An excellent resouce, and so well documented.
Recommended. An excellent walk down memory lane.
Thanks to #NetGalley for sending thie e-book ARC for review.
#PalaceCostume #Netgalley

This is a very interesting visual history of a costuming company that provides some iconic outfits for various performances. I loved seeing the behind the scenes pictures of the various collections and reading the comments by various designers.

Palace Costume is an amazing Los Angeles collection of clothing and accessories curated by Melody Barnett. The book is a love letter to the Hollywood costumes and designers with dozens of beautiful pictures and interviews with over a dozen amazing costume designers. The book is essential for anyone who is interested in the history of film, television, and theatre costume. Particularly loved the interview with Shirley Kurata but everyone shared great stories about costume design and Palace Costume. Highly recommend and kudos to Mimi Haddon for all the beautiful photos!

I had never heard of Palace Costume before this book and its history, massive collection, and connections to Hollywood icons was so fun to learn about. Plus, the book itself and its photographs are stunning. Palace Costume has one of the largest private clothing collections in the world and has been involved in a list of iconic productions that is honestly too long and distinguished to abbreviate. (One of the standouts to me is LEGALLY BLONDE!) This is both a book capturing the beauty of Palace Costume and a collection of interviews with costume designers and Palace Costume insiders that gives an intimate look into how costume choices are made, the research that goes into their design, and their importance to the final production. This would be so fun to have on a coffee table, especially if you're a fashion/movie fanatic!

This is a very niche book. I worked for many years in illustrated book publishing and this is one of those head scratching titles. The pictures were nice but I was not quite sure of the purpose of the book nor was I familiar with the names. If you are interested in vintage clothing or very specialized items then this one is for you.

I have a special interest in fashion, but this is a fantastically curated coffee table book that celebrates an institution of costumery, costumers, and cinema. I cannot wait to own a physical copy of this book!

Beautiful collection! I love all things fashion in Hollywood facts and this book was a delicious treat! A two-for-one deal! Very insightful and colorful! I love this! This book is definitely something to share with friends and family who are addicted to all things fun and fashion!

Pros: I had never heard about Palace Costume before reading this book, but I was immediately interested when I saw the cover art and learned that it is a treasure trove for stylists and costume designers. This book is filled with fascinating interviews of costume designers and fantastic photographs. Reading it felt like a peek behind the scenes of the movie/tv and fashion industries. This book would make a fantastic gift to someone who appreciates film and style.

Cons: None that I can think of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books | Chronicle Chroma for the opportunity to read this book.

Melody Barnett is truly an amazing person and entrepreneur, and kudos to Mimi Haddon for this engaging and absolutely fascinating look into Palace Hollywood and Melody’s vast collection of sixty years.

The book opens with a series of absorbing interviews with both Melody herself and some of Hollywood’s leading costume designers and stylists. The interviews are fairly lengthy (2-3 pages of pretty small text) and center primarily on how the designers feel about Palace Costumes/their experiences there, but the sheer breadth and uniqueness of the responses help to prevent these interviews from being repetitive. The second portion of the book, beginning on page 136, includes beautiful photographs of the collection in all of its stunning glory. Film aficionados will likely recognize pieces of the collection from their favorite movies; even if you don’t, the sheer array of colorful, visually stunning pieces spanning at least 100 years and ranging from glasses to jewellery to vests, swimsuits, and shoes will have you in awe. This is an amazing book for display and for anyone who has even a passing interest in fashion or costume design!

I love fashion, this cover and title drew me in. This not only has beautiful textile photos throughout but it also share about fashion moments and people.
It’s a level up from just a regular coffee fashion book.

Palace Costume is a fantastic look at this iconic collection of clothes ,shoes jewelry Hollywood at its most glorious.I devoured this book love the Hollywood folklore about these special pieces& read it again just for the photography.Gorgeous book.#netgalley #palace costume.

I like fashion and I really want to explore so many costume ever in the world including palace costumes. Palace Costume is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Palace Costume & Prop Co., an exclusive Los Angeles film-industry haven of dresses, gowns, garments, accessories, props, and jewelry featured in countless movies for more than fifty years.

I just love learning about places like Palace Costume that I never knew existed, even though I've often had the thought when watching a period piece along the lines of "Do they have to make a lot of these clothes from scratch? Wouldn't that take forever?" It's super interesting to read about where this reference point for many on-screen moments is, how it came to be, and what the scope and scale is. And of course, the almost-technicolor photos are great.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.