Gowns by Adrian: The MGM Years 1928-1941

The famous 1930s Hollywood couturier Adrian is handled with kid-gloves in Howard Gutner's Gowns by Adrian: The MGM Years 1928-1941, the first book on the designer. Ever the perfectionist, ""he treated the costumes of a chorus girl or extra with the same care, taste, and wit that he lavished on Garbo's crinolines in Camille,"" says Gutner. Replete with images Eva von Berne in petit point lace; Madge Evans in fluted ruffles at the neck, a peplum at the hips and a bouffant skirt; Joan Crawford in white silk crepe and black bugle beads; and plenty of costumes that never made it to the final cut and the ins and outs of both the fashion and the movie industries, this handsome book will please fashionistas and film folk. (Nov.)