This Yale Press coffee table book features deliciously large photos that show design detail with great clarity. Considering the intent of the author to prove American designers have innovated as much as their international peers, Mears unfortunately describes garment construction textually when a simple pattern image would have illuminated the same point in a more concise way. Perhaps the publisher believed a lay audience wouldn't respond as well to flattened models, but some of the more architectural designs actively insist on a plan view. However, her narrative on how dressmaking and tailoring have evolved in response to a particular lifestyle is invaluable to an understanding of new silhouettes and approaches to American design. I especially appreciated the cross section of Charles James' Clover Dress.