The Office of Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen presents
Operation Prom Dress 2013

Don't let the tough economy discourage students from attending Prom. 

Donate a new or gently used dress today!

Donations are currently being accepted through March 3, 2013.

Stop by one of the following branch libraries to make your donation:

• Almaden Branch
• Berryessa Branch
• Cambrian Branch
• Rose Garden Branch
• Santa Teresa Branch
• Tully Branch
• Vineland Branch
• West Valley Branch
• Willow Glen Branch

For a full list of participating locations click here.

Currently, at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, there is an exciting exhibit about the extraordinary designer, Jean Paul Gaultier.  The exhibit, entitled "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier : From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk", covers his beginning career from the 1970s all the way up to 2010. 

While Gaultier is dubbed as fashion's enfant terrible, there is no doubt that he has influenced the fashion world.  He has created iconic looks from the catwalk to the red carpet. 

Interested in more about the fashion world in general?  Check out the library's collection!  We have a wide array of information; from amazing fashion/art coffee table books, fashion photography, how to create your own fashion looks and many more! 

Here are just a few that I find amazing:

Two Amazing Documentaries!

Herb & Dorothy

Bill Cunningham New York (coming soon to San José Public Library I hope!)

In both films the subjects are avid collectors (minimalist art and fashion photography) who live in small, cramped New York City (NYC) apartments packed to the rafters with their collections. What seems even more remarkable are their humble backgrounds. Although they hobnob with the fashion and art worlds’ most famous denizens, they are not wealthy or born into famous families.

Herb & Dorothy Vogel are an endearing art-amassing couple. Dorothy was a librarian (Yay for librarians!) and Herb was a postal worker. They collected minimalist and conceptual art before it became popular and rather than selling their massive collection (over 4000 pieces, worth millions of dollars) they donated all of it! They continue to collect art and never miss a gallery opening. They are personal acquaintances with hundreds of artists (including Christo and Chuck Close, who both appear in the film) with whom they visit and select their favorite pieces. See the PBS website for a few clips of the movie.

Cunningham is a photographer for the New York Times and produces a weekly narrated slide show “On the Street” documenting fashion in NYC. Although he does occasionally photograph models, most of his images are of people walking on the streets in NYC who dress stylishly and sometimes outlandishly. Cunningham is over 80 years old and has been capturing NYC’s street fashion for over 50 years. He gets around by bicycle and over his career has had 28 bicycles stolen.  You can visit the film's website for more information.

Allegra Biscotti is a hot new fashion designer. However, Allegra is different from other fashion designers because she is actually the secret identity of Emma Rose, who is NOT an adult! Emma Rose is a talented kid who can't reveal to the world that Allegra Biscotti is actually an eighth grader in middle school!

After being wowed by stumbling upon three dresses in Emma's makeshift studio, fashionista Paige Young wants Allegra to produce more for a fashion spread. Emma Rose is soon tasked with building a three piece collection for Madison magazine. Paige, Emma's fashion hero, has hung her own career upon Allegra; she believes Allegra will be the next biggest thing. Will Emma be able to hide her talent from Paige, the fashion world, and her own family? Will she able to produce the three pieces for the Allegra Biscotti collection by the magazine's deadline?

Olivia Bennett's The Allegra Biscotti Collection (AR 7.0, Level 5.1) is the first book in a series about Emma Rose and her alter-ego. Kids who have an interest in clothes and fashion will be entranced by how a designer's collection is produced from idea to fashion spread. A fast-paced industry, the fashion process becomes quite a thriller in Olivia Bennett's hands. Look for the sequel!