ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 31st January 2020: "The Art of Disney Costuming" by Rebecca Cline and Jeff Kurti (Disney Editions)

Our Book of the Week this week is a mammoth tome indeed, showing some of the most amazing character costumes created for some of you favourite Disney live action movies.

With a family of Disney obsessives, and a daughter completely obsessed by fashion design, this book was an absolute must.

It'll give your poor long-suffering postman a hernia if you order it online though, it really is that big - the best way to showcase the amazing work of the Walt Disney costumiers, designers, art directors and archivists who see these designs through from sketches to amazing finished products, and collect together all these amazing pieces in the archives.

Think of a blockbuster Disney live action movie of the last few decades and you'll likely find at least one of the character costumes here. Everything from the grubby slightly down-at-heel leather-clad looks created for "Pirates of the Caribbean" through to the glorious dresses of Disney's live action princess movies such as Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.

"In West Arabia Born and Raised" - Will Smith's Genie costume from the live action "Aladdin" movie.

The baddies also get a look in, with everything from Gaston's showy soldier-like threads, to Jack Frost's business-like frost-covered pin stripes from Santa Clause 3.

Though the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" was computer generated, costumes are often made as live-action references.

Cinderella's amazing dress from the live action movie, worn by Lily James. Check out those slippers!

As well as the most sumptuous photo plates of the costumes themselves, there are great snippets of design information and anecdotes from the designers. If anything we'd have liked to have seen a few more all-round shots (not just front-facing pics) and more process drawings, but as it stands, this is an utterly amazing and inspirational book for fashion fans and is worth every penny.

"The Art of Disney Costuming" by Rebecca Cline and Jeff Kurti is out now, published by Disney Editions (Self Purchased - not provided for review).