Book review: True Color
I was thrilled to get an advance copy of Kory Stamper’s new book on color and the language we use to describe it. I loved her first book, Word By Word , about how dictionaries are made. I didn’t write it up in this blog, though, because while I find the topic interesting, it has nothing to do with costume craft artisanship, which is the focus of La Bricoleuse. But this title is peripherally relevant, hence this post.This book chronicles the struggles of the editors and lexicographers producing a mid-century edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary in the midst of the advent of advancement in color science. If it sounds like this book has esoteric niche appeal, you are correct, and I am squarely in that esoteric niche. Although I am neither a color scientist nor a lexicographer, I have run dye facilities for theatrical costume shops for decades, and color control is exceedingly important to costume designers. Many prefer to talk about the colors they want used rather than provide ...
