Taschen is one of my favorite publishers of 20th century design and architecture themed books. I have a couple in my collection, but there’s room for many more – like this one. 20th Century Fashion: 100 Years of Apparel Ads takes us through a stylish 100 years of fashion during the 20th Century via 400 fashion advertisements from the Jim Heimann Collection. This is a must have for any fashionista or trendsetter. 20th Century Fashion: 100 Years of Apparel Ads can be obtained from most book stores or through Taschen’s website. It covers 464 pages in total which makes it a steal at only £27.99. [Thanks Cam]

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Interesting trailer from the upcoming documentary entitled Coast Modern which takes you on a trip back in time to look for the origins of Modernism architecture and how its style and look became associated with the west coast of the US. The release date for the documentary is set for autumn this year, meanwhile you can read their blog. (Via)

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Since we all love kitschy postcards, I thought this would be a great way to start off the week. Below are a small sample of postcards from Synthetrix postcard collection of yesteryear California. Including motels, restaurants, diners, bowling alleys and everything between that all shares the Googie styled design and architecture that became popular on the West Coast of the US in the 1950s and 1960s. The style took its influence from futurist architecture, the new exciting car culture boom and the space age living mentality from those decades of course. To define the style as simple as possible, think The Flintstones meets The Jetsons. Straight lines meeting curvy, a wide range of colors, heavy use of plastic, starburst symbols, outdoor elements such as rocks, water and foliage incorporated indoors and big neon signs set with script typefaces. For more postcards and photos from the forgotten visit Synthetrix’s website.

The Stahl house, designed by architect Pierre Koening in 1960 will be open to visitors for a limited time. The house was built part of the Case Study House experiments for residential housing sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine, which hired major architects including Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig and Eero Saarinen, to design and build inexpensive model homes for the housing boom caused by the end of World War II. There were in total over 30 houses built and no. 22 is without a doubt the most stylish and famous one. Located on a hill in West Hollywood, overlooking downtown LA it features large windows, a pool and design to die for. For anyone who is in or near Los Angeles, don’t miss out on this opportunity to travel back in time to a iconic architectural landmark. For information about the tours and prices, follow the link below. (Via)

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