From time to time we bring you book reviews and here are 4 more fabric, fashion or design centric books. Rae thinks you, too, might enjoy these recommendations for your summer bookshelf.
The Empresses of 7th Avenue
The most scholarly of the group is Empresses of Seventh Avenue by Nancy MacDonell. It is a welcome expansion of the information in the Claire McCardell biography that we reviewed previously. In addition to the designer McCardell, several other dynamite women working as New York-based designers, retailers, editors, and photographers are profiled. This book closely maps the fashion industry in the 30’s to the 60’s when the epicenter of fashion slowly moved from Paris to the United States, provoked by WWII.
This is quite an interesting read and looks closely at the careers of a number of amazing women who built the American Fashion and Ready-to-Wear industries. I will admit, I wished there were a few photos dropped in, but of course they are readily available on the internet.
Colorful
The most fun book is Colorful by Iris Apfel. My husband gifted me with this book and it truly lives up to its title. It is a scrapbook of sorts with photos and reminiscences about her passion for fabric and fashion.
Iris Apfel first came to my attention when I stumbled upon an exhibit of her over-the-top jewelry and clothing in the basement galleries of the Met’s Fashion Institute in 2005. Here is what the internet says about the exhibit:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City famously hosted the 2005 exhibition Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection, which launched Iris Apfel into global stardom at age 84. It was the first time the Costume Institute had featured a major exhibition focused on the clothing and accessories of a living person who was not a professional fashion designer.
I plan to keep this book handy and reference it when I’m feeling a bit blue.
The Look
Our final non-fiction selection is The Look by former first lady Michelle Obama. In 2017 we published a blog post acknowledging her remarkable use of clothing to empower women and designers. This book offers beautiful photos and the inside scoop about this very topic. Written in collaboration with her stylist Meredith Koop with chapters and reminiscences from fashion designers and other team members providing hair and make-up expertise. If you are an admirer of hers, this book is sure to delight. It is a big glossy book, so don’t plan to slip it into your vacation bag; save it for your staycation.
Carrie recently read Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, which also touches on some of her experiences with dressing for her role as First Lady. It delves more deeply into her life from childhood in Chicago to student, lawyer, mother, campaigner, and ultimately in the White House, including her passion projects as First Lady.
Hester
And finally a novel, Hester, by Laurie Lico Albanese, brings a reimagining of the story of Hester Prynne from the Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorn. It is an intense story of a young woman who enters the needle trade in England and after some harrowing experiences lands in America. It is quite a rich and interesting look at her life and her dreams. Spoiler Alert, there is a lovely ending which might help you keep reading through the hard knocks of her life. If you do read it, be sure to visit a needlework site on the internet to see what a tambour hook looks like. It is her needle of choice and comes in handy throughout the story!
After I finished, I read the Scarlet Letter, which had never been assigned to me in high school. The author of Hester does follow along the basic story line, but adds a number of additional plot twists and turns in much more straightforward prose.
Pick Up a Copy
We hope that you might find something to capture your attention on this list of recommendations for your summer bookshelf. Find them at your local library, independent bookstore or your favorite online retailer and curl up in a favorite chair to enjoy an inspiring summer of reading.
