Amazon.com
It's a killer title: The Devil Wears Prada. And it's killer material: author Lauren Weisberger did a stint as assistant to Anna Wintour, the all-powerful editor of Vogue magazine. Now she's written a book, and this is its theme: narrator Andrea Sachs goes to work for Miranda Priestly, the all-powerful editor of Runway magazine. Turns out Miranda is quite the bossyboots. That's pretty much the extent of the novel, but it's plenty. Miranda's behavior is so insanely over-the-top that it's a gas to see what she'll do next, and to try to guess which incidents were culled from the real-life antics of the woman who's been called Anna "Nuclear" Wintour. For instance, when Miranda goes to Paris for the collections, Andrea receives a call back at the New York office (where, incidentally, she's not allowed to leave her desk to eat or go to the bathroom, lest her boss should call). Miranda bellows over the line: "I am standing in the pouring rain on the rue de Rivoli and my driver has vanished. Vanished! Find him immediately!"
This kind of thing is delicious fun to read about, though not as well written as its obvious antecedent, The Nanny Diaries. And therein lies the essential problem of the book. Andrea's goal in life is to work for The New Yorker--she's only sticking it out with Miranda for a job recommendation. But author Weisberger is such an inept, ungrammatical writer, you're positively rooting for her fictional alter ego not to get anywhere near The New Yorker. Still, Weisberger has certainly one-upped Me Times Three author Alex Witchel, whose magazine-world novel never gave us the inside dope that was the book's whole raison d' etre. For the most part, The Devil Wears Prada focuses on the outrageous Miranda Priestly, and she's an irresistible spectacle. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses.
Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about “The Boss from Hell.” Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda’s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day—and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses. Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job - a million girls would die for.¿ Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about 'The Boss from Hell.' Narrated in Andrea¿s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda¿s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day - and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.
Customer Reviews:
Lacks depth.......2007-10-01
Let's face it, people: when you pick up a book titled "The Devil Wears Prada," you're probably not assuming that you're going to go on an odyssey teeming with profound insights on life. (At least, I didn't.) But, having thoroughly enjoyed the film with Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, I figured I would enjoy the book at least as much, since the books are usually better than the movies. Alas, it seems that Lauren Weisberger had about as much to do with the film version of her book as Candace Bushnell had to do with her book's television incarnation, "Sex and the City." And, like Bushnell's case, the film of "The Devil Wears Prada" is better for it.
The book is overlong and rambling, and that's not even the biggest problem. Weisberger's characters are poorly developed and shallow. Miranda Priestly is beyond unpleasant and unkind for no reason. Now, characters who were villains for the sake of being a villain were fine when we were three years old, but come on, even supervillains in comic books usually have a reason that they are the way they are. Not Miranda Priestly. No explanation is given, no shred of humanity revealed.
Then there's the protagonist. She is completely wrapped up in herself, and, worse, she's not even consistent. She alternates between being "above" the other employees at Runway, the fictional fashion magazine at which she works--a charge rightly leveled at her more than once by fellow assistant Emily--and making snide remarks about other people's fashion, about which she's supposed to be so amazingly unaware. Tell me, does it really compute that someone who claims not to know how to banish panty lines because she hadn't yet "heard of thong underwear" (keep in mind that this book was written in 2003, not 1973, and that everyone, even your grandmother, had heard of thong underwear by 1998, at the latest) and yet turns around and bemoans the fact that some poor fashion-deficient soul is wearing a tux with tails in May? (I will honestly say that, while I'm no fan of tails, really, I have no idea when it's appropriate to wear them and when it's not.) She's completely wrapped up in herself, not noticing (or caring, apparently) that her friend has begun to drink herself into a blind stupor and take home random men from a bar to have (perhaps unprotected?) sex with them. She flirts shamelessly with a famous writer, although she has a fantastic boyfriend that she allegedly loves.
Another characteristic really got under my skin, but I think it has more to do with the author's feelings than with the protagonist. Weisberger is completely disdainful of anyone who comes from the south or (gasp!) has a southern accent. She seems to introduce the character of Andrea's sister and brother-in-law just because they happen to live in Texas and her brother-in-law has a "horrible" southern accent. When Miranda's brother-in-law comes to town with his fiancée and she throws them an engagement party, the guest list is full of wealthy southerners, of which Andrea is nothing short of appalled. She discusses their horrific lack of fashion sense, their horrific accents, and their horrific natures in general. Excuse me, Ms. Weisberger, but there are just as many rednecks in New England as in the South, and plenty of people with northern accents have an IQ ten times lower than someone with a southern accent. I live in the South, but I'm from Ohio, so this deeply offended me, even as a non-southerner. I'm not exactly sure what kind of horrible experience she had that made her hate the South and all things southern, including the people, so much.
This book is 360 pages long, and should be somewhere around 150. The characters are shallow and, honestly, you don't care because you kind of get the feeling that Andrea and Miranda deserve each other. You hope that Lily, the best friend, finds her way into an AA program, and the boyfriend, Alex...well, you hope that he just runs for the hills. Unless you really, REALLY want to read this book for some reason, I advise you to rent the movie and take a pass on the book.
A fun read.......2007-09-28
I thought this book was a fun read. It's not the kind of book that will change anyone's life, but if you're in the mood for something light that doesn't require a lot of thought, this more than fits the bill. It's so very different from the movie, though. Other than the names of some of the characters and a handful of basic plot points, they might as well be different stories. It drags in a few places, but for the most part it's good mind candy.
devil wears prada.......2007-09-22
i loved this book and the movie. i wish i knew what meryl streep's character was thinking at the end of the story when she saw her protege after she had quit. neither the book or the movie gave a clear message.. perhaps that is the essense of it all. a great read. one of the best i read this year.
AWESOME STORY.......2007-09-07
I have watched this movie about 25 times. IF you are only reading, or watching the action, you have missed the whole theory of this book/movie. And yes my dear, I am 57, and this stuff in the 21st century STILL goes on. The term "personal assistant" means just that, running errands, getting coffee, and yes even picking up dry cleaning.
Everytime I see this movie I pick up another subtle unlining point in this movie. It is about changes, it is about seeing someone underneath their weight/clothing and seeing their potential.
You almost need a Masters degree in Psychology to see all the things going on in this movie/book.
Rarely do I watch a movie, then read the book, I can tell you after seeing this movie, I am looking forward to reading the book, this story is AWESOME, IF you can see what it is REALLY about!
A fun read...better than the movie..and the movie was really good.......2007-08-31
As a person in the industry, I can tell you that, as ridiculous it seems to outsiders, a lot of the most hilarious things in this book are true! It's a great beach read!
Better than the movie, and the movie was great.
Average customer rating:
- How the third generation Pressmans blew their fortune.
- Should be read by anyone with a FAMILY business
- Fascinating
- Why businesses don't succeed when passed to kids
- A Cautionary Tale for Expansionist Managements
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The Rise and Fall of the House of Barneys: A Family Tale of Chutzpah, Glory, and Greed
Joshua Levine
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0688155022 |
Amazon.com
The history of Barneys is the history of America itself in the 20th century. Barney Pressman was a hard-working nobody who sold mostly second-hand clothing in a nowhere neighborhood in Manhattan. From those humble beginnings rose a store that became famous for the sheer volume of its suits, and the discount prices for which they were sold. But Barney Pressman's son, Fred, had a different vision. He wanted his store to be more upscale, even if it couldn't be uptown, like Bloomingdale's. He pulled that off, but his sons--Barney's grandsons--wanted even more. They envisioned a plush uptown store, franchised around the world, with no expenses spared. And so they spent $267 million on their Madison Avenue store--$600,000 alone for a hand-assembled marble-chip floor--sinking the three-generation family business in a mere 10 years.
Levine shapes this story less as a tragedy than a lesson in hubris--and in business. All of Barney and Fred Pressman's business savvy corrupted into snobbery when Fred's sons took over. Barneys became "too New Yorky for most New Yorkers." There's an old saying that no one goes broke underestimating the taste of Americans. The converse is that fortunes are easily lost going the opposite direction. Barneys may be the most fascinating proof of that adage in American history. --Lou Schuler
Book Description
This is a rags to riches to rags story.
It took three generations to build Barneys into the world's most fabulous clothing store--and less than a decade to tear it down. This fascinating book is at once a family saga, a cautionary business tale, and a riveting, superbly detailed behind-the-scenes account of how a secondhand store founded on pluck and chutzpah grew into a glittering international retail empire, only to founder on greed and hubris.
It is a tragicomedy of truly Greek proportions, featuring a full cast of larger-than-life heroes and villains and fools, spun in dramatic, novelistic style, and written in evocative prose by a distinguished editor at Forbes. Patriarch Barney Pressman started small in 1923, but within two decades he was selling more suits than anyone in the world. By the time his son, Fred, took over in the 1960s, Barneys was a thriving institution, and Boys Town at Barneys was the site of every New York boy's clothing rite of passage. But Fred had loftier ambitions; he was never comfortable with the crass discounter image. He staked the family fortune on European fabrics and design, wound up transforming the entire world of men's fashion, and made a killing along the way.
But it was Fred's sons, Gene and Bob, who really wanted it all--not just a store but a grandiose temple of ultimate chic. Instead, through extravagance, flamboyance, greed, and an arrogant disregard for sound business principles, they raced heedlessly into one of the most spectacular business flameouts in retail history.
A tasty mix of high fashion, high finance, and overweening family ambition, The Rise and Fall of the House of Barneys is a book every bit as stylish and well tailored as any suit the Pressman dynasty ever sold.
This is a rags to riches to rags story.
It took three generations to build Barneys into the world's most fabulous clothing store--and less than a decade to tear it down. This fascinating book is at once a family saga, a cautionary business tale, and a riveting, superbly detailed behind-the-scenes account of how a secondhand store founded on pluck and chutzpah grew into a glittering international retail empire, only to founder on greed and hubris.
It is a tragicomedy of truly Greek proportions, featuring a full cast of larger-than-life heroes and villains and fools, spun in dramatic, novelistic style, and written in evocative prose by a distinguished editor at Forbes. Patriarch Barney Pressman started small in 1923, but within two decades he was selling more suits than anyone in the world. By the time his son, Fred, took over in the 1960s, Barneys was a thriving institution, and Boys Town at Barneys was the site of every New York boy's clothing rite of passage. But Fred had loftier ambitions; he was never comfortable with the crass discounter image. He staked the family fortune on European fabrics and design, wound up transforming the entire world of men's fashion, and made a killing along the way.
But it was Fred's sons, Gene and Bob, who really wanted it all--not just a store but a grandiose temple of ultimate chic. Instead, through extravagance, flamboyance, greed, and an arrogant disregard for sound business principles, they raced heedlessly into one of the most spectacular business flameouts in retail history.
A tasty mix of high fashion, high finance, and overweening family ambition, The Rise and Fall of the House of Barneys is a book every bit as stylish and well tailored as any suit the Pressman dynasty ever sold.
Customer Reviews:
How the third generation Pressmans blew their fortune........2006-11-05
This is a typical story of a rich family running the family business into the ground. Barney and Fred Pressman spent their entire lives building up their suit store. They spent all their hours nurturing this business and they turn it over to their two sons and two daughters. The grand children have grand plans of expanding the store nationwide along with opening a megastore on Madison Avenue. Cost overruns, and the market result in doing in the business. They took a Japanese outfit along for the ride causing them to lose several hundred million dollars.
Levine does a good job of detailing the rise and fall of this retail empire. Barneys did a lot for mens fashions. However arrogant and greedy grandchildren caused the fall of this store. Family owned businesses should read this story for the caution it may give to family members.
Should be read by anyone with a FAMILY business.......2001-07-20
Don't be put off by what may appear to be a look at one business and one family's way of doing business. This book actually explores far deeper subjects and questions such as : Why is it that so many successful family businesses fail when passed on to heirs? Why do so many solid companies with loyal customers, proven merchandise and a promising future just fall by the wayside? To those who don't know Barneys, it was started by Barney Pressman, a smart, ambitious man who built his business into a thriving industry, selling more suits than anyone in the world by the 1960's.But what makes the book interesting is what happened to his business when his sons came into the picture and the intrigue, scandal and greed that tore apart the company. I can't help wondering: Why don't the patriarchs (or matriarchs) of family businesses teach their children to run the companies just as well? Is it possible to mix family and business and do it well? The Barney's sage, of course, is not yet over and the store is still in existence. So the end of this story remains to be seen.
Fascinating.......2000-08-14
A very enjoyable book. You pull for the Pressmans when the snobs snub them in the beginning. You jeer at them when their position goes to their heads and they behave very, very badly. But the really interesting part of the book concerns how fashion and retailing REALLY work. They appear to be just an elaborate hoax on the consumer. This book should be read in conjunction with Teri Agin's "The End of Fashion" which shows the comsumers are getting more and more skeptical and dissects the public offerings of fashion stock (if you're fond of your money and want to keep it, don't buy). Hooray.
Why businesses don't succeed when passed to kids.......2000-05-27
A fascinating case study on the history of a well known American business. The behind the scenes look shows the evolution through 3 generations. Looking deeper, it says a lot about the values of each of the generations which explains some of the troubles in America today. Maybe we've become too soft.
I can't recommend this book enough if you enjoy shopping or business books. I continue to shop occasionally at NY and Beverly Hills. You can't go into the stores without better appreciating the history of the store. BUY THIS BOOK.
A Cautionary Tale for Expansionist Managements.......1999-09-19
It seems everyone talks to Levine because as Barney Pressman once told Fred, "The Pressmans have no friends." What emerges is not only a morality play but also a case study on how not to raise your children and how not to expand your business. Hubris is a horrible thing. Time and again though during this decade, with Wall Street money plentiful, retail managements successful in one locale expand their businesses to places that don't want them. A concept that works in NY doesn't seem to play in Peoria, or with Barneys, in Texas. While with public companies, it's only money; with Barneys, privately held, it's family and lives. Maybe that's what makes the Barneys' tragedy a fascinating read.
Book Description
The much-acclaimed biographer's unflinchingly honest, wise, and forgiving portrait of her own famous parents: two wildly talented Russian émigrés who fled wartime Paris to become one of New York's first and grandest power couples.
Tatiana du Plessix, the wife of a French diplomat, was a beautiful, sophisticated "white Russian" who had been the muse of the famous Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Alexander Liberman, the ambitious son of a prominent Russian Jew, was a gifted magazine editor and aspiring artist. As part of the progressive artistic Russian émigré community living in Paris in the 1930s, the two were destined to meet. They began a passionate affair, and the year after Paris was occupied in World War II they fled to New York with Tatiana's young daughter, Francine.
There they determinedly rose to the top of high society, holding court to a Who's Who list of the midcentury's intellectuals and entertainers. Flamboyant and outrageous, bold and brilliant, they were irresistible to friends like Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dalí, and the publishing tycoon Condé Nast. But to those who knew them well they were also highly neurotic, narcissistic, and glacially self-promoting, prone to cut out of their lives, with surgical precision, close friends who were no longer of use to them.
Tatiana became an icon of New York fashion, and the hats she designed for Saks Fifth Avenue were de rigueur for stylish women everywhere. Alexander Liberman, who devotedly raised Francine as his own child from the time she was nine, eventually came to preside over the entire Condé Nast empire. The glamorous life they shared was both creative and destructive and was marked by an exceptional bond forged out of their highly charged love and raging self-centeredness. Their obsessive adulation of success and elegance was elevated to a kind of worship, and the high drama that characterized their lives followed them to their deaths. Tatiana, increasingly consumed with nostalgia for a long-lost Russia, spent her last years addicted to painkillers. Shortly after her death, Alexander, then age eighty, shocked all who knew him by marrying her nurse.
Them: A Portrait of Parents is a beautifully written homage to the extraordinary lives of two fascinating, irrepressible people who were larger than life emblems of a bygone age. Written with honesty and grace by the person who knew them best, this generational saga is a survivor's story. Tatiana and Alexander survived the Russian Revolution, the fall of France, and New York's factory of fame. Their daughter, Francine, survived them.
Customer Reviews:
And Racist too.......2007-08-19
Her parents were indeed revolting.. and it is perhaps instructive to be assured again that all families were not invented by Norman Rockwell. But did she need to do her own revolting racist screed against gypsies to excuse her grandmother's behavior? Not the parents opinion, but her. Quite nasty.
charming memoir.......2007-06-07
I was enchanted by Ms. Gray's beautifully written memoir. She has lived through some dramatic world events with vivid front-line experiences and yet was able to share them in such a personal and loving way. History, accurately recalled, yet presented so naturally, makes for very compelling reading. I loved this book!
A touchstone for thinking of my parents and my life..........2007-04-14
Thank you, Mme. du Plessix Gray for this evocative, brilliant memoir. This was the last book my Mother read before she died in August 2006. She was 10 years older than you, and had the same history, a Russian girl who came to New York, and even dated the same man as you did. She knew all the names in the book and lived the young Russian emigree's life in New York City. Your beautiful writing made me think about the role of my life in that of my parents' lives -- it was just such a great book for me to read in this mourning year. I know this is a highly personal reaction but I am hoping you will read this review. Your book unleashed a dreamlike state for me to probe into the colorful lives of my mother, father, grandparents, aunts, uncles -- from whom I am descended. The dead have informed our lives and are always with us. It is a gift.
Hypnotic and Revolting.......2007-03-08
I'm a fan of Francine du Plessix Gray ("The Women of the Marquis de Sade" is stunning) so I picked up this book with anticipation.
Mrs.du Plessix Gray did not let me down but the parents she is remembering in this "trio-biography" left me absolutely cold. Plessix Gray takes us through her mother's life in Russia, the literary world there, the Revolution, her escape to France, their Parisian life, meeting Alexander Leiberman, their life as a family in war-time France and finally imigration to New York. It is from the time of that new life in New York that "THEM" began to start gripping my throat. One watches the rise of the Leibermans in the fashion and art worlds of uptown New York in the 1950s and 1960s with astonishment and incredulity. They appeared to me to be of modest talents but had the exquisite knack of being in the right place at the right time, were fully convinced of their own superiority in addition to being snobs of the first order. Plus, as exotic, artistic European refugees they were fashionable just after the war and they knew how to throw a party. Voila: Attitude + Style + Connections + New York = SUCCESS (it was ever thus). It is the evolving psychological portrait that she draws of Tatiana of Saks and Leiberman of Conde-Nast that is chilling then disgusting and in the end pathetic, that held me in a hypnotic state, like a snake with a frog. It's a very interesting voyeristic look at a world that has a minimum of interest for me but it is a world that had a certain significance on American culture for good or for bad. What really captured me was Francine's own story, her childhood, her relationship with "THEM" (as if you could have one) her teens & young adult life on into her adult married and professional life. So there she was, a natural writer, being given a ringside seat to this peculiar, manipulating, ambitious couple of human beings joined together for lives that came to no good end. Yes for me it was Francine who shines through both as an evolving human being and a writer, writing in her smooth, clear voice, that made it a worthwhile read. The truth is that I could hardly put it down but by the time I did I immeadiately wanted a bath, a shower and a shampoo.
Fabulous.......2006-10-04
I absolutely loved this book. Du Plessix Gray describes her parents' lives with insight, intelligence, honesty and humor. She offers us a behind-the-scenes look into a world that its inhabitants were obsessed with keeping hidden from view. The degree to which her parents' lives intersected with the history of the twentieth century is amazing. Unlike most memoirs, Du Plessix Gray delves deeply into the historical context. The pace never lags; I was enthralled from the first page to the last.
Average customer rating:
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Apt.301
Will Anderson
Manufacturer: YewTree Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Photobook: A History - Volume 2
ASIN: 1933029595 |
Product Description
Will Anderson came to America at the age of twenty-five to follow a career in graphic design with no idea that he would be working as a male fashion model a year later. After living in several different agency accommodations he eventually found himself senior resident and de facto handyman of a hostel-style apartment provided by one of the world s most prestigious modeling agencies. Over a period of six years he lived with more than two hundred and fifty young emerging male models, each aspiring to become one of the few highly paid icons that adorn the world s fashion magazines, billboards and couture catwalks. During this time Will Anderson produced a body of photographs of life in the various apartments. He has used some of these photographs in his book Apt.301, to represent typical aspects of the transient environment in which young male models start their careers. Some of their stories from interviews are included in this book.
Book Description
Between 1980 and 1990, over five hundred of photographer Amy Arbus's impromptu and edgy portraits of New Yorkers appeared in the Village Voice's monthly fashion feature, "On the Street." The column's missive was to document the city's most adventurous trednsetters as they lived their lives. But Arbus's photographs tell much more than a style story. From the friendliest to the grittiest, every one of these images is a potent tribute to self-expression. Taken as a whole, they reflect an era of contradictions, a time in America when urban individualism and raw creativity were courageously fighting for breathing room and holding their own in a culture ruled by wealthy conservatism and Republican politics.
For the first time since that hard-to-define decade, this time-capsule collection of images is being revisited. On the Street features seventy of the most revealing and expressive images taken by Arbus on the city’s fashion-fertile sidewalks. From the unknown to the unmistakably famous, her subjects are all equally unforgettable. Arbus’s ubiquitous lens captured the most influential style-makers, from The Clash on the set of Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy and Madonna on the same day her single “Everybody” hit the charts, to Anna Sui, Joey Arias, Phoebe Legére, and countless other local artists, actors, costume designers, shop owners, musicians, make-up artists, graffiti artists, and downtown scenesters. From eyewear to underwear and schoolgirl skirts to backless shirts; from women dressed like men to men that are barely dressed; from lipstick to just plain “schtik,” there is no aspect of 80’s style that goes unrepresented.
A. M. Homes, the renowned author of The End of Alice and contributing editor at Vanity Fair, offers a personal and illuminating essay that introduces and celebrates Arbus’ photographs, while elegantly placing them in the context of the time in which they were taken.
Customer Reviews:
I'm page 37!.......2006-11-05
My cats are so sick of hearing me tell them that I'm in a book...I fit in the woman dressed as a man category! 1981, 3 months pregnant with twins in an emerald green, little boys sharkskin suit...Johnson's buckle boots, and a couif that crashed! At the time I worked at Trash and Vaudeville on St. Marks Place. The Clash was playing 17 nights at Bond's. I performed in pieces at the Mudd Club and Club 57 along with John Sex and Katie K., East Village Scenester's who are also in the book. It was a wild time. I felt very at home in NYC. People might think all these people are just trying to get attention with their clothes. Sometimes it's about being fabulous, but sometimes it's only about being yourself and being comfortable. Somewhere else you'd stick out like a sore thumb, be ostracized, but in New York, you could look however you wanted and go about your business. By the time the photo appeared in the Voice, I'd moved back to Boston to have my "baby". Friends called and mailed me copies and I thought it was the most exciting thing ever! I can't believe 25 years later I'm in a big book. I can't believe I'm in a book with Madonna on the Cover!
Whether I made the book or not, I can't say enough about Amy's photography. Although there is a sharp realism, it isn't harsh, it's vibrant. It makes you want to know more about the people in the photos. I don't think the people come off as kooks (I'm anticipating my mother's reaction), but as creative, imaginative, and brave people, with a story behind them. The book doesn't need words to convey the time period. If you want an accurate picture of the 80's, this beats any fashion magazine, because it's real people going about their daily lives. If your an aspiring photographer, I think you'll learn alot from looking at Amy's photographs. If you remember the 80's with fondness, I think you'll really enjoy this book.
Average customer rating:
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Le Book Paris 2006 (Le Book New York)
Manufacturer: Le Book Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
Fashion
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A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005
ASIN: 2905190493
Release Date: 2006-05-01 |
Book Description
Designed this year by renowned fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, Le Book is the contact information bible for the fashion and advertising industries. It serves as an international key to the creative world, an up-to-the-minute guide to more than 10,000 professionals--from the best photographers, art directors, stylists and modeling agencies, to location finders, rental studios, caterers, record labels, magazines, advertising agencies, fashion designers and public relations firms. In short, everything and everyone that is important to these industries can be found all in one place, right here, in Le Book. Displaying the work of some of the hottest and most enduring photographers of our time, Le Book serves not only as a reference, but also as a time capsule for this year's best in photography and design. With thousands of images, it's a virtual who's who of creative talent. With practical contact information, it's also a whose who. But more importantly, Le Book functions as a source of inspiration for creative people worldwide, and has become the global meeting place for those involved in the fields of visual communication.
Book Description
If you think a Brazilian is a South American, that PJs are pajamas, and that Beyond is somewhere far away, then you obviously haven't met a Bergdorf Blonde. Plum Sykes's beguiling debut welcomes readers to the glamorous world of PAPs (Park Avenue Princesses), the girls who careen through Manhattan in search of the perfect Fake Bake (tan acquired from Portofino Tanning Salon), a ride on a PJ (private jet) with the ATM (rich boyfriend), and the ever-elusive fianc. With invitations to high-profile baby showers and benefits, more Marc Jacobs clothes than is decent, and a department store heiress for a best friend, our heroine is living at the peak of New York society. But what is she to do when her engagement falls apart? Can she ever find happiness in a city filled with the distractions of Front Row Girls, stalkers, dermatologists, premieres, and eyebrow waxes? Is it possible to find love in a town where her friends think that the secret to happiness is getting invited to the Van Cleef and Arpels uber-private sample sale? And how is she going to deal with the endless phone calls from her mother in England demanding that she get married to the Earl next door? With enormous wit and an insider's eye, Sykes captures the nuances of the rich and spoiled in a heartwarming social satire, featuring a loveable 'champagne bubble of a girl' who's just looking for love (and maybe the perfect pair of Chlo jeans).
Customer Reviews:
One heck of a trashy novel.......2007-09-15
I loved this book. I am the farthest thing on Earth from a "Bergdorf Blonde", but I laughed through the entire novel. It was a terrific and much-needed break. Plum Sykes is hilarious. It has nothing whatsoever to do with life as most of us know it. Not going to win any esteemed literary prizes, but does provide total escapism. The first fiction I've read in years.
Oh, please, you missed the point! LOVED it!.......2007-09-13
First of all anyone who did not understand that Bergdorf Blondes is a SATIRE, hello, totally missed the point! Look at Syke's credentials, for heaven sake. She's Oxford educated!
And it shows! It's well written. It's HILARIOUS! And it's a SPOOF! Plum Sykes knows her characters are "shallow". That's her point! I don't want to spoil the end for anyone who has not yet read this, but she's made it very clear through the character's dialogue, that some growth occurred. And, yes, there must be women who are living lives very similar to what Sykes is describing and Sykes is obviously well versed in that lifestyle. She's a contributing editor at Vogue, which would undoubtedly open some pretty nifty doors for her, wouldn't one imagine? Plus she lives on both sides of the pond, so she obviously writes with (vast) personal experience, and thank you, Plum, for the peek into the minds of women (and men) we will probably never actually have great access to. So that's a treat in and of itself. But if you don't see the intelligent plotting and absolutely riotous poking FUN she's indulging in, well, I am sorry for you. Try again! This was a joy from start to finish!
Thanks, Plum!
TERRIBLE!!!!!.......2007-08-20
This book was very dumb. I started reading and the book was okay. I kept reading thinking it would get better, and then it was insulting. The main character attempts suicide and it is laughed off as something that she would do on anyday. It wasnt even interesting chick lit. Terrible, do not waste your time or money.
No depth.......2007-08-20
It is very funny in several parts but the fact that the narator never changed, kept falling for the same guys and got the great guy in the end disinterested me. She didn't deserve him, she didn't make you be on her side. The book was missing something deeper, we didn't get to get to know the character's true feeling. Was really superficial but i guess that was the point.
What a disappointment!.......2007-08-06
I am a big fan of chick lit, so I was excited to read this much-hyped book. What mindless dribble! I read the first 60 pages, then tossed it aside. Absolutely no substance. Bergdorf Blondes was so not the fun, summer read I had hoped it would be.
Average customer rating:
- HE IS A TURE ARTIST
- Brilliant book!
- You can feel like you're in the front row too!
- I couldn't put it down
- I love this book!
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InTents
Manufacturer: powerHouse Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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so8os: A Photographic Diary of a Decade
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Kiss Kiss
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Disco Years
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In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine
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On the Street
ASIN: 1576872343 |
Book Description
Concurrent with the tenth anniversary of 7th on Sixth, the organization that hosts New York's Bryant Park-based Fashion Week, InTents is your all-access pass to the only U.S. staging of this yearly event-from the backstage bustling of barely clad models to the front row jockeying of the A-list editors and celebrities du jour. With this monograph, famed celebrity and fashion photographer Patrick McMullan celebrates a decade of fashion and our unending fascination with it. An unparalleled opus combining documentary and fashion photography in its most intimate moments, InTents captures, in a uniquely McMullan-esque take, runway shows of the established and upcoming designers. Featuring quotes by the fashion world's most famous players, and chronicling the highly charged lives of supermodels, celebrities, and fashion editors during this electric week of shows, InTents also pays tribute to the machine behind the scenes-the stylists, photographers, publicists, hair and makeup artists, and all those who make it happen every season. "I enjoy the collections here in New York under the tents more than I enjoy the collections in Paris. It's something I always look forward to, and I'm never disappointed." (Donald Trump) A portion of the proceeds from the sale of InTents will be donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance.
Customer Reviews:
HE IS A TURE ARTIST.......2007-01-24
I know Patrick and this book shows the real spirit of his love of what he does
Brilliant book!.......2006-12-19
This is a superb photo essay in every way. McMullan has mastered the art of pacing his photographs so that he mixes models with celebs with text in just the right blend. The attention to detail is exceptional, in the corner of a shot you catch an assistant scurrying or another photographer straining and it really gives that added sense both of tension and just how much the drama is a group effort even if the designer or the model is in the spotlight standing supreme ultimately. Cropping out the periphery might have made the shot a better sensationalist moment but at what a loss to the real feel of the event, and it is the sheer realism that is conveyed that I was most impressed by. My God how ugly some of those celebs came across: in one photo Jennifer Lopez must have been ill, or is that how she really looks caught without make-up! In others the celebs were just so unexpected: Leo DiCaprio so young and Matt Dillon so baby faced. The other emphasis that really hit home was the incredible sense of movement which McMullan really nailed. This is the work of genius!
You can feel like you're in the front row too!.......2004-12-15
Patrick captures the mood and the moments in this beautifully put together book. If you're into fashion, the models, backstage access and the special moods and moments that only a photographer like Patrick can capture, than this is the book for you. What a great coffee table book.
I couldn't put it down.......2004-11-11
Makes you feel like you are living and breathing the excitement and creativity of Seventh on Sixth, from the controlled chaos of backstage to the seamless perfection of the shows themselves. Patrick McMullan's photographs are stunning, and extraordinary in that they so realistically capture the very essence of Fashion Week's explosive and beautiful frenzy. A must have, must read, must see!!!
I love this book!.......2004-11-07
The photos and editorial combine to make a great evening read. The energy from behind the scenes came alive from the pages of this book. Highly recommended!
Book Description
Slick, cool and unforgettable, New York City does fashion with sophistication. Confidence is not lacking in this 'city that never sleeps', so don't miss out - especially on a chance to shop. Our New York guide, the first of the series, is as up to date as ever with shopping tips. Whether you're heading to Madison Avenue or over to SoHo you'll discover something new in this shopper's bible. The quirky vintage dress, the perfect leather jacket.there's no better source for where it's at. New York, New York. Need we say more?
Customer Reviews:
Very good but too elitist.......2006-11-27
Definitely covers all the good places but only has token "vintage" and "discount" entries and entirely ignores the 34th street shopping district in the garment district where there is a ton of stuff to be found. Focuses way too much attention on Soho. To be a fashionista in NYC though, you definitely need this book. One thing it needs to have is maps-by-neighborhood with the stores marked/numbered. Otherwise its hard to spend a day shopping, working from the book. You have to make your own map. But it is the only book of its type that I've seen so its a must have.
Where to Wear New York 2006.......2006-03-14
Extremely helpful for all fashionistas. Makes a great gift for clients as well. Very well researched and a fun read.
Don't Leave Home Without It!...........2002-12-10
The most amazingly organized, concise, factual shopping guide there is. A fabulous stocking stuffer.....stuffed with tidbits, locations, telephone #'s. Absolutely guaranteed to produce a call from you credit card company. This title, along with its worldwide sisters, should not be missed. If you're going through customs, leave the European ones with friends.....they're a sure tip off that you've been in a buying mode!
One of the best Christmas present/stocking stuffers.
Book Description
Over the past five years a group of talented young New York-based designers of clothing and accessories has emerged to both international critical and commercial success. New York Fashion illustrates the best examples of the work of twenty of New York's latest generation of fashion designers, including Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, Jean Yu, Behnaz Sarafpour, and Derek Lam.
Sonnet Stanfill examines the reasons behind this exciting rise in new talent, focusing not only on emerging designers and their contributions to the changing fashion industry, but also exploring New York as a fashion capital in the 21st century: a whirl of chaos, inspiration, and beauty. Illustrations include Scarlett Johansson in a Derek Lam bustier dress, Natalie Portman in the Empire State dress by Zac Posen, and many more.
Books:
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
- The History of Costume: From Ancient Mesopotamia Through the Twentieth Century
- The King's Coat (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures)
- The Layguide: How to Seduce Women More Beautiful Than You Ever Dreamed Possible No Matter What You Look Like or How Much You Make
- The Pocket Stylist: Behind-the-Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look
- The Skinny: How to Fit into Your Little Black Dress Forever
- The Truth About Beauty: Transform Your Looks and Your Life from the Inside Out
- Tiffany at auction
- Tiffany Pearls
- Versace : The Naked and the Dressed: 20 Years of Versace by Avedon
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