The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichel 288 pages

 

Food! Fashion! Art! It’s all there in this magical realism tale set in 1980s Paris. But before we get there, we must start in New York City.

 

Stella lives an extremely structured life. She is a copy editor at a small publishing house. She believes she loves her job, and she is good at it. It’s a lonely life; Stella is estranged from her mother, the only family she has. She never knew who her father was. Her mother claimed she didn’t know, but reading between the lines, I believe that is why she sent her to Paris. To find him.

 

When her mother dies, Stella is surprised, nay shocked, that her mother left her anything, especially a letter address to “My Daughter.” Inside Stella finds a one-way ticket along with a note that merely says, “Go to Paris!” She is reluctant but her boss talks her into it. With lots of vacation time, Stella packs a small bag and heads to the City of Lights.

 

Stella’s well-oiled lifestyle follows her. But when she stumbles upon a vintage store, her deepest inner self begins to emerge. She tries on a vintage Dior gown that fits like it was made for her. The old woman who is the shopkeeper takes her into paying the $6,000 for it with the caveat that she can return if the dress doesn’t change her. The shopkeeper gives her a list of things she must do.

 

First, she eats oysters at Les Deux Magots. There she meets Jules, an older man with a passion for art who knows anyone and everyone in Paris. He knows great food, exceptional wine, the writers, the painters. Slowly, she sheds herself of all the things that have held her back. She quickly realizes that she enjoys this new life and never wants to go back to the old Stella.

 

Stella visits Shakespeare & Company Bookstore. The bookstore has much more to offer than books. Could Stella have found a new home, a new sense of belonging when she becomes one of the “tumbleweeds,” one who drifts in and out of the bookstore.

 

Then there is the small mystery surrounding her father and the Manet painting that her mother had hanging in her home.

 

For me, every page was a masterpiece of experience! Therefore, The Paris Novel receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Davenports

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis 384 pages

Debut novelist Krystal Marquis has written an historical romance worthy of a Harlequin, a name synonymous with romance novels. She has written a work loosely based on the “real-life story of the C. R. Patterson family.”  Patterson was the first Black owner of first a carriage company, then a car company, based in Ohio.

Marquis shifts her story to Chicago in 1910 and gives readers a look into the lives of wealthy African Americans. The Davenports own a carriage company,  and they live in a luxurious home, complete with servants.

There are three teenagers in the house. All three of the children are expected to make good, wealthy marriages. The oldest daughter, Olivia, thinks she is in love with Jacob Lawrence. Her parent eagerly await news of their engagement. But once she meets Washington DeWight, a political activist, it’s love at first sight.

The middle child, John, is being groomed to take over the carriage company. He has dreams and desires to fade out the carriage company and replace it was a car company. He is not currently attached, but many of the young ladies in their societal sphere seek his attentions, including the maid, Amy-Rose, and Ruby, Olivia’s best friend.

Younger daughter, Helen, is a tomboy. She scoffs at romantic relationships, preferring be a mechanic and spend her days under the hoods of the latest horseless machines. And she’s good at it, really good at it. At her parents’ anniversary party, Cupid darts her with his arrow. The man she wants is strictly forbidden.

The book is told from three points of view: Olivia, Helen and Amy-Rose. The chapters are short, and, sometimes I was confused about whom was chasing, or wanted to chase, whom.

According to the back cover, this is “the first in a frothy, page-turning YA series set in turn of the last century Chicago and featuring an all-Black main cast.”  I don’t know if this means that Marquis will be writing sequels to “The Davenports” or if other authors will have books set during this time. 

I enjoyed reading “The Davenports,” even though romance novels are not my preferred genre. I loved the history and the escapades that the characters found themselves embroiled in. “The Davenports” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Vintage Black Glamour

 Vintage Black Glamour by Nichelle Gainer  208 pages

Summary from Goodreads:The original, highly acclaimed, silk-covered edition of Vintage Black Glamour. Packed with rarely seen photographs of Black actors, models, writers and entertainers of the early part of the 20th century, many of whom have been sorely neglected—until now—it was judged by Oprah.com to be one of their top ten books to buy & keep.

Alongside profiles and the photographs of world-renowned Black stars such as Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge and Diana Ross are less-known but hugely important artists such as opera singer Margaret Tynes, Cotton Club star Margot Webb, pioneering model Ophelia De Vore, and many, many more.

And here's what I thought: I really liked this book and found the combination of writing and images to be interesting, and it made me want to learn more about some of these women. I had discovered this title when looking for something else in the catalog and I wasn't disappointed -- it's an interesting read. Not only it is a view into women's fashion, but into women's history. 

The Chanel Sisters

The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little    352 pages

I have to admit that I’ve never given any thought to whether or not fashion icon Coco Chanel had siblings.  It’s just not something I think about when it comes to icons and celebrities.  However, turns out that she had four---two sisters and two brothers. In birth order, they are Julia-Berthe, then Gabrielle (who became Coco), Alphonse, Antoinette and Lucien.  This story is narrated by Antoinette, about whom history knows little,

Their mother died from bronchitis, abandoned by their father and not wanted by any other family member, the girls were sent to a convent/orphanage.  When we first see them in 1897, they are practicing their sewing. In 1898, the girls had been at the convent for three years. It is then that they receive a visit from their grandmother and learn that they have an aunt, Adrienne, who is close to their ages.

After she leaves the convent when she becomes of age, Gabrielle is hired in specialty shop where lace and other fashionable trimmings are sold to the wealthy women.

Adrienne takes them under her wing and begins to guide them through Parisian society---from the bottom to the top. Silly behavior ensues, with the girls interest boys escalating. On Sundays, Gabrielle takes a job at a tailor’s shop in order to meet officers and other wealthy men. It becomes clear that this book is more about finding a man to appease their need for a father figure rather than the girls rise to fashionable society. 

Readers even learn how Gabrielle received her nickname, Coco. Coco wants to sing and dance, but she hasn’t much talent.  It’s when she decides to start creating hats that the world of fashion calls.  With her sister, Antoinette, they start making hats for the rich and famous that they once envied.

The book fictionally documents Coco’s rise to fame as a hat designer, her love life, her marriage to Boy Chapel, her move into clothing and ends as Antoinette wants to bring the Chanel brand to the United States.

“The Chanel Sisters” was a good read. On occasion it dragged. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.  “The Chanel Sisters” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Revenge Wears Prada the Devil Returns

Revenge Wears Prada The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger   416 pages

Miranda is back!   It is nearly 10 years later, Andie has the dream life - a loving, faithful, rich husband, a successful blog that blossomed into a wedding magazine,  her former nemesis has turned into her brutally honest best friend she loves dearly and who loves her back just as dearly if not in a huggy demonstrative way, life has given her the champagne dreams and caviar wishes Robin Leach once extolled for the masses of wonders few would ever experience but here is Andy at the pinnacle of all she could ever want until wham the bane of her existence whom she still suffers anxiety attacks and nightmares over - MIRANDA PRIESTLY is back smack in the center of everything she loves and just as loathsome as ever.   This is such a good read.   I had no idea there were actually 5 books in this series so I am on to find the next one this is such a great story and so many exciting things happen with a huge surprise entrance by a long last character.   Omgosh this one is great!   I highly recommend this one especially for anyone who has been wronged, fought back from the edge survived only to be face to face with your biggest fear AGAIN!   Excellent story.  Do give it a read,  it is a treat.

Lee Miller in Fashion

Lee Miller in Fashion by Becky E. Conekin  224 pages

This is another one of the books in our Fine Arts collection which I picked up after reading The Age of Light.  It's a wonderful example of how Lee Miller defied categorization, moving from model to muse to photographer and war correspondent. She was a celebrated Surrealist who fought for recognition of her own work when Man Ray took some of the credit, and her fashion photographs are some of the best known from the late 1920s to the early 1950s.  While she was recognized as an important photographer in her lifetime, many of her images had remained unpublished. This book shows how the world of fashion shows as the framework for Miller's creative development, but also how to see how her work showed the effect of war on the lives of women in the 1940s and 1950s.  This book combines text with archival fashion photographs, contact sheets, her published illustrations and her memos, so it's more than just a book of photographs -- it's a great reference tool for understanding Miller and her work.

The Day of the Peacock

The Day of the Peacock: Style for Men, 1963-73 by Geoffrey Aquilina Ross   144 pages

This book, filled with text and great photos, focuses on the 1960s in England, a period of spectacular fashion for men. This movement in men's style was called "The Peacock Revolution" by the media and the book explores not only the change in fashion, but many of the designers, tailors and shop owners who made this style revolution happen. Included are profiled on people like Tommy Nutter, Mr. Fish, shops like Granny Takes a Trip and much more.

This is an interesting book because it focuses on such a narrow slice in time. The author does a great job of explaining the move towards this "dandy" style and how it borrowed from previous fashions. It's not just about fashion, but about the change in society in the 1960s.  And then, when the 1970s dawned, this fashion movement dropped away. As the author observes, "Fashion comes and fashion goes; it was ever thus."

Bad Girls of Fashion

Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll              Hardback Book: 206 pages                               

Really in your face kind of radical cool backgrounds told here on notable women who have promoted fashion, feminine empowerment, trend setting, leadership, you name it.   These gals are good.  Women with business savvy (Madonna is such a smart business woman she was one of my Economics professors’ favorite people along with Alan Greenspan, Warren Buffet…), women who know how to reinvent themselves, women who turn heads, women who shock (Bjork in her swan dress, Lady Gaga in her meat outfit complete with flank steak accessories hat, purse and shoes.    Really detailed bios on the famous, the infamous and the legendary.   St. Louisan Josephine Baker complete with the outfit she is still known today for, Maryland native Wallis Simpson who brought down an English Monarchy, gender bender Marlena Dietrich,   Anna Wintour who Meryl Streep’s character in the “Devil Wears Prada” was based on, Rihanna whose known for her beauty and fashion flare as well as her singing fame.   Why Lilith is even given a bow here.     Radical Punk Rockers Kathleen Hanna, Girl Groups Bikini Kill, citizens of and enemies of the Russian state known for their political protesting through their music and fashion – Pussy Riot, who served two years in prison but continue to rouse revolutionary spirit through their feminine power through their fans around the world.    You will learn so many things about having a voice in the world, standing up to haters and how to stop letting others vilify your differences by embracing the freak in you and letting that image shine as an example to others to embrace our differences and be proud of who we are whatever we may be it is the genuine us.     Very well written.   I highly recommend this for everyone who has felt unaccepted for who they are.   Darlings you are in delicious company!   Let that freak flag fly and embrace the you you are.   Good book.

Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress

Coco Chanel:  Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress by Susan Goldman Rubin          Hardback Book:  133 pages             

So full of great quotes from Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, like: “Dressing Women is not a Man’s job…Fashion has become a joke (male) Designers have forgotten there are women inside the dresses.”  That was in 1947 when Christina Dior was trying to tuck women back in to those tight unforgiving throwbacks to the gay nineties.  Coco Chanel came up during the time of staves and corsets, with women getting the breath and actually sometimes the life squeezed out of them in order to appear flawless in clothes that held them hostage.   Growing up in the Catholic orphanage, Gabrielle as she was addressed then, wore white blouses and black skirts her daily uniform from childhood through her teen years.  Her outfit was a reflection of the black and white habits worn by the nuns who ran the orphanage and taught there.   While Gabrielle expressed there was no love or affection displayed by the nuns who raised her still there was an element of respect and vernation for the austere life they led and the minimalistic furnishings and meager possessions.   Throughout Coco’s life her clothing and her designs for the House of Chanel ranged in mostly the colors of black or white as she often said, “Women think of every color except the absence of colors.    I have said that black has everything.   White, too.  They have an absolute beauty.”   While other fashionistas of her day considered black a color for only mourning outfits and white for the purity of wedding gowns, Coco brought them to everyday situations and gave them elegance as evening wear.   Always ahead of her times and a trend setter, Coco Chanel hated the binding clothing designed for women by men who did not have to wear such horrid monstrosities to keep an hour glass shape to the feminine body.  Coco rebelled and began wearing men’s sweaters and pants that she jazzed up to make more femine with ribbons, lace, adding a camellia to keep them feminine but men’s clothes made of jersey were easier to wear and of course one could not put girdles, or corsets or any such contraption on underneath because those items would show clearly though the fabric and so, ladies, we can all thank Coco Chanel for getting us out of those so uncomfortable creations and into relaxed, chic and now classic sophisticated designs.    And my dears, she is the inventor of the little black dress we are all so fond of even today.   And with a strand of pearl – tres’ magnifque’!    She brought the Gypsy peasant look to the fashion world still copied to this day.   Diana Vreeland, once editor of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, said, “Everyone thinks of suits when they think of Chanel…If you wuld have seen my clothes from Chanel in the thirties – the degage’ [free and easy] gypsy skirts, the divine brocades, the little boleros, the roses in the hair…And the ribbons were so pretty.”  A gown Vreeland owned from Coco’s romantic period she (Vreeland) described as “the most beautiful dress I’ve ever owned.”   Chanel also came up with the idea to sew small gold chains with the hems of her jackets and skirts to make them lay just right.   So inventive!    Coco had a habit of redesigning clothing on the spot for the women she was with.   If she thought the desing horrible, she whipped out her scissors and pins and made a new creation of the garment causing more stirs from admirers wanting one for themselves.    The woman was a genious as a tailor/ seamstress.   She even redesigned the prom dress of the daughter of a friend while the young girl stood there in front of her.   Meaning only to model the dress before leaving for the prom, Coco shouted how hideous it looked, immediately pulled out here scissors redid this and that and sent the young girl off to regales of  lavish compliments and other girls questioning where she got such a wonderful dress?   More business for the House of Chanel.    Another carryover from her orphanage days was the joining of the two C’s in the Chanel logo.    As a student during her orphanage years, Gabrielle was taken with the geodesic designs in the stained glass mosaics she saw in the church and based the joining of the two Cs as her logo on the kaleidoscope effect while joining her initial with that of the man she loved most in the world,  Capt. Arthur Edward “Boy” Capel.   She loved the thought of their names together Capel and Chanel and came up with the entwined Cs as a tribute to the love of her life who died in a car wreck.   Though as an aristocrat he would have never married her, they shared a torrid love affair even after he married a woman of the aristocracy breaking Chanel’s heart but they never let go of one another till death did them part.   An advernturess life this lady lived from world fame to local shame (she had an affair during WWII with a man who served Hitler’s regime though his mother was English and it is said that Coco worked for the French Underground answering directly to her friend, Winston Churchill.   Mademoiselle suffered no repercussions during the War though her esteem went down with many of her countrymen over her liason.    Such a life.   Such a larger than life character.   Mademoiselle is still remembered for her design expertise and to this day a Chanel creation is a coveted treasure.   Good book.

The Prince And The Dressmaker

ThePrince And The Dressmaker by Jen Wang, 277 pages

“Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia--the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian's secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances--one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone's secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.” This was an absolutely lovely story.  It will appeal to teens who like graphic novels, but teens who feel like they are different from their classmates will almost certainly want to read it.

Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon

Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon by Iris Apfel.  176 pages

Admittedly, I didn't know much about Iris Apfel, although I knew what she looked like. She's instantly recognizable, actually, and I had always wondered about who she was (and found her intriguing).  In this book, which is a less a memoir and more a collection of photos, illustrations, quotes, anecdotes and observations, you learn all about Iris Apfel. 

She's a true original, to be sure. As the co-founder of an international textile manufacturer, Old World Weavers, Iris has had an opportunity to travel the world, meeting people and helping curate museum exhibits. She has also acted as a restoration consultant for the White House over nine presidential administrations. And this is just scratching the surface of what she's done!

I enjoyed this book because I felt it reflected her personality: filled with color, images, and true honesty to one's self. She's truly comfortable with who she is, and that's pretty cool. A self-dubbed geriatric starlet and perpetual teenager, Apfel definitely does her own thing in this world. Her confidence is pretty inspiring!

The Knockoff

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
338 Pages

"An outrageously stylish, wickedly funny novel of fashion in the digital age, The Knockoff is the story of Imogen Tate, editor in chief of Glossy magazine, who finds her twentysomething former assistant Eve Morton plotting to knock Imogen off her pedestal, take over her job, and reduce the magazine, famous for its lavish 768-page September issue, into an app. When Imogen returns to work at Glossy after six months away, she can barely recognize her own magazine. Eve, fresh out of Harvard Business School, has fired "the gray hairs," put the managing editor in a supply closet, stopped using the landlines, and hired a bevy of manicured and questionably attired underlings who text and tweet their way through meetings. Imogen, darling of the fashion world, may have Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg on speed dial, but she can't tell Facebook from Foursquare and once got her iPhone stuck in Japanese for two days. Under Eve's reign, Glossy is rapidly becoming a digital sweatshop--hackathons rage all night, girls who sleep get fired, and "fun" means mandatory, company-wide coordinated dances to Beyoncé. Wildly out of her depth, Imogen faces a choice--pack up her Smythson notebooks and quit, or channel her inner geek and take on Eve to save both the magazine and her career. A glittering, uproarious, sharply drawn story filled with thinly veiled fashion personalities, The Knockoff is an insider's look at the ever-changing world of fashion and a fabulous romp for our Internet-addicted age."

I did enjoy this book despite the unbelievable premise that Imogen Tate is so technologically backwards she can't even handle email at the grand old age of 42.    A modern retelling of "All About Eve"