Customer Reviews

A Dedicated Follower of Fashion

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Holly Brubach writes with intelligence and wit about a subject that most people dismiss. She understands the thoughtful, artistic aspect of fashion design as well as its more ludicrous side. Designers themselves should be happy with her writing because she takes them seriously, distinguishing art from hype. But it seems that some of them have banned her from their shows for not regurgitating their self-valuations. Brubach's writing compares very favorably to current art criticism and social commentary. But the best thing of all is that she is funny and entertaining, and you don't need to be a fashion insider to enjoy this book.

Reader beware: if you buy this book expecting to find a fun, entertaining read about clothes, you'll be disappointed. However, if what you want is a book that provides insight into how fashion is a business, and the factors that influence the success of that business, then this may be the book for you. Another caution: although the print date is listed as 1999, the articles and examples were written much earlier.

Brubach's reporting on fashion is cultural as well as critical, making it some of the most intriguing writing in either the New Yorker, Atlantic, or New York Times in the last decade or more. This elegantly designed but engrossingly readable book is witty, scholarly and insightful, but still the best reason for buying this book is that it's a grand read if if you don't care about fashion as a daily fan. Like all additions to a home library, this illuminates a world from an intelligent, learned perspective. It will become a classic collection of essays.

Brubach does little to convince me that fashion is not, in fact, shallow and dismissable. She comes close to an epiphany of meaning in an essay about the French and the social reading of personal appearance, then loses her ground totally in an article about large size fashions, exposing her own biases without self-awareness. I only struggled my way through this because I'd both looked forward to it based on advance press (fished in!) and spent good money on it. I don't think I'll keep it; off to Half-Price Books for Holly.

I ordered the books for my boss, so I didn't actually read it. I did however meet the author!