Diana Vreeland [Hardcover]

Eleanor Dwight (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 2002

Diana Vreeland has been called the fashion editor of the twentieth century. An epic self-mythologizer, she had an incredible aura of glamour, a great eye, and a genius for life. Diana Vreeland reveals the growth of her professional prowess and gives an account of her personal history, at the same time as it brings to life Mrs. Vreeland's pizzazz, humour, and flamboyant personality. A dynamic cast of characters accompanies Diana Vreeland's story. There are more than 300 illustrations, photographs, and drawings, many by the best fashion photographers of her time such as Louise Dahl Wolfe, Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton, and Brassai. Through her work Diana knew Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta. In the seventies a new wave of young talent came into her life - Andy Warhol, Fred Hughes, Mick and Bianca Jagger. She was friendly with Truman Capote, taught Jackie Kennedy Onassis how to dress in the White House, and was interviewed for her autobiography by George Plimpton. The fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar from 1937 to 1962, Diana Vreeland first shook things up with her "Why Don't You" column. Later, as the editor in chief of Vogue from 1962 to 1971, Diana Vreeland became famous for her startling style - sheathing women in jungle print underwear, wrapping their heads with leopard scarves. She operated out of her red lacquered office with a leopard-print rug, smoked continually, and lunched on peanut butter and jelly and a shot of scotch. At the height of her power, she was fired from Vogue, and replaced by an editor who had worked under her. In 1972, Diana returned to centre stage for the final act of her life at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute as its "Special Consultant," a job she invented. She masterminded costume extravaganzas and contributed to the new age of blockbuster exhibitions in which museum attendance soared and people poured in to the galleries as never before. When Diana Vreeland became blind in the mid-80s she said it was because she had seen so many beautiful things. And after she died in 1989 she became a legend. Her story, as told by Eleanor Dwight, captures her great professional success as well as her personal relationships - in short, her vibrant and extraordinary life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I was always fascinated by the absurdities and the luxuries and the snobbism that the world of the fashion magazines showed.... But I lived in that world... because I was always of that world at least in my imagination," legendary editor Vreeland (1906-1989) once said, and for this sweeping, visual biography, Dwight spoke with Vreeland's family, friends and colleagues to offer a glimpse into the world of la mode. After breezing through Vreeland's New York childhood, Dwight (Edith Wharton: An Extraordinary Life) plunges into her ambitious adult life. She married businessman Reed Vreeland, and with their two young children, they moved to London, where they spent six years that would "transform [Vreeland] from a postdebutante into a soign e woman of the world." Vreeland started a lingerie business; made frequent visits to her "spiritual home," Paris; and befriended such designers as Patou, Schiaparelli and Chanel. Upon returning stateside in 1935, Vreeland wrote an inventive column for Harper's Bazaar, "Why Don't You?" and later became a top editor there. Not classically beautiful, yet always fashionable and immensely creative Vreeland photographed models in Frank Lloyd Wright homes instead of in staged studios, as had been the norm she lived an artistic, innovative life. She became Vogue's editor-in-chief in 1963, and her penchant for flamboyant, expensive stories that reflected aristocratic, international glamour led to her abrupt firing in 1971. She rebounded, however, serving as a consultant to the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute before her death. Laden with enthralling portraits of chic personalities from Greta Garbo and Jackie Kennedy to Lauren Hutton and Yves St. Laurent, this celebration of her life will please fashionistas young and old. Color & b&w photos. Agent, John Hawkins. (Nov. 1) Forecast: Vreeland's autobiography, D.V., is still in print after 18 years, and her illustrated book, Allure, was reissued by Bulfinch last month. Expect to see mentions of Dwight's book in fashion magazines; it's a good companion to another fashionable career woman's memoir, Mary Wells Lawrence's A Big Life in Advertising (Forecasts, Apr. 8).
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

It is sheer irony that an ungainly, unconventional girl should become one of the leading fashion mavens of the 20th century. Diana Vreeland (1906-89) was fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar, editor in chief at Vogue, and finally special consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. An unerring force in the fashion world from the Forties through the Seventies, Vreeland dictated style and fashion trends. She was eccentric and demanding, but in fashion she was always right. Dwight (Edith Wharton) here traces Vreeland's life and accomplishments. She handles the topic masterfully, with plenty of great period photos placed liberally throughout the text. Her exploration of Vreeland's youth, marriage, and family life give great insight into the development of her personality and motivations. While there are a few other biographies on Vreeland and her own autobiography (D.V.), Dwight's biography is comprehensive and memorable. Recommended for larger collections everywhere. Karen Ellis, Nicholson Memorial Lib. Syst., Garland, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (October 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688167381
• ISBN-13: 978-0688167387
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She Was the REAL Deal, February 7, 2003

By 

Bill Marsano (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diana Vreeland (Hardcover)

So it's come to this: The New York Times wrote some months back of a hot designer who got a summons from Vogue--yes, Vogue, of all magazines!--at a time when a shot of publicity would have done him a lot of good. The deal fell through. The designer was willing to co-operate, but only up to a point. He just couldn't bring himself to give the magazine his "signature" outfit. No; that was too much--he would not give his signature creation to what he called "that comic."

It was not ever thus, as amply and inspiringly proved by Eleanor Dwight's biography of Diana Vreeland, that grandest of grande dames.

Diana Vreeland was a homely girl born into a beautiful family; in fact, her mother once told her, "It's too bad . . . that you are so extremely ugly." Her response was a program of self-improvement. Dwight says "she emulated her classmates in how to dress; she worked on becoming tidy, enlarging her vocabulary, improving her manners." Eventually, having not found the ideal girl to model herself upon, she decided, "I shall be that girl."

If her mother exaggerated, it is nevertheless true that Vreeland was definitely not beautiful or even pretty. She was plain at best. But that was merely the surface nature gave her to re-make, and re-make it she did. She made herself original, arresting, witty, slightly madcap and rather amazing. She didn't have mere fashion--she had style, her own sensibility. By the time she took over the top spot at Conde Nast's Vogue, in 1963, she had been many years at Harper's Bazaar, where she had re-invented the job of fashion editor. At Vogue, she re-invented fashion magazines, hiring and nurturing (and occasionally driving crazy) the very best photographers and sending them and models to shoot in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She also sent astonishing and urgent memos to her staff. One read simply, "Bring me shoes with chains on them." Another said all of the staff should wear bells at the office. Fashion editor Carrie Donovan explains: "You know the sort of bells. Bells little kittens wear so they don't get lost in closets." So they all bought and wore little bells immediately and, Donovan says, "By the time she came in, we were all walking around with bells on. She pretended she didn't notice anything."

She <did> appear to notice everything else and to express it inimitably: "Pink is the navy blue of India! The best thing about London is Paris! Without emotion there is no beauty! The only real elegance is in the mind. If you've got that, the rest comes from it. Never fear being vulgar, just boring."

She did not shrink from spending Conde Nast's money, though in time Conde Nast did, and in 1971 she was abruptly fired. Down but hardly out, she went on to take on and take over the Costume Institute at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. She re-invented that, too. Finally, in 1989 and after a long illness, she--well, it's impossible to say that she died. Ordinary people die. Vreeland simply passed into legend, where she can be found today. In this book and in the literally hundreds of websites that spring up if you type her name into Google.

Through Eleanor Dwight's excellent writing, Vreeland comes alive in this book, and a fresh, clean breeze blows through it with the help of hundreds of photos that express what Vreeland was all about: beauty, style, elegance, allure. The real stuff--not the plated. If that's what you want, buy this book. If, for some perverse reason, you want the opposite--want mere fashion, sullen faces, heroine chic and such--then go to a newsstand and get "that comic."

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mad about her boldness!!!, April 5, 2003

By 

Kevin Graves (Ennis, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Diana Vreeland (Hardcover)

I too, waited on pins and needles as Ms. Dwight's book was delayed and delayed. I had preordered it and it was a considerable wait. It was worth the wait. I bought it and read it in a couple of sittings, loved it so much I bought copies and sent to dear friends. One sent me a thank you card which read "WHY DON'T YOU hire a jet plane and fly to see me so I can thank you for this wonderful (struck out) NO, DELICIOUS book. Id' say that pretty much sums it up.

It was great to read about her lower profile, but still dramatic homelife. Her husband was equally style conscious and quite the fashion plate himself. Their children grew up remarkably well adjusted. I wish we had more Diana Vreelands in this world. She spurned a half loaf. She did it her way!

You will love this book!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Don't You ... Buy This Book!, October 25, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Diana Vreeland (Hardcover)

Of course, you've read D.V. Now get ready for what really happened. Lots of previously unpublished material. Lots of photos. Lots of fun.

What a woman!