Customer Reviews

Jackie Style

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I was attracted to this book by its feel and the promise of learning more about that certain "something" Jackie radiates. After mentally debating the price, my lust for more Jackie style information won out and I purchased it. It is a substantial book in many ways but weak in others. The beginning of the book is awkward as the author describes what Jackie was thinking after her husband won the Presidency. How could the author know? The authors assumptions immediately made me question the rest of the books authenticity. As I read through the book however, the author changed tactics and began to describe the first lady using research that was factually supported. She discusses Jackie's upbringing, her role as young woman, and beyond. Though most of the information has been written about before, several aspects were elaborated on to add a new twist and make them more interesting. For example, I had read many times about Jackie winning Vogue magazines Prix de Paris competition, but never in the detail Keough gives. There are a number of photographs in the book but unfortunatly the way they are presented lacks impact. Many are black and white, others small for the page, few are new, and in general they don't have the luster that they could. For example, p.182 has a full size, black and white photograph of Jackie with flowers fully covering her face. If this is one of the never seen photographs Keough promises well I can see why. Another page is devoted to a full color photo of Ari Onasis. Since the full color photos of Jackie are few why not make it one of her? Pamela Keoughs previous book Audrey Style had a much better selection of pictures that made an impression! There are also some line sketches of Jackie in a pillbox. The sketch looks more like Anjelica Houston. The information in the book is broad. The author has obviously done alot of research and she relays the information with her fresh perspective. But many readers will wish for more information about Jackie's STYLE not her life history. For those just beginning to read about Jackie this will be a good introduction but to those familiar with her and the books about her this will be a rehash and retelling.

I think it's great that there are authors like Keogh around. You can tell that she really wants to portray Jackie at her best. But the problem is that this book is written in a cut and paste way, and despite what the dustcover says, there is nothing new and revealing at all. Let me explain more.

First of all, this book is called JACKIE STYLE, but it is really just a popcorn biography. Keogh claims that she has new interviews that reveal new insights about Jackie. Well, tell me, how does the designer Cynthia Rowley saying she admired how Jackie dressed reveal new insights into Jackie, the person, the first lady, and everything that Jackie was and became??????

Then, there is the claim that there is over 100 black and white, and color, photos of Jackie that have never been seen before. Not true; with the exception of 25 or less, all have been published before. And the 25 are not of Jackie, but of her friends, or a date, or a Kennedy.

This book is written well, but is just isn't about her fashion. There are good photos in the bood, and Keogh does have an inviting writing style, even if she tends to sometimes overpraise her subjects, but it is not about Jackie's style.

Beginning with the BORING Mark Shaw Official White House photograph chosen for the cover of this book, it was clear that this book would be a mere regurgetation of facts about Mrs. Onassis culled from the same old, same old tedious sources, which, after Valentino's introduction, suffice to say, was all downhill. Purporting to be a book devoted to Mrs. Onassis' style, I kept waiting for it to begin, which it NEVER did...instead, we are "treated" to Ms. Keogh's interpretation of some genuine facts, along with the usual misinterpretations, gossip, speculation, pop-psychology babble, interjected here and there with the odd statement of those Mrs. Onassis counted as supposed friends or what have you, often presented as an "interview" conducted especially for this book, more like the typical "soundbite" to which modern pop biography is routinely subjected. The editorial content of this book is more or less a in the genre of the High School Term-Paper and was a bore from beginning to end...no revelations or anything insightful found here, at all.

Equally disappointing to me was her absurdly limited use of widely seen images of Mrs. Onassis, who for thirty-five (35) years of her life, particularly with John F. Kennedy's ascendancy to The White House, remained THE most famous woman in the world, (a full generation before Diana, Princess of Wales)begging the question, with all of the hordes of photographers stalking Mrs. Onassis throughout her adult life, WHERE ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS, did all the photographers participate in a bonfire somewhere???!!! For goodness sakes, Ron Galella, who stalked her for years, published a book of his select images of her in 1974. To this end it is odd when Ms. Keogh herself makes mention of Mrs. Onassis's most famous woman in the world status, yet serves-up such banal use of imagery for public consumption, one can't help but think it was just the compensation she would recieve on the wave of her similar book devoted to Audrey Hepburn. Skip this one folks, there are better books devoted to her style, some old and out of print, while others quite recent, such as "Jacqueline Kennedy In The White house" a paperback from 1963; "The Kennedy White House Parties" by Anne Lincoln, published by Viking in 1967; 'my Life With Jacqueline Kennedy", by her former Secretary, Mary B. Gallagher, 1969; "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" the ONLY book published largely from Mrs. Onassis's recollections and direction, by Mary V. R. Thayer, published in 1971 by Little Brown & Co; "A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for The White House" by her Official Couturier, Oleg Cassini; "In The Kennedy Style", by her former Social Secretary, Letitia Baldridge; and this year's two (2) better volumes..."Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" the catalogue for the current exhibition mounted by the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in conjunction with The John F. Kennedy Library; and the just released "Jackie: The Clothes of Camelot" by Jay Mulvaney a book that is just plain fun, appealing, and visually enjoyable, if not as thorough as one might have hoped, but his enthusiasm for his subject along with his sense-of-humour, make this the missing link so obviously lacking within "Jackie Style"!!!! Wait for "Jackie Style" to hit the bargain stacks, I wish she had compensated me for reading it!!!

Reading Jackie Style, which is what I did with great anticipation as I loved Audrey Style, left me sadly disappointed. The story of Jacqueline Kennedy has been told many times and this is a cut and paste job of most of the stories that have been out in public circulation for years and years. Then there are a bunch of magazine style features about Jackie's makeup (and how to duplicate it), her closet (and how to buy them) and how the many photographers who took the millions of pictures about her took them. It's sad, dull and offers nothing in the way of illuminating this most interesting personality.

I don't recommend this book.

If you are old enough to remember the 60's, you will remember Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. She represented to the world the ultimate in class, style and true elegance. Her grace, smile and ability to communicate with people from the less fortunate to royalty and nobility, became her legacy to the world. She did not follow in the footsteps of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, she walked equally along side of him; she opened the door and awakened the world to the independence, intelligence and individuality of woman everywhere.

Known for her "pill box hats" and haute couture fashion, she made a statement that turned heads and influenced people wherever she travelled. She was the 60's version of Princess Diana. The book includes interviews with designers, friends and family and is an inside look at the woman who captivated hearts in every corner of the world. The book takes the reader from her youth to the White House to her marriage to Onassis. During her days as the First Lady, Jackie Bouvier Kennedy rocked the world and blazed a trail that will long be remembered by women who grew up in her era.

It may be difficult for young women today to relate to a trendy woman who reached the peak of her "moment in the sun" almost forty years ago, but for those who do remember her, they will remember her class, unique style and elegance. Even in her final years of ill health, she still managed to radiate that quiet inner beauty which was her trade mark for the best part of her life.

Jackie Style is ok except that it costs about twice what it's worth. It isn't a long book, or a comprehensive biography, or even a coffee table picture book, so I can't understand why it costs so much. What I really can't understand is why I paid so much for it.

There's no new news or great insights into her, her life or her style and the photographs, while numbering more than in a normal bio, fall far short of an "illustrated biography" like JACKIE HER LIFE IN PICTURES (which I really enjoyed). Some of the pictures are really nice, like the young married Jackie photos, but some are just candids that weren't too good to beging with and that's probably the reason they are "previously unpublished."

There was a lot of promise about including Jackie's correspondance and letters in this book, but there's really only one, a short note to a White House photographer, and that one looks like a xerox copy of the real note...not the real thing, so I was feeling a little cheated by this book and its price.

Pamela Clarke Keogh has written a terrific book, a breezy and "tongue in chic" look at the life of one of the most fascinating people in 20th century American history. .

In telling this story through the framework of Jackie's style (certainly one of her most famous attributes), this book can touch upon all aspects of the life of Jacqueline Bouvier and explore how her style evolved, where it came from and how it impacted all of our lives. It's written in a breezy and totally approachable style, filled with fun stories, canny perceptions and some first rate reporting, there are these golden nuggets of information that have never been told before (and that's a rare feat, considering the huge amount of books, magazine stories and television reports that Jackie's life has generated).

And then there are these wonderful photographs... As the author of two Jackie-related books myself, I was delightedly surprised to see some of the pictures in the book...they are unusual, rare, evocative and charming.

This book is a delight!

Jackie Style is a beautiful part pictorial/part biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. There are tons of both black and white and colored photographs along with plenty of text about Jackie's life and her tastes. My favorite section is called "The Look" where Pamela Keogh Clarke gives tips from Prescriptives makeup artist DARAC on how to achieve some of Jackie's looks (I work as a makeup artist, so this is especially interesting to me). This is a beautiful, wonderful book...definitely a must have for anyone who loves Jackie O or any woman of style...also, if you have not read AudreyStyle, also by Pamela Keogh Clarke, you should pick it up as well...both are FABULOUS!!!

Clearly, Ms. Keogh is counting on the name Jackie to make her a bundle of money. I would not dream of buying this book new. By and large, it says what has been said and said and said. By and large, we have seen the photos. If you can't wait to buy it used, read it standing up in the bookstore. It won't take long...you've heard most of it before.

I liked this book alot. I have read numerous volumes about Jackie and this one makes a refreshing change. The approach is both light and informative. The information given is different from the usual stuff and is presented in just the right amount of detail. I particularly enjoyed the anecdotes about Jackie's life during the eighties and early nineties, also the insight into her interior decor taste. The detailed illustration credits were also appreciated. The book is good quality and enjoyable to read.