Love, Loss, and What I Wore [Hardcover]

Ilene Beckerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1995

Just as a familiar old song can bring into focus an event from the past, so for Gingy Beckerman, the clothes in her closet are like a magic key opening a door to the past. From her Brownie uniform to her Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress and her Rita Hayworth-style strapless from the Neiman Marcus outlet store, each outfit in LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE tells its own story. All together, they tell the story of a life. "A memoir every reader will wish to copy in her own size."--Glamour. Now in its 4th printing. Over 103,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This captivating little pictorial autobiography for adults, a life told through clothes, features Beckerman's brightly colored drawings of the vestments she wore at different times in her life, accompanied by diarylike entries. She grew up in Manhattan in the 1940s and '50s, and we see her elementary school outfit, ballet costume, prom dress, etc. After her mother died, her grandparents, not wanting her to live with her father, took in Ilene and her sister; she never saw her father again. In 1955, at 20, she married her 37-year-old sociology professor in Boston. They soon divorced, and in her second marriage, which also ended in divorce, she had six children, losing one in infancy. She is now v-p of an advertising agency. Beckerman's extremely reticent text never illuminates these events, but her minimalist self-portrait is a wry commentary on the pressures women constantly face to look good. 40,000 first printing; first serial to the New York Times Magazine.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Illuminates the experience of an entire generation of women...worthy of a Tiffany box." -- New York Times Book Review

"Poignant biography of a woman's coming of age...will charm anyone with an interest in style." -- USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 164 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1st edition (January 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565121112
• ISBN-13: 978-1565121119
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life, as a fashion statement, February 16, 2000

By 

Hired Pen (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Hardcover)

Everybody knows that a song on the radio or a certain scent can evoke powerful memories. In a similar way, the author of this book discovered that reflecting on her fashion choices over the years often brought to mind people and events that had been important to her, and vice versa. Ms. Beckerman's story is by turns comical and poignant. Her line drawings are cannily evocative. This is a quick read that will leave an impression long afterward.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Wonderful!, June 23, 2000

By 

Sue Steiner (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Hardcover)

So touching, so real...Gingy has shared her life simply and beautifully. A quick read, but it will stay with me forever - I am still smiling and feeling bittersweet.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for the Memories!, February 24, 2001

By 

C. Stiles "Design-Book-a-holic" (Delaware) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Hardcover)

I loved it. Ilene's wry illustrations and warm recollections really hit home with me. So much of our memories have an affiliation with an outfit...this is a celebration of being a woman.