Customer Reviews

Made for Each Other: Fashion and the Academy Awards

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I agree with a previous review that this book would have benefited from a thorough editing. Michael Kors for Celine designed Rene Russo's costumes in The Thomas Crowne Affair, not Randolph Duke. Gwyneth Paltrow won in 1999, not 1991. Hogs and Heifers, where Julia Roberts danced on the bar and left her bra nailed to the ceiling is in the Meatpacking District, not Tribeca. Nothing too serious, but irritating nonetheless. There are some great stories told here and the later part of the book that deals with the jockeying for position of designers to dress particular actresses is fascinating. But where are some of the more famous Oscar flops and hits? Kim Bassinger's self-designed dress. Demi Moore's hot pants? Halley Berry's Reem Acra? Kate Winset's huge necklace after Titanic? Uma's milkmaid dress? Another 30 pages would have been appreciated!

I enjoyed the stories behind the story. This book is well researched, but not very well written. The style is choppy and lacks flow. Sometimes it gets confusing and one needs to re-read a sentence to understand whom it is referring to. This book would have certainly benefited from a thorough editing. It gets worst towards the end, when it becomes more about the gossip than about the fashion itself.

This book is very weak; it is poorly written and badly (if at all) copy edited.
I would not recommend this for anyone who is used to reading well written, grammatically
clean, well researched work. It is an infuriating and exhausting read because of
all the typos and all the sentences that just do not make any sense.
It makes me wonder about the quality of the research and anecdotal comments.
It is shocking that it was published and internationally distributed.

I bought this book assuming it was sort of a glossy, coffee table photography book. Imagine my surprise when it came and I realized there was more text than photos! This turned out to be a good thing, though, as the book is a fascinating, almost scholarly anthropological account of Academy Awards fashion. You'll find yourself being amazed at not only the hoops the designers jump through to please the actresses, but at the level of minutae and detail that goes into designing (and then sewing) a dress that will be viewed by literally billions of people. There are hair-raising stories of dresses gone wrong, a good, long look at the vintage gowns some actresses have chosen to wear, and a lot of information on the actual construction of these unique gowns. It's well worth it for the Oscars aficionado.

Since its inception in 1929 the hyped and hallowed Oscar ceremony has been as much about fashions as it has been about films. Who is wearing what and by whom as she promenades down the red carpet? Wonder just how many of us would rather look at the dresses than the presentations. One who definitely has her eye on the gowns is Bronwyn Cosgrave.

A former editor for British Vogue Cosgrove covered the Academy Awards for the BBC and authored Costume and Fashion: A Complete History. She now offers another complete history, this time of the garb chosen by both presenters and nominees for Hollywood's biggest night.

We learn that the first actress Academy Award winner was Janet Gaynor who "Waltzed wide-eyed in her dress that stopped short on her knee." Undoubtedly a far cry from the sparkling provocative number designed by Bob Mackie for Cher. Mackie, sometimes called "the sultan of sequins" or the "rajah of rhinestones" was a bit concerned about the outre appearance that Cher had requested, even to asking "Don't you think this is kind of upstaging the person you are giving the award to?" As the world now knows, she was determined to "let them see that everything still looks good."

Obviously, looking good is what it's all about. Marlene Dietrich caused quite a furor in 1951 when she strolled on stage in a Christian Dior creation that looked "Airbrushed on."

The ceremony is also about payoff - in 2003 Nicole Kidman struck a deal with Chanel for seven million. Her contractual obligations included the wearing of gowns by Chanel's chief designer Karl Lagerfeld to gala events, such as the Oscars.

Richly illustrated, gossipy and unputdownable "Made For Each Other" gives us an insiders ear and eye to haute Hollywood. The 3-star rating is due to the lack of proper editing.

- Gail Cooke

Since its inception in 1929 the hyped and hallowed Oscar ceremony has been as much about fashions as it has been about films. Who is wearing what and by whom as she promenades down the red carpet? Wonder just how many of us would rather look at the dresses than the presentations. One who definitely has her eye on the gowns is Bronwyn Cosgrave.

A former editor for British Vogue Cosgrove covered the Academy Awards for the BBC and authored Costume and Fashion: A Complete History. She now offers another complete history, this time of the garb chosen by both presenters and nominees for Hollywood's biggest night.

We learn that the first actress Academy Award winner was Janet Gaynor who "Waltzed wide-eyed in her dress that stopped short on her knee." Undoubtedly a far cry from the sparkling provocative number designed by Bob Mackie for Cher. Mackie, sometimes called "the sultan of sequins" or the "rajah of rhinestones" was a bit concerned about the outre appearance that Cher had requested, even to asking "Don't you think this is kind of upstaging the person you are giving the award to?" As the world now knows, she was determined to "let them see that everything still looks good."

Obviously, looking good is what it's all about. Marlene Dietrich caused quite a furor in 1951 when she strolled on stage in a Christian Dior creation that looked "Airbrushed on."

The ceremony is also about payoff - in 2003 Nicole Kidman struck a deal with Chanel for seven million. Her contractual obligations included the wearing of gowns by Chanel's chief designer Karl Lagerfeld to gala events, such as the Oscars.

Richly illustrated, gossipy and unputdownable "Made For Each Other" gives us an insiders ear and eye to haute Hollywood. The 3-star rating is due to the lack of proper editing.

- Gail Cooke

Wow! This book is such a great a read! Did you know that Miuccia Prada did not design Una Thurman's Prada Oscar dress? That Bette Davies picked up her Best Actress Oscar in an old film costume? That Louise Rainer wore her nightgown to the ceremony? The revelations just keep on coming. Bronwyn Cosgrave's masterpiece charts the secret history of all the major Oscar dresses we all love and remember. This book really has to become the difinative volume on the subject. It's fantastically gossipy and wondefully informative, a real joy to read. I could not put it down!

The pictures and illustrations are stunning. Cosgrave has tracked down many never before published sketches froma range of designers from Dior to Dolce & Gabbana. This really is made for anyone who loves both film and fashion!

Merchandise arrived quickly, in great condition .. I would order from this vendor again. Thank you. Rosemary