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Obsessed by Dress
 
 
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Obsessed by Dress [Hardcover]

Toby Tobias (Compiler), Chesley McLaren (Illustrator)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Price: $17.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Book Description

October 19, 2000
Are you obsessed by dress? Do you wonder if your obsession is a virtue or a vice? The flourish of a creative spirit or a sign of conformity to social norms? If so, you're in good company. Juxtaposing quotations from Virgil to Coco Chanel, Tobi Tobias reassures us that the obsession with clothes is as old as human history itself.

Jane Austen, Mae West, Christian Dior, Virginia Woolf, Andy Warhol, and Mark Twain are among the many who have their say. Arranged with incomparable flair, their comments will help you answer the eternally vexing question, "What shall I wear?" "One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art." -Oscar Wilde

"Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim." --Jane Austen

"Show me the clothes of a country and I can write its history." --Anatole France

"Only God helps the badly dressed." --Spanish proverb

"Probably every new and eagerly expected garment ever put on since clothes came in fell a trifle short of the wearer's expectation." --Charles Dickens

"Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes." --Henry David Thoreau

"Almost every man looks more so in a belted trench coat." --Sydney J. Harris

"Brevity is the soul of lingerie." --Dorothy Parker

"There is much to support the view that it is clothes that wear us and not we them; we may make them take the mould of arm or breast, but they would mould our hearts, our brains, our tongues to their liking." --Virginia Woolf

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter $10.20

Obsessed by Dress + The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter


Editorial Reviews

Review

Every well-dressed woman should have three things: a great black dress, real pearls, and a copy of Obsessed by Dress. --Ilene Beckerman, author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore

"Finally! A book with almost enough about outfits." --Cynthia Heimel, author of Sex Tips for Girls

"Fashion is fascinating and annoying to me: art or craft? crucial or frivolous? shallow or deep? I don't know. The people quoted in this book are engaged in this debate. By establishing a dialogue between smart and interesting people from across time, Ms. Tobias stimulates and provokes." --Mark Morris, choreographer, Mark Morris Dance Group

"Tobias takes us on a quirky journey through a delightful array of quotes. The unifying theme of fashion is grounded by matter-of-fact statements from authors and other infamous characters. Everyone is an expert." --Myra Walker, curator, Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Absolutely fabulous quotes." --Valerie Steele, author of Fifty Years of Fashion: New Look to Now

About the Author

Tobi Tobias is the intriguingly dressed dance critic for New York magazine. Her essays on fashion and related "food for the eye" have appeared in New York, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Dance Ink. She is the author of over two dozen books for children, most recently A World of Words and Serendipity.

Chesley McLaren is a well-known fashion illustrator, having worked for Neiman Marcus, Bendel's, Bergdorf Goodman, and other upmarket fashion retailers.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Beacon Press (October 19, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0807006068
  • ISBN-13: 978-0807006061
  • Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.6 x 7.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars For the well-dressed mind, October 9, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Obsessed by Dress (Hardcover)
This is a lovely book, full of wit and surprises. It's obvious that Tobias has chosen quotes from books with which she is familiar, rather than compiling a hodgepodge of witty bon mots, selected at random. The bonus, in addition to making one think about fashion and its place in civilization, is reminders of books one has read, or wants to read, or should.

Armed with a few quotes from this book and a little black dress, one could conquer any cocktail party in fine style!

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, October 11, 2000
By 
This review is from: Obsessed by Dress (Hardcover)
One doesn't have to be a clothing aficionado to have a rewarding time with Tobi Tobias's "Obsessed By Dress." A small-size book with a biggness of content, "Obsessed" is alive with famous-person clothing quotes, meticulously researched by Tobias, reflecting her passion for Dress and great writing. Dickens, Proust, Virgil, Keats, Dior, Dorothy Parker, and RuPaul are among those quoted.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Swept away..., October 8, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Obsessed by Dress (Hardcover)
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this gem of a book. It has a sweep and intelligence that I have never experienced when reading about fashion. It made me laugh out loud, and reconsider the pleasures of enjoying putting myself together even for getting through my average work day. I loved it, and will be giving it as the perfect holiday gift for the person who has everything!
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