A Privileged Life: Celebrating Wasp Style (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A Privileged Life is an ode to the icons of elegant living--from fashion designers like Lilly Pulitzer to Waspy legends like C.Z. Guest --Hapers Bazaar

Product Description

At once glamorous and mysterious, the WASP lifestyle has influenced countless trends in the worlds of fashion, home design, and pop culture. Today, one no longer has to be a WASP to embrace its casual-yet-elegant attitude and sense of style. With lively text and over one hundred images from world-renowned photographers, A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style is the first book of its kind to unveil this rarefied way of life, one that many emulate though few truly understand.

From the eclectic and well-decorated home of Sister Parish to the popular pink-and-green color combination of preppy chic to iconic photographs of the style makers who embody the WASP spirit like Grace Kelly, Truman Capote, or Jacqueline Kennedy, this book celebrates our timeless fascination with America's leisure class.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 170 pages
• Publisher: Assouline (April 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 275940126X
• ISBN-13: 978-2759401260
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,073 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #33 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Class
  #54 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Fashion > Fashion Photography

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Big Ego, Little Info, November 14, 2007

By	M. Jones (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book breaks the cardinal rule of WASP style-- discretion! The book is basically all about the author, how very WASPy her upbringing was, and what paragons of style her various family members were. As if being born in a rich New England family was some sort of personal achievement. I agree with another reviewer that it could have been really interesting minus the self-absorption and plus information to make it relevant to readers who aren't personal friends of the author or her family-- some discussion of history, architecture, design and so on. As it is, flipping through for five minutes at the bookstore or library should be plenty to get the full effect, there's no need to buy the book.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The pictures are pretty, but...., September 8, 2007

By	Helene Hertzlinger (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tons of mistakes litter this pretty little book about the preppy lifestyle. Names are misspelled, captions are incorrect, etc., and for a book without much content to begin with, one would think that the editing and research would have been sharp. It's a shame, as it could have been terrific!

65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's been done much better, June 28, 2007

By	m rand "Mara" (NY, United States) - See all my reviews

Narrative is unoriginal and somewhat sloppy: "My own childhood home was the same one in which my mother grew up in." There's no apparent research on architecture, design, or education although these constitute chapters of the book; nor is there real insight or new point of view. The book has some lovely photos (the cover is the highlight), but I've seen many before and the others - largely of the author's family and friends - were not edited for interest to a non-relative. Everyone has a black & white photo of female relatives wearing white ankle socks, or Aunt Rose & Uncle Mike on a dinghy.