Customer Reviews

Threads: My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion

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"Threads" by menswear designer Joseph Abboud is a candid, chatty insider look at the fashion industry. It's also the portrait of a man who pretty much speaks his mind. Abboud doesn't mind taking a shot or two at some of his fellow designers, and he's just as up front in noting his own mistakes.

To call this a rags to riches story may not be completely accurate, but it's close. The Lebanese-American designer first became aware of what clothing could do for a man as a child in a darkened movie theater when he observed nattily dressed film idols and realized the impression their clothing made.

His childhood and youth were spent in a blue-collar Boston neighborhood. He remembers walking to work in his first Ralph Lauren tie, "a beautiful clock design recently bought for the unimaginable sum of $12.50." Evidently some of the neighborhood bullies thought Abboud looked too sharp, and took it upon themselves to muss him up.

"Am I going to get my nose broken, my arm, my jaw? I don't care," he writes, "All I'm thinking is, `Please, please, God, don't let me bleed on the tie!'"

His destination that day was a part-time job at Louis Boston. During college he earned money and kept in shape by pedaling a swan boat in the Public Garden. Abboud worked his way up the ladder at Louis to be recognized by Ralph Lauren, where he began in sales and rose to associate director of design.

Eager to begin his own collection the designer was originally thwarted by two unscrupulous financial partners. Today, as we know, the name Joseph Abboud denotes the finest in men's clothing.

As we originally mentioned, here is a man who speaks his mind, and he does about some of the design field's superstars - Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford. Readers are privy to a look at the wardrobe of his client, John Kerry, and men are cautioned to take a woman with them when they shop. In addition, with impeccable taste Abboud discusses "timely fashion trends vs. timeless fashion."

Penned in collaboration with Ellen Stern, a writer and editor at GQ, New York, and the New York Daily News, "Threads" is a brisk throughly enjoyable read.

- Gail Cooke

If you're not particularly into the world of high fashion, you may approach this Joseph Abboud bio gingerly. That would be wrong. It's terrific. From the first sentence to the last this guy's got some story to tell about a life lived with driving passion -- it's funny and fascinating. Grab it!

You don't need to be a fashionista to find something of interest in this book, part memoir, part style guide, part insider's look at a complex industry. Every page has a nugget or two of information, an insight or piece of gossip that keeps you turning. It's a fast and fun read.

Man, oh man! What an engrossing, informative, delightful read! I loved the conversational tone, as if "Joey" and I were tete-a-tete (thanks to Ellen Stern's writing skill, for sure).
I loved learning about buttons and paisleys and the infinite variety of browns. Who knew....? Most of all, I loved being invited to get to know this interesting person, with his art and craft, his vision and passion, and his oh, so elegant, oh, so very beautiful style. What a man!

Sometimes Clothing DOES make the man...and...Abboud is a terrific guy. His ties are wonderful. His attitudes about growing up in the fashion biz are insightful and his gift of gab is as good as his gift for garb.
The fact that he likes baseball and bails of multi-colored wool is a bonus.

Not just for fashionistas, this conversational, accessible, melodious book soars above the genre of celebrity autobiographies. Joseph Abboud is in love with fabric--the look, feel, smell, & posibility of it--& he not only catches you up in his passion, he reminds you that passion itself is the defining human experience. The voice rings true, the pace is impeccable,the whole read a great ride, thanks to Abboud's seamless partnership with former GQ editor and much-published author Ellen Stern. Don't miss it.

I wasn't sure what how much I'd enjoy a book by a menswear designer, but I have to say that this book was a joy. From his humble beginnings in a Middle Eastern Boston neighborhood, Joseph Abboud moved from a kid with a face pressed to the window of a men's shop to one of the top designers in the world. I will definitely never look at a tie in the same way or a men's suit. The insight into the polo shirt craze of the 80's was endearing also, as I remember everyone in my high school sporting one in every color available.

Probably the most curious thing to me after reading this book is why I've never heard of Joseph Abboud until now. Some of the people he's dressed have definitely caught my attention. We live in a more casual time, but reading this book has definitely made me think about how people perceive appearance, even in this dot-com-shorts-and-sandals world. There's still nothing like a good man in a good suit. That's what made me fall for my husband. Check this one out. There's more than clothes here.

I chose to purchase Joseph's book because I very much like his clothing and find that he has a different, down-to-earth approach to the "fashion world". The book itself is partly a book on men's fashion and partly an autobiography. Ultimately, it is a pleasant and quick read, but I would not characterize it knock-me-off-my-seat insightful or as having any real intention or focus.

Abboud presents a fashion designer's personal story of life in the rag trade. Abboud redefined menswear by bringing a European look to American clothing. Born in Boston, his desire for affluence was influenced by observing how others dressed. His rise in fashion was a rocky road, and in Threads he tells all.

Joe Abboud-what a guy! So funny, so forthright, so talented, so over-the-top crazy about clothes! Through the brash, colorful, passionate voice of a man drunk on color and cut and fabric, I've suddenly become sensitized to the glory of clothes, and to the talent and zeal required to design them. Ah, the softness of a just-right flannel! The beauty of a tweed created in Scotland from threads dyed to match pebbles found on a Nantucket beach! The fine look of a man of any size in a perfectly cut suit! The importance of choosing (and properly arranging) the correct pocket square!

This man's outsize personality comes through on every page, and the glimpses he provides of life behind the scenes in high-end shops, at fashion shows, and in top designers' showrooms are often hilarious and always fascinating, even to someone who doesn't (or, before Abboud, didn't) give a fig about fashion.

Deborah Harkins
New York, New York