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Dressed Book Club
What Women wore to the revolution, part ii
Welcome to Dressed's very first book club, a companion to What Women Wore to the Revolution, Part II!
Books and format
Sunday, June 23rd: Fashion is Spinach by Elizabeth Hawes
"I don't know when the word fashion came into being, but it was an evil day."
For our first session, we will read Fashion is Spinach, the equal parts biting and witty memoir and fashion industry critique by one of the great 20th century American designers: Elizabeth Hawes. Hawes launched her successful fashion house in Depression-era New York City at a time when the American fashion industry, from ready-to-wear to made-to-order, was based on Parisian not American designs. Hawes takes us behind the seams of the French and American fashion industries during the 1920s and 30s, fighting to make a name for herself when American designers were anonymous. Fashion historian--and Elizabeth Hawes expert--April Calahan will join us to visually enrich our reading with a presentation on Hawes's groundbreaking life and work.
Sunday, July 21st: The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
"...Thus, the legendary Dior Bar Suit is conveyed via Margaux's body to an unsuspecting world."
New York Time's bestselling author Natasha Lester joins for a discussion of her book The Paris Secret, "an unforgettable [fashion] historical novel about a secret collection of Dior gowns that ties back to the first female pilots of WWII and a heartbreaking story of love and sacrifice." That the book reflects Natasha's own passion for fashion history, as well as her countless hours of hands on research in fashion museums and archives is one of the many reasons fashion history lovers will enjoy this book!
*This session will meet outside of normal club meeting hours to accommodate Natasha's time zone. It will meet at 5pm PST/8pm EST.
Sunday, August 18th: Ann Lowe: American Couturier
"All the pleasure I have had, I owe to sewing"--Ann Lowe
The architect of numerous socialites' dressed dreams in the 1950s and 60s--including one Jackie Kennedy, Ann Lowe is one of the great 20th century American fashion designers that history almost forgot. Something that fashion curator and scholar Elizabeth Way has worked tirelessly to course correct, as exhibited by her recent groundbreaking exhibition Ann Lowe: American Couturier. For this week's book club, we will be reading the exhibition's accompanying catalog which reveals insights into Lowe's life and the sartorial splendor of her work.
Sunday, September 15th: Walking with the Muses: A Memoir by Pat Cleveland
This week, we will read Walking with the Muses, the wildly entertaining and insightful memoir of the groundbreaking supermodel Pat Cleveland. Pat takes readers on a wild, behind the seams ride into the grit and glamour of the 1960s and 70s fashion scene. Muse and friend to designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Patrick Kelly, and Halston, Pat Cleveland was a staple presence in the fashion landscape of these revolutionary eras that she helped to define by quite literally changing the face of fashion.