5 comments about In the Pink: Dorothy Draper--America's Most Fabulous Decorator.

1. This is an interesting book but the items reproduced therein are no so great. The photos of the ballrooms/hotels are great and that's where Draper was at her best - in grand spaces. It's difficult to imagine men living in these highly styled white baroque plaster rooms in more common-sized apartments with dizzy graphic prints and maneating flower motives. Still, if you like that kinda thing, find it on sale.
   
   Stylemaven



2. A sensational look at the life and stratospheric career of the extraordinary Dorothy Draper. Written by her assistant who inherited the company, Carleton Varney has written about Draper's life and career like no-one else could have. Draper had such a unique style that has inspired the likes of Kelly Wearstler to this day. Unfortunately one of her most important design signatures, colour - and lots of it, is not done justice or captured accurately in the mostly black and white photos in this book. This is a great book if you are interested in the life and career of one of America's most important and charismatic decorator's, but if you are hoping for reference for her design and trademark colours then you may be disappointed.



3. Although I like Neo-Baroque even more than the next guy, this book tends to lend creed to the saying "A lot is too much". The tongue-in-cheek style of Ms Draper is more appropriate to resorts where people want to have fun than to residences where the owners would undoubtedly get tired of looking at it day to day, and fortunately hotels and restaurants seem to be the most common clients. I liked the black & white photos, thinking them more interesting than the color illustrations with the garishness being a distraction. The title of "America's most fabulous decorator" would be arguable at best, but certainly Dorothy Draper had talent to please the general public of the mid-century. This book is recommended for those interested in the history of interior design.



4. As one of the previous commentators stated, this book is a wonderful book in terms of historical significance to the Decorating/Interior Design field, but this book is certainly not a "how to" book on decorating. Therefore, if you are looking for a basic "how to decorate" book, then this book may not be a way to go.
   
   HOWEVER......
   
   If a person is buying this book as an historical reference book to their home decorating (or interior design) library, then this book would be a wonderful addition.
   
   For example, if I were a person majoring in a form of home decorating field, then this book would be of tremendous value. WHY?...because so many ideas that Dorothy Draper implemented are still being used today or still inspiring home decorators today!! (eg: if you were to look at Jonathan Adler's current design concepts, you will see alot of Dorothy Draper's influence in Jonathan's work). Thus, Dorothy Draper's influence to the home decorating field is truly immesurable.
   
   This hardback book is large in size.The photos are amazing. Most are in black-and-white since that is how the photos were orignally taken. But still,....the author describes the colors that would have been used in the book's B&W photos, and THAT helps the reader so much! I could certainly visualize what the B&W photos would be like in color, thanks to Carlton's wonderful descriptions.



5. When High STYLE was "in-style" Dorothy Draper was the queen of design... Every page reflects her understanding of space, light and perfection!!! This isa great read for the design professional as well as the casual reader. Her life story and her work are inseperable - she loved beautiful things and had an un-erring eye for the dramatic. "In the Pink: Dorothy Draper --America's Most Fabulous Decorator" is a visual treat as much as it is a fun read! As an iterior designer I see her design principles are as easily applied today as it was in the age of glamour. I would give it a 5!!! all across the board.

1 comments about Autobiography of a Wardrobe.

1. Autobiography of a Wardrobe is one of the most creative and original memoirs I have ever read! The reader follows B. (and her wardrobe) through her successes, failures, tragedies, triumphs, loves and life. I laughed, cried, cringed and smiled as B. evolves into her adult self and finds her true calling as a writer. I think Autobiography of a Wardrobe will be a great book for book groups, who will find endless topics for discussion in its pages. Don't miss this wonderful book!!

2 comments about Just Try It On: A Month-by-Month Guide to Shopping and Style.

1. Redstone's objective it to help the reader determine the best time of year to shop for key items. She breaks down the merchandising schedule by month so shoppers know when the latest looks in certain items will hit stores. In addition, Redstone gives great tips on selecting pieces to cultivate one's personal style.
   
   If you're familiar with Tim Gunn, Redstone's catch phrase ("Just Try It On") sounds a bit contrived. But this book is a great complement to Gunn's Guide because Redstone goes in-depth with certain things that Tim Gunn only mentions. For example, Tim Gunn has a chapter about accessories, but Redstone has several, discussing jewelry (including a watch wardrobe), shoes, handbags, sunglasses.
   
   Overall, highly recommended.



2. Oooh-la la! Just what shopaholics and shopophobics need to make sense of the mall madness! Industry insider Susan Redstone offers a shopping plan and fashion formula that removes the guess-work and haphazard-ness of the shopping experience--and helps us guard against our dangerous impulses that only lead to shopper's remorse. The style is fun, down-to-earth and engaging. The first purchase every gal should make for 2008 is Ms. Redstone;s "Just Try It On!"

2 comments about Men's Style: The Thinking Man's Guide to Dress.

1. Russell Smith is a Canadian writer whose work appears in The Globe and Mail, as well as the Toronto-based website, xyyz.com. In this little book, Smith provides timeless advice for selecting clothing that is both well-made and eminently stylish.
   
   For example, he walks the reader through both what to look for in finely crafted dress shirts, ties, shoes, and sportjackets, and also gives detailed advice on choosing colors, patterns, and fabrics.
   
   Though he clearly appreciates classic men's clothing, Smith departs greatly from dogmatists like Alan Flusser, reconciling the best of the "rules" with the sartorial realties of 21st century. Arguably the best of the modern style guides.



2. I read the local library's copy and just purchased a copy to keep. I read through several men's style books a couple months ago and I found this one to be the best. It covers all parts of the man's wardrobe (shoes, suits, shirts, ties, coats, etc.) and it's very well-versed on the history of men's style and where conventions of dress originated. It's not just a history lesson though, it has a lot to say about how to dress, how to look for quality, and what a man needs to build a versatile and tasteful wardrobe.

2 comments about Madame Gres: Sphinx of Fashion.

1. I read about the Madame Gres exhibit at the NY Fashion Institute of Technology in the New York Times recently. Upon finishing the lengthy article I raced over to my laptop and was excited to order this book. For those who love,crave and have to surround yourself with beautiful visual images this is the book for you. To look at the actual photographs of her original pieces along with her photographs made me feel privileged to read about this amazing woman. The thousands of folds,tucks and pleats in her garments were obviously a lifelong labor of love!



2. I only knew a little of Madame Gres and this book brought to my attention that she was one of the major designers of our era--someone who "invented" the use of draping and fabrics, unlike they had ever been used before. Not just a product of its time, Madame Gres' fashions are timeless and have influenced everything since her time. I would highly recommend this book not just for the fashion, but for the very interesting text by the author, as well, who really puts the work in context.

No comments about Brooches: Timeless Adornment.

5 comments about Shirtmaking: Developing Skills for Fine Sewing.

1. professional shirtmaking tips for everyone interested in making one that really fits. Good tips for those afraid of all those details. very comprehensive.



2. I've been sewing for over 50 years, and I learned so much from this book !! Wow! Fabrication, technique, results ... worth every penny!!!



3. This book provided detailed professional information on sewing techniques for creating tailored men's shirts. This book showed you how to alter patterns, create your own pattern OR copy one of your own shirts.
   Very infomative. Be prepared to elevate your sewing knowlegde. This book uses "plain talk". It can be read by beginning sewers and advanced sewers.
   I recommend purchasing the accomanying video for visual education.



4. If I had viewed this book prior to purchase I would not have bought it. Its got some strange designs and all I really wanted was some clear patterns etc for quality shirts.



5. I've read a lot of books on sewing techniques, some better than others, but this one "takes the cake." I thought this book was easy to read, and very well explained and illustrated. I actually felt like I could go back into the sewing room with confidence! Many of the author's directions could be applied to more garments than just shirts, so I think this is a valuable book.

5 comments about Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book.

1. I used this book w/ my Preschool classroom to use at project time or if we needed to make a Thank You card for someone - a way for them to "sign" it!
   
   This book is awesome and VERY easy to use. It would make a great gift for an early drawer.



2. This is the perfect craft activity. Cute, fun, simple. I love doing this with my children. I also love doing this with my students as I am an educator. All ages young and old love it. You can use fingerprint art for greeting cards or just making things up. This author is really wonderful. I have many of his children's books.



3. I have a 7, 5 and 3yr old. They received this book along with a kid-safe ink pad. They love it! It's easy enough for them to follow and they love how easy it is for them to create the different animals and facial expressions. It's actually taught them quite a bit.



4. These are classic books that expand imagination. How could you not love them? I especially like how they encourage kids to draw without making it *too* detail oriented. (Alot can be achieved with a few simple lines!)



5. As a child who loved to draw - but was all "thumbs" in drawing - Emberley's Thumbprintbook was an amazing gift. Suddenly, I could duplicate the art in a drawing book and then go on to create my own shapes and creations. As I got older, I moved onto his other wonderful art books (such as Red, Puple, Orange, Green), but my thumbprints always remained my favorite.

   This is a simple but enlivening art book for preschool and elementary school aged kids. I used it over 25 years ago and it is still a huge success with kids today. Don't miss it!

5 comments about The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise.

1. The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise
   By Michael Grunwald
   
   Once dismissed as a dismal swamp fit only for alligators, snakes, flamingos and Indians, the Everglades has become a battle ground in Florida's continuing tension between development and conservation.
   
   In "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise," Michael Grunwald writes a well-researched and fluently written history of America's unique ecosystem. The United States bought Florida from Spain for $5 million. A hundred years later, nearly $8 billion was proposed for a comprehensive development and restoration plan for the Everglades that has yet to be completed.
   Along the way, a cast of colorful characters influenced the story, including Henry Flagler, John D. Rockefeller's partner and the builder of the "impossible' railroad from Palm Beach to Key West; Spencer Holland, Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, and environmental secretaries from several administrations.
   There were villains: "Big Sugar" and other agricultural interests that wanted to dump (and still do) their wastes in the headwaters of the Everglades; the railroads, which consumed rights of way as political payoffs; and the "Plumers," - hunters who almost exterminated Florida's native birds so wealthy women could wear feathers in their hats. Andrew Jackson's administration fought a war of attrition against the Seminoles in what was America's first Vietnam. And there were heroes and heroines: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who started out writing public relations pieces for developers and ended up in her `nineties and beyond as "The Mother of the Everglades"; and Ernest Coe, another visionary environmentalist.
   
   The Everglades, and a proposed Jetport within it, influenced the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. It has pitted the powerful sugar industry against environmentalists, but also forged strange political alliances including that of lobbyists for U.S. Sugar and the Sierra Club. Grunwald, a political writer for the Washington Post, interviewed dozens of current and former political leaders to get an insider's picture of the wheeling, dealing, and chicanery that went into the 2000 Florida presidential election in which Al Gore, the Nobel Prize winning environmental champion, found himself on the wrong side of the environmental fence.
   
   In summary, Grunwald has done a yeoman job in compiling this important book based on extensive journalistic and historical research.
   
   -- 30 --



2. Grunwald is a captivating author. The Swamp takes time to digest because it is rich in history but it's well worth it. It's interesting to see how history repeats itself.



3. This book provides a history of south Florida since European settlement, with the emphasis on the problems of swamp drainage in the former Everglades and the struggle to preserve a small part of the ecosystem in national parks and wildlife refuges. Grunwald has done a good job of research, and unlike many journalists he reads extensively in addition to interviewing people. The book is both informative and a lively read despite its length.
   
   Grunwald's story revolves around draining lands for agriculture and for (sub)urban development in South Florida. The history of Everglades National Park, which occupies only a small part of the Everglades ecosystem, provides a secondary theme.
   
   Grunwald starts, and ends, with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan of 2000, an $8 billion project that ostensibly would save the Everglades. The CERP is ultimately supposed to increase water flows to the national park, but this comes at significant ecological cost. To obtain passage, supporters of CERP had to front-load the economic benefits while postponing the environmental benefits for five decades. The economic benefits include enough new water for six million new residents, continued sugar subsidies, and support for continued urban development.
   
   Grunwald doesn't take a position on the CERP but makes clear why it was politically feasible while more serious plans would not have been. Whether half (or a fourth) of a loaf is better than none in this case is an open question.
   
   Ironically, CERP was signed during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election. As it turns out, Al Gore was a major supporter of the bill though many environmentalists opposed it as inadequate. Those environmentalists voted for Nader instead, which swung Florida to George W. Bush. Thus, the story in this book is not just important for Florida and the Everglades but for the next eight years of American politics as well.
   
   Grunwald tells the whole story well. Highly recommended.



4. I wanted a single book that gave as complete a picture as possible of the Everglades and its history. This book was exactly what I needed. Grunwald's research seems comprehensive, and his writing gives you a very strong sense of the Glades and the people and politics that have shaped its history. Really well done. Just very impressive. Cannot recommend highly enough if you have an interest in the swamp.



5. Beautifully written in wave after wave of unlocated metaphor, THE SWAMP by Michael Grunwald evokes both today's divided Everglades while casting back a fond if wary look at the original marsh 19th century "settlers" sought to tame with the aid of then up to date marvels of engineering.
   
   The Army Corps of Engineers, under Herbert Hoover, finally got the Everglades halfway under control, but in the process of doing so, they nearly destroyed irrevocably the delicate, if rambunctious, ecosystem that made it healthy environmentally. In the span of thirty years millions of people swarmed into the recovered "Dutch-ized" landfills of southern Florida, a region larger than many European nations, and these people crucified the marsh on a cross of drought.
   
   Thanks to activists like Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who Grunwald tells us gave up sex in 1917 to concentrate on writing and direct political action, the relevant agencies of the Federal government eventually saw the widsom in reversing their pro-development policies. Today a concerted effort is being made to turn back the hands of time and get rid of some of the benighted improvements in the Everglades, letting nature take its own course. Wow, with the brouhaha over the Katrina levees and now this book, I am getting a very dim impression of the Army Corps, can't they do anything right?

1 comments about Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa.

1. The sub title, "Decoration from Africa" is literally correct but substantially misleading. This is a book of sumptuous photographs of young and beautiful inhabitants of Ethiopia's Omo valley. There are essentially no pictures of day to day life or the true context of these people's lives. This book is not about daily life, nor does it pretend to be, but by describing its content as tribal decoration from Africa it promises something authentic. However, nearly everyone here is decked out in face and body paint and draped in a salad bar of lush leaves, sensual pods and pretty flowers. Are they decorating themselves out of some tribal tradition, or for the benefit of the potographer? Travel to southern Ethiopia has become very much easier in recent years. Small groups of intrepid tourists now visit the Omo frequently where as 20 years ago such visits were rare and arduous. Published images from the 80s will show villagers less flamboyantly made up. What appears to be happening is that a fashion show for foreigners is under way, much as what happened in the Nuba Hills of Sudan after Leni Reifenstahl published her famous photo essay hald a century ago. A more accurate title for this book would have been New Fashions: Tribal Children Decorate Themselves for Hans Silvester.