5 comments about French Chic: How to Dress Like a Frenchwoman.

1. Well, folks, I just got back from two weeks in Paris. Yes, the pictures in this
   book are dated. Yes, some of them are hilarious. Yes, some of them are god-awful
   ugly. But people with style can shop anywhere, or get good ideas from anywhere.
   I have to agree with the reviewers who like the book and point out that the
   though the pictures are dated, much of the advice can be applied or translated to today.
   This is the difference between someone who takes Vogue literally and those
   who read it for inspiration. It's called STYLE. Fashion is about following the trend, and style i
   is about putting your own signature on the trend, if you choose to follow it
   at all. I was charmed by the current trend in Paris.....Converse high tops on
   women and girls of all ages. I felt smug that I have been collecting them
   for years (starting in 1969 with my American Flag pair in first grade, you
   do the math....) I was thrilled that my 15 month old daughter was the only
   baby I saw in Paris with Converse high tops (she has them in red and pink)
   What does this have to do with French Chic? Well, take the "typical Left Bank
   ensemble" on page 48, swap out the jeans and sneakers for skinny Levis and
   Converse high tops, and voila! you are in Avril 2008, madamoiselle! And believe it
   or not, a lot of the pictures in French Chic are not dated. If you use the
   book for inspiration instead of taking it literally, you will be very happy
   with it. I would not, however, be willing to pay more than 15.00 for it.



2. The fashions in the book are dated. However, the advice is excellent and fun to read.
   
   Most of the tips are timeless and that is why this book is good.
   
   It is also a fashion "blast from the 80s past" portfolio.
   
   The reason I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 is because so many of the photos show women with cigarettes! I know times have changed, but there is something so utterly "uncharming" about a woman (or a man for that matter) smoking.
   
   All in all, a good book, but not as good as "Italian Chic".
   
   I got my copy for $15, so I figure it was a pretty good value.



3. i ordered this book for a good price thinking i could re-sell it if it was terrible. i was nervous that it was so dated (88) and upon first glance it was. leggings and oversized sweaters were pictured in the photographs but i decided to give the text a chance and i'm glad i did. the first few chapters were my favourites in the book and i think explained things the best. of course, you have to use your smarts to translate some things into modern times (the section on jeans, etc) but the majority of the ideas and concepts outlined are still true today. after finishing the book, i picked up a copy of french vogue, elle, and cosmopolitain and looked at the fashions for frenchwomen today and they were still utilizing the same things: plaint white t shirt, neutral colours, polo shirts, varied textures, black and white, pearls and chains, etc. i haven't read any other books on french fashion but after studying fashion and visiting france i don't know what could be much better than this book. it seems after reading it that any newer books would be too muddled with trends and not as focused on the basics.



4. Well the text IS interesting; but the suggestions are hugely out of date, which makes reading it like sifting thru a junk store box of "treasures" in search of the one jewel or two that might be in there. Maybe.
   
   I have to agree with another reviewer here, I chuckled at the Annie Hall colliding with eighties Madonna. That is EXACTLY what the photos depict. That and the couch smuggling comment. Yes, it really does look like a couch got stuck between her shoulder blades.
   
   Well photos aside, and they were bound to be dated;
   
   ---the text isn't that great. I was hoping it would have something better, something more than the current offering of french chic books have.
   
   I suggest you try to get it thru interlibrary loan FIRST before spending the 100$ plus that copies of this one will set you back on the second hand book market.
   
   It was a good book in it's day, but Leah Feldon's Dressing Rich has worn better thru time than this one in spite of being about the same publication dates.
   
   Leah's book is a true classic about classics that wear well. She too discusses minimal capsule wardrobe building to begin with and how to add, what to look for in a quality garment, and what to go cheap with and what you absolutely must spend big money on.
   
   That particular book of Leah's covers all the best points that French Chic makes without the distracting and bizarre fashion photos.
   
   For developing your own version of French Chic Anne Barone wrote Chic and Slim and it's sequels (now 3 books, --if you can't get them at Amazon, try her website) and those three have excellent tips on french chic style as well as one of the best weight loss french method that I've encountered yet,
   
   Check out Entres Nous by Debra Ollivier for a lovely light but intelligent look at the french chic mystique and how to develop it. She covers a bit about clothing, and a lot about manners and developing a bit of reserve.
   
   Frederic Fekkai's A year of Style is wonderful. In a class by itself. It is out of print, and I found that a large Canadian bookstore still had remainders for under 10$ which is terrific as long as it lasts.
   
   I wasn't impressed by The Parisian Woman's Guide to Style by Virginie Morana so do try that one before buying, by taking it out of the library first.
   
   All in all, I'd buy Anne Barone's books, along with Leah Feldon's Dressing Rich book, Frederick Fekkai's book, and Entre Nous. Maybe I'd add Mary Lou Andre's Ready to Wear, and Mme Dariaux's A Guide to Elegance and be much further ahead for less money. The Lucky Shopping Manual if there is money left over for more in the french chic fashionista line up on the bookshelf.
   
   Happy reading!



5. This book is so out of date that it is back in style again. This year, there is a return to 1980s-inspired clothing: leggings, volume over skinny, striped tops, big hair, off-the-shoulder tops, and so on. If you are young and want to recapture 1980s style, this book is for you. I concur with other readers' views that the basic concepts of French style are timeless, if you ignore the outdated pictures. It is an interesting coffee table book if you don't take fashion seriously, but don't pay $50 for it. Instead, buy "The Parisian Woman's Guide To Style," a much more contemporary book. This book is not written by an American in Paris, like Sommers. It was written in 1999 by Virginie and Veronique Morana, two French natives who own a boutique in Paris. Although 6 years old, the pictures still look current in their simplicity. The authors have managed to capture classic French elegance without looking stodgy or outdated. See my review for that book.

No comments about New Look to Now: French Haute Couture.

2 comments about The Cheap Date Guide to Style.

1. This is the best "style manual" I have ever read. It's fun, honest and unpretentious in every way. Bay Garnett, stylist for UK Vogue sets a tone that is unheard of in other cookie cutter books. Best book ever!



2. i am utterly in looooovvvveeeee with this book
   it's the best style book i've read so far
   
   BUY IT - if you love fashion & style

5 comments about Gilles Bensimon Photography: No Particular Order.

1. Great book first off all, printed on good paper and is of good size. The photographs are awesome and just what I wanted to see. Alot of fashion and editorial at a professinal level. The models are beautiful.



2. The book has a great representation of Gilles' most outstanding work throughout his career.



3. Bensimon has been my favorite photographer since the mid-1980s when my wife first got a subscription to Elle magazine. With a distinct style at a time when the magazine was trying making a name for itself, Bensimon was much of the reason the mag was successful, with his eye catching front covers, strong, bright, new style fashion photography. His use of colour, his camera anlges, his composition, the obvious fact that he liked women and all their parts, his willingness to take risks (if they all showed up for a shoot and it was raining, instead of waiting for the perfect light he would shoot in the rain and print those in the magazine, something not done before, and the shots were good); all these combined to set him ahead of the other photographers of that time. He would shoot photos with a very narrow plane of foucus so that in a tight shot the end of the model's nose and her ear are out of foucus, but the plane in between with her eyes and the expensive beautiful necklace would be in foucs. He would shoot in colour and print in black & white. He used two softlights that gave the photographs a distinct lighting look.
   But he was at this best with the use of colour and the beauty of women. The photographs of that period made an impact, sold magazines, yet he stayed in the background while lesser skilled photographers like Patrick Demarchalier sold books and pushed their name out into the public eye. Bensimon's work was the strongest of any photographer during that time period, and his fans have been waiting almost 20 years for his first book. With the size of this book the pages are actually larger than the magazine pages the photographs were originally meant for, the paper quality is very good, so the photos can really be appreciated. Unfortunately, he left out a lot of his best work.
   His most creative dynamic period mid-1980s to 1993 or so, is very poorly represented here with only 18 pages of the 220 some in the book. None of the strong colour cover shots of that time period, the very creative settings, the genius composition (the most famous of which is laying 6 or 7 models with side by side in alternating directions, each with a different bold coloured bathing suit). Only two photos of Rachel Williams, which his work with her could have filled an entire whole book. He discovered Claudia Schiffer, he worked so well with Elle McPherson they were married for a while; yet there is only one photo each of those models. Too many of the photographs are from the last 3-4 years, maybe half the book.
   The photographs are very good, the book is good, but they are not his best photographs, not the ones that make you pick up the book over and over again. The front cover says it all: When the first impression should be his bold vibrant surprising style in the manner of the type of magazine covers he was famous for, he choose an out-of-focus black and white. I hope he hurries to get out a book that covers the period of the 80s and 90s only. There is a lot of very strong work that did not get into this book that should have been here.



4. Approximately 200 hundred beautiful photos ranging from those seen on the cover of Elle to beautifully lit black and white photos. Each shot is full page in this larger than usual book.

   This book really showcases his range as a photographer. Everything from super sharp portraits to moody, slightly soft images.

   Any fan of fashion and portrait work needs to add this to their library.




5. I have followed the careers of many of the best fashion photographers in the world. Those who routinely shoot the most beautiful women in the world. Many have a signature style which is easily recognizable at a glance. Bensimon makes his women look natural, sexy and always beautiful. I am very happy to see this remarkable photographer come out with a book.. Buy it. Bensimon kicks ass.

No comments about Fabric Textures & Patterns (Agile Rabbit Editions).

4 comments about AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. Apart from the STUNNING arrangement, I was first struck by the shear QUALITY of the paper it is printed on. Not something that I am in the habit of noticing or raving about.....but the pages are THICK, HEAVY, nearly card-stock quality!
   The fashion shots are BREATHTAKING!!! There was veritable torrent of wicked cool juxtaposition on EVERY page! The background is staged by very fine, English interior design and architecture. The scenes that are staged remind me of a REALLY yummy high fashion, photo shoot or edgy rock music video. Delicate 18th century gowns, appropriately displayed on featureless white mannequins, with straggly, windswept hot pink or purple wigs. Gutter punk, hard core, street freaks with mowhawks made out of cigarettes, barbed wire, tampons, newspaper or severed barbie doll legs....posed out in a proper looking gentlemans' room. Complete with white mannequin dog wearing torn black fishnets. Couture designer representations of period fashion, paired with wigs that would give Detroit Motor City's "Hair Wars" a run for it's money. A poignant scene with a plaid clad punk, a skulls jaw the only visible thing on his face, dying in a gothic bed. A woman at his side wearing a skinny black dress and a silver 3-D spinal cord and rib cage. And a nursemaid in prim black and gray, civil war era fashion attending to the right of his deathbed.....
   A FEAST for the artistic senses! This would have been a FANTABULOUS exhibit to visit! I'm just glad I get to own the book as a consolation prize!
   The only downside, was the lack of page to page description of what is featured in each picture. There seems to be an index of descriptions in the back, but it's a bit hard to follow. Or my attention span keeps getting too distracted with looking back and forth, from description to picture plate.



2. Since I saw the Anglomania show at the Met last spring, I anxiously awaited the publication of this book! It gives a good overview explaining the role of the fashions shown in the exhibit and is filled with photographs highlighting some of the most interesting aspects of the designers' work. I really enjoyed being able to see some of the accessories in greater detail than was possible in person. One caveat is that the photos are a bit dark, as would be expected to those who viewed the works in the dim gallery spaces, perhaps setting a somber tone to a show that was full of life. I really wish that Anglomania would have been available during the run of the exhibit!



3. If you were lucky enough to see this show you know what a wonderful, edgy but beautiful exhibit it was. I was so happy there would be a book and anticipated it for many many months. I know that no book can recreate the actual expereince of being there so just having the visual representations in the photographs, which by the way I found to be very good, it looked just the way it looked when you were there more or less. Of course I felt there could have been more, but it does cover the entire exhibit. The quality if the book is great. I love the cover and under the dust jacket is nice too. Very glad I purchased this after waiting so long after the show. If you loved AngloMania, or just fashion and costume you need this book.



4. This was one of the most beautiful and innovative special exhibitions I have ever seen at the Met in the 25 years I've been going there. I bought the book on Amazon, sight unseen, because it was published after the show closed. What a shame - the book doesn't approach the quality of the show, simply because the Met obviously did not hire a photographer up to this level of aesthetic. It is not a book of photography depicting the show so much as a _catlogue_ of the show, a reference book using technically able but sterile lighting. Oddly too harsh and too flat at the same time. Disappointing.

No comments about Life in Color: The Visual Therapy Guide to the Perfect Palette--For Your Clothes....

5 comments about Exposure.

1. It's difficult to describe why Bruno Bisang's images are so exciting when many similar books are dull and repetitious. I suspect that the photographer has a really deep sensual appreciation of beautiful women, and the results show on every page.



2. I like this book because you can see really nice shots, technically and artistically marvellous, but you can see others in wich you just see a really pretty girl.
   
   I think is a book of nude and glamour photography, and I prefer just the nude. If someone likes glamour pictures, this is his book



3. ...haven't seen a good book like this for long long time..!! As a freelance photographer, I'm truly impressed by Bruno's artworks, whatever from light setting to posing or from color to techniques, I am so impressed. However, I have fewer opportunities to take pics of nude models. Personally, I really like those B&W pics on this book and you won't be disappointed with it at book..!! Well, sorry I want to know when the second book comes out coz' I am looking forward to it..!!



4. This is my first Bisang Book, and I must say that I'm definitely impressed. I would recommend for anyone's collection who is looking for tasteful nude photography that can be left on your coffee table and not be ashamed for anyone to look through...



5. I've got an entire shelf of books on nude photography, but this is certainly one of the best. No "average people are beautiful too" here -- all the models are gorgeous and well developed. The pics are in both color and black & white, and usually take up the full page. Heavy paper, large size, tasteful clear photos, and gorgeous women. Fantastic.

No comments about Red Carpet: 21 Years of Fame and Fashion, Updated Edition.

5 comments about Girl Scout Collectors' Guide: A History of Uniforms, Insignia, Publications, And Memorabilia.

1. Excellent source book for anyone researching Girl Scout information and history. Fun to just "dip into" and remember the wholesome fun of being a Brownie or Girl Scout.



2. interesting book. i found most of the items i was searching for in the book.



3. Long awaited update on 1st edition. I could find very few inaccuracies



4. Please check this book out at a library or local Girl Scout Council before buying! I was disappointed because I have been searching for quite some time for information regarding four Brownie badges that I earned in the 1970s, but can't remember what they were for or how I earned them. Although this book seems well-researched and is full of interesting and little-known facts, the information I seek was not included in this book or its predecessor. Since these badges were earned within the last 35 years, I was disappointed to find no mention of them, especially when the book includes such a wealth of information regarding previous decades.



5. This is an amazing collection of information on all things about the girl scouting organization with information of program, evolution of girl scouting, uniforms, badges, age level and has information on other items used by girl scouts . I have found it very helpful in compliling my collection, which is available at www.sparklesgarden.com/patchtrading.html
   Thank you.