A picture book for grown up girls
Spring Fashion
Written by cjhammon in Books | Music | Art | Culture
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I’m not against books with dark themes. But I couldn’t get out of bed if I didn’t balance a book like The Bridge on the Drina with something lighter. A book that engulfs you in a few centuries of human suffering calls for some serious brain candy. I found the perfect antidote in Dreaming of Chanel: Vintage Dresses, Timeless Stories, by Charlotte Smith. (It’s the sequel to Dreaming of Dior.)
Smith’s books are about a vast collection of vintage clothes inherited in 2004 from her godmother, Doris Darnell. Darnell’s lifetime passion for dress up clothes was surpassed only by her appreciation for the women behind the dresses. By the time she died, her hobby had transformed her into an all-out fashion historian.
Although the collection itself is priceless, Darnell valued the stories behind the garments as much as the garments themselves. So much so that she didn’t bother to insure the collection. In a letter to the author, Darnell explains: “If our house burned down and we lost everything, all the stories, all the glimpses of history, would have no value without the clothing. Money could not replace what I had lost, so why insure?” She sounds like my kind of girl. Smith, an art historian by education, has carefully preserved the stories in a beautifully illustrated picture book for grown up girls.
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6 comments
Diana De Pau said:
June 29, 2012 at 10:14 pm
I googled “grownup vintage” and found you. Excellent find…pinned it to Pinterest…hope you don’t mind.
Diana De Pau said:
June 29, 2012 at 10:14 pm
I googled “grownup vintage” and found you. Excellent find…pinned it to Pinterest…hope you don’t mind.
Diana De Paul said:
June 29, 2012 at 10:16 pm
oops….left the “l” off my name in last send. But I will add….will find your book for my shelf!
cjhammon said:
June 30, 2012 at 3:50 pm
So nice of you to join the conversation here! Thanks so much for you comment, Diana!
caroline sultan said:
May 22, 2013 at 3:44 am
well i have alot of faragamo shoes like the the veara today that are fastion forward
cjhammon said:
May 22, 2013 at 8:13 am
Cool! I find that I treat mine like little works of art…they are so pretty I’m afraid to wear them–which is just WRONG! Thanks for commenting, Caroline!