Ms BerrySimple was lovely enough to lend me her copy of “The Thoughtful Dresser” by Linda Grant and I was very pleased to read it. I have read Ms Grant’s blog by the same name, but I haven’t read it from “cover-to-cover” (what would be the bloggish term for this?)
Ms Grant has a clear and chatty writing style that I find easy to read. She has thought long and hard about fashion and dressing and what it means to her and to other women. Her insights are thoughtful and provoking.
Some of my favourite quotes are below.
On the two forms of shopping. “There are two ways of shopping. One is a mission expedition, the search for the scarf with a bit of red in it to go with the linen jacket, [...] The second is [...] an exercise in pleasure and self education, just to see what is in the shops.” p79
On the trend of dressing to look sexy (rather than dressing to feel sexy). “‘All over America,’ [Simon] Doonan writes, ‘people are making kamikaze choices about what to wear. They are misrepresenting the goods. They are letting their clothes write checks that their personalities cannot cash.’” p90-91
On shoes. “Give me shoes I can walk in! I cry. And they offer me the revival of the loafer; in other words, how to make yourself look short and fat.” p218
The only flaw in the book, which is really a series of linked essays, is that an editor has not been careful enough to remove duplicated phrases and scenes. However, I enjoyed "The Thoughtful Dresser" immensely and would recommend it to all women who enjoy fashion, and to all partners, parents, siblings and friends of women who enjoy fashion. They might get a little glimpse into why fashion and clothes are so important.
All quotes from “The Thoughtful Dresser” © Linda Grant 2009. First printed as a paperback original by Virago Press 2009, Reprinted 2009.RELATED In other news 21 June 09, 31 May 09
2 chic comments:
It looks like it would make for a good summer read. Thanks!
Hey Christine, I'd certainly recommend it.
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