A Life in Frocks is about the 'divine obsession' - a woman's love for clothes. In particular, it is a personal, entertaining, joyous - and seductive - exploration on the significance of clothes, filtered through one woman's life-long sartorial infatuation. For as long as she can remember, Kelly Doust has been passionate about clothes. They are her first, and most enduring, love affair to date. Like the vast majority of women she adores the playfulness of fashion and its endless ability to transform. She loves the ritual and drama of getting dressed, assuming different identities in different outfits and exploring the many facets of personality through clothes. She buys far too many glossy magazines, puzzles over how she can spend half her life shopping, and yet still find herself standing in front of a vast rack of outfits each morning, despairing that she has nothing to wear. Over the years, clothes have comforted her, given her confidence, lured lovers, made her invisible, secured jobs, aged her and given back her youth. And yes, they have betrayed her. A beautifully illustrated mix of memoir, thoughts, fantasies and conversations with other women, A Life in Frocks is a book for those who love clothes and find fashion beguiling, fickle and fabulous. Key points: Kelly is an engaging author who has a strong following on her blog: thecraftyminx.com.au; a personal, entertaining, joyous - and seductive - exploration on the significance of clothes, filtered through one woman's life-long sartorial infatuation; lively text supported by bold line illustrations in full colour
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"An enchanting musing on a much-loved wardrobe and the emotional significance of a lifelong sartorial obsession." --"Vogue" Australia
About the Author
For the better part of a decade, Kelly Doust worked in book publishing and public relations in Sydney, Hong Kong and London, and as a freelance writer on the side. She has been a regular contributor to Vogue Magazine, writes for Australian Women's Weekly and has written for Dazed & Confused, The South China Morning Post's Lifestyle section and various other magazines and newspapers in Australia, Hong Kong and the UK. She is the author of the books The Crafty Minx and The Crafty Kid, and her short stories and poetry have been published in a number of collections.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to turn my rambling thoughts into a book."
10 April 2011
By A. Key
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Review by my 16-year-old daughter:
As a book, this shouldn't work.
Normally one would expect the life of a respected but not well-known (out of her field) blogger and fashion writer, told through the pieces of clothing she has lived through, would be suitable for a 2-page article in a magazine, nothing more. That was, in fact, how this book started, as Doust explains in the introduction. Her article in Vogue about how music influences out style sparked her desire to keep on telling the stories of clothes in her life. I can only speak for myself, but taking a journey through somebody else's purchases was actually pretty fun. This book is brilliantly written and very entertaining, with something most women can empathise with on every page. It helps that she is a well-travelled, experienced person with lots of different stories to tell, but everyone has that kind of thing to a certain extent. The real pleasure that one takes in Doust's writing is the beautiful way she describes clothes. Even when you have already made up your mind that you dislike a particular kind of garment, her gorgeous description draws you in and forces you to reconsider. I also find it easy to relate to the way she can become obsessed with a particular trend or item, and her fascination with how you can change who you are in the world's eyes through what you wear.
However, I must say that the book would not have been nearly as enjoyable if it had not been for the stunning illustrations by Zoe Sadokierski which adorn the both covers and the dust cover, plus many more beautiful drawings inside. All of them just give the stories that something extra, and it helps to have something visual to refer to when considering clothing, which is a highly visual medium after all. I love how the dust jacket has clothes on the front, then when you take it off, dozens of sets of lingerie are revealed on the actual cover!
Overall, this is a fantastic read for anyone interested in fashion or personal style and perfect for keeping as a handbag read. I would recommend it to anyone, as long as you like clothes!
As a book, this shouldn't work.
Normally one would expect the life of a respected but not well-known (out of her field) blogger and fashion writer, told through the pieces of clothing she has lived through, would be suitable for a 2-page article in a magazine, nothing more. That was, in fact, how this book started, as Doust explains in the introduction. Her article in Vogue about how music influences out style sparked her desire to keep on telling the stories of clothes in her life. I can only speak for myself, but taking a journey through somebody else's purchases was actually pretty fun. This book is brilliantly written and very entertaining, with something most women can empathise with on every page. It helps that she is a well-travelled, experienced person with lots of different stories to tell, but everyone has that kind of thing to a certain extent. The real pleasure that one takes in Doust's writing is the beautiful way she describes clothes. Even when you have already made up your mind that you dislike a particular kind of garment, her gorgeous description draws you in and forces you to reconsider. I also find it easy to relate to the way she can become obsessed with a particular trend or item, and her fascination with how you can change who you are in the world's eyes through what you wear.
However, I must say that the book would not have been nearly as enjoyable if it had not been for the stunning illustrations by Zoe Sadokierski which adorn the both covers and the dust cover, plus many more beautiful drawings inside. All of them just give the stories that something extra, and it helps to have something visual to refer to when considering clothing, which is a highly visual medium after all. I love how the dust jacket has clothes on the front, then when you take it off, dozens of sets of lingerie are revealed on the actual cover!
Overall, this is a fantastic read for anyone interested in fashion or personal style and perfect for keeping as a handbag read. I would recommend it to anyone, as long as you like clothes!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I had high hopes for this book by Kelly Doust, as like her I love clothes (despite myself) having had family in the trade and having made my own in the past (I now teach textiles). However, for me, her book failed to live up to the description of being "entertaining, joyous and seductive" somehow. Maybe this comes across more in her blog? I do agree with some of her more practical suggestions - i.e get someone to take a photo of you in a new garment rather than relying on the image in a mirror - which is a deadly inaccurate way to see yourself. I also agree with her comments about having one good handbag and how it can change the way you feel about yourself. I just wish there had been more advice like this in the book instead of pages of telling us why she choose that particular dress and where she wore it, etc. This is probably OK in a blog or when listening to a friend on the phone (but after hours, even this gets tedious, especially if its a one -way conversation!). I felt she was on the edge of making some real, insightful comments at times, about the relationships between women and their clothes, but they never really developed into anything especially meaningful, which seemed a bit of an oppotunity thrown away. I would point you in the direction of "My Mothers Wedding Dress" by Justine Picardie, which succeeds where this book doesn't. As a book it is a light read, a pleasant way to while away a few hours.
By Ponytail
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
While I think the articles/chapters were evocative and well-written, I can't help feeling that the book would have been so much better if there had been photographs included.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting
Oh how I wish I had had the presence of mind to chart my life in terms of my (hoped for) sartorial elegance. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bob's Mum
3.0 out of 5 stars
clothes and Fashion
If you are interested in clothes and fashion, then I think you will like this book.It tells of one womans journey through life with the help of clothes. Read more
Published 21 months ago by L. Cawser
3.0 out of 5 stars
Frills and froth
To begin with I found this book a rather irritating description of various outfits loved by the author and the reasons why. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mimi in London
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best excuse ever for not going to the gym
The welcome opposite of all that advice to pare your wardrobe down to a minimalist capsule, this autobiography of clothes chosen and looks achieved is fun to read and full of... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Lulu
3.0 out of 5 stars
3.5 stars - somewhere between ok and liked
This is a very pleasant book. Kelly Doust tells the story of her life, but she does so in relation to what she was wearing at key times. Read more
Published on 21 May 2011 by Nicola
3.0 out of 5 stars
Style with no substance
A Life in Frocks is a book I was really looking forward to reading. I do enjoy reading books about fashion, I love Kelly Doust's craft book and the cover attracted me. Read more
Published on 16 May 2011 by TheLibrarian
3.0 out of 5 stars
I am just not obsessed enough
The journalist Justine Picardie once wrote a slim volume about how certain outfits conjured up memories of her past, and what they meant to her. Read more
Published on 21 April 2011 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for what it is
'A Life in Frocks' is a book which I can't help but feel has an appeal to only quite a small audience. Read more
Published on 21 April 2011 by J.E.T
3.0 out of 5 stars
Frocking good book
Having read the other reviews of this book it feels as though everything has almost been said that needs to be said about this book. Read more
Published on 18 April 2011 by P. Stokes
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book to dip in and out of
I liked to dip into this book, choosing a chapter at random to read about a style, rather than read the book straight through. Read more
Published on 11 April 2011 by S. A. Broadhurst
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