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Review
The past may be a foreign country where things are done differently, but so is the world of Haute Couture, a kingdom of rules and shibboleths and dangers unknown to lesser mortals. In his delightful memoir, The House of Lachasse, Peter Lewis Crown undertakes to reveal, and to guide us through, this exotic territory, where the characters of both the flamboyant, designers and the frequently demanding and often impossible clients, are all as colourful as the stuff from which those wonderful clothes were made. Ultimately, the book provides a kindly view of these shenanigans, the clue being in the sub-title, The Story of a very English Gentleman, and it is sometimes hard to understand how a man with the courteous and gentle instincts of a diffident, manorial lord, can have survived among the savage, flesh-eating beasts of this particular jungle, but it only makes the journey warmer and more satisfying. Of course, Crown is dealing here with a world which, if not quite lost, has become the demesne of a brasher, newer group, and viewed through the lense of his charming and comfortable prose it is difficult not to feel a twang of nostalgia for those imperious great ladies who made life so hard, yet so rewarding, for this particular gentleman in the London of half a century ago. Even for those who do not lament the changes that have curtailed the pleasures of those born to rule, this is a memorable account of a way of life, and a way of thinking, that always boasted plenty of real style. --Julian Fellowes
Peter Lewis-Crown s story is engagingly embroidered with anecdote. His passion illuminates the narrative... --Dame Norma Major DBE
Peter Lewis-Crown s story of his life and immensely distinguished career as a designer and creator of women s fashion is a fascinating account of his reflections, memories and beliefs about that indispensably important aspect of a lady s life. An elegantly expressed history of a Great House of Fashion. --Edward Fox
Peter Lewis-Crown s story is engagingly embroidered with anecdote. His passion illuminates the narrative... --Dame Norma Major DBE
Peter Lewis-Crown s story of his life and immensely distinguished career as a designer and creator of women s fashion is a fascinating account of his reflections, memories and beliefs about that indispensably important aspect of a lady s life. An elegantly expressed history of a Great House of Fashion. --Edward Fox
Product Description
House of Lachasse documents the past seventy years of British fashion through the life of one designer. It tells the story of Peter Lewis-Crown as his life becomes entwined with the history of one of London's leading couture houses. It is a celebration of beautiful clothes, the talented people who design and make them and the lucky people who wear them. It leaves us with the qustion where does fashion go from here? Dame Norma Major DBE. Peter Lewis-Crown shares insider stories from within the couture world. He recalls tales of high society fashion shows, confesses secrets of the fashion trade and explains what it is like to dress royalty. This book documents the end of an era of London fashion with the closing of Lachasse and the retirement of a great couture man. House of Lachasse consists of twenty chapters, each focusing on an aspect of Peter Lewis-Crown's life and its connection to fashion. Readers will learn how people kept up appearances during World War Two, experience a post-war London art school, see a couture house from the perspective of one of its employees and hear anecdotes about many well-known figures. The book includes photographs from Peter Lewis-Crown's own collection.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
Having worked (albeit very briefly) with Peter Lewis Crown at Lachasse during 71/72 before leaving to marry and reside in Switzerland, when I chanced upon his book in Amazon I simply had to read it. Once you have been exposed to the hallowed halls of Lachasse and seen how much love and creativity goes into the making of the garments you automatically become far more aware of what style and fashion really mean. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his accounts and was sad to realise they closed down, which explains why I no longer found them when I went to make a brief visit. I wish Peter all the very best in his well earned retirement. I knew he was a very hard working superior but never realised just how illustrious his life was at that time, such a soul of discretion, such a Very English Gentlemen indeed!
Format:Hardcover
I was brought up in the fashion industry and knew of the House of Lachasse all my life, so I found this book interesting but not particularly well written
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