- Paperback: 210 pages
- Publisher: Scribner Book Company; 1 edition (20 April 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1439158819
- ISBN-13: 978-1439158814
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.2 x 1.7 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,261,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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17 reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Fashion and Nourishment
21 April 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda Grant explores both the dark side and the light side of clothing and fashion. In many ways she makes the point that the attraction of fashion and beautiful clothing is not rational, but is based on pleasure. She says: "... we do not choose to eat, say, a chocolate eclair, with the aim of fulfilling our daily calorie quota." Grant compares the pleasures of food and clothing, and various attacks on those who enjoy them:
"We fall victim to a cake because it is delicious. Interestingly the angry rages against unnecessary clothes are seldom replicated in moral campaigns against flambeed cherries or steak au poivre. No one pickets restaurants or rails against the conspicuous waste of unnecessary calories in a three-course meal.... It is pointless fashion, not pointless cuisine, that gets the moralists's goat, and you would have to be pretty dim not to sniff the stench of misogyny that surrounds their outrage." (p. 99)
Do you think you have no interest in clothing and fashion? Linda Grant will show you that there is much more involved than you might guess. All people wear clothes almost every moment of their lives, and make some type of choices of what those clothes are. Clothes, she demonstrates, are never without meaning. She describes how the victims of some of the twentieth century's most horrifying outrages managed their pain by enjoying the beauty of well-made clothing: we can't have depths, she points out, without surfaces. One subject of the book is a woman named Catherine Hill, who survived Auschwitz and became a leader in bringing European high-level fashion to Canada. The depths and surfaces of this woman provide insights into what Grant is saying about the meaning of clothing.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the author's mother, who loved shopping and good clothing. It contrasted so much with my memories of my own mother, who hated shopping and would gladly wear hand-me-downs if she could avoid going to a department store to buy something new. Grant's interest in owning designer clothing and shoes contrasts enormously to my approach. I sit here wearing L.L.Bean jeans, sweater, and turtleneck; Birkenstocks, and cheap socks from Target. I never wear high heels and never have. She wouldn't approve of me at all. But I approve of her: she offers a view of what makes so many people what they are.
"We fall victim to a cake because it is delicious. Interestingly the angry rages against unnecessary clothes are seldom replicated in moral campaigns against flambeed cherries or steak au poivre. No one pickets restaurants or rails against the conspicuous waste of unnecessary calories in a three-course meal.... It is pointless fashion, not pointless cuisine, that gets the moralists's goat, and you would have to be pretty dim not to sniff the stench of misogyny that surrounds their outrage." (p. 99)
Do you think you have no interest in clothing and fashion? Linda Grant will show you that there is much more involved than you might guess. All people wear clothes almost every moment of their lives, and make some type of choices of what those clothes are. Clothes, she demonstrates, are never without meaning. She describes how the victims of some of the twentieth century's most horrifying outrages managed their pain by enjoying the beauty of well-made clothing: we can't have depths, she points out, without surfaces. One subject of the book is a woman named Catherine Hill, who survived Auschwitz and became a leader in bringing European high-level fashion to Canada. The depths and surfaces of this woman provide insights into what Grant is saying about the meaning of clothing.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the author's mother, who loved shopping and good clothing. It contrasted so much with my memories of my own mother, who hated shopping and would gladly wear hand-me-downs if she could avoid going to a department store to buy something new. Grant's interest in owning designer clothing and shoes contrasts enormously to my approach. I sit here wearing L.L.Bean jeans, sweater, and turtleneck; Birkenstocks, and cheap socks from Target. I never wear high heels and never have. She wouldn't approve of me at all. But I approve of her: she offers a view of what makes so many people what they are.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Do clothes matter?
18 Jun 2010
Format:Paperback
After I finished the book, I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I do enjoy reading fashion blogs and I enjoy thinking about how clothes make a person feel and how they can drastically change how other perceive you. However, I didn't really get too much of what I wanted from the book.
Grant's book seems to come out of her blog by the same name. I suppose that when I first saw the book I imagined that it would read something like a fashion blog. Perhaps a deconstruction of why certain clothes create different auras and the history of clothes. Instead, we get an interesting history of an Auschwitz survivor who goes on to become a professional shopper and various tidbits of Grant's own personal life.
Much of it felt a bit boring to me, maybe because I was expecting something else from the book. It's not a book that I would pick up again, but it was nice for the one read-through. I did learn a few new things--I love shoes, but Grant loves handbags. One of her mantras (from her mom) is that a good handbag makes an outfit. I don't necessarily agree; I'm one of those people with the same bag all the time (in a boring black, as she points out). If you are interested in reading about Grant's life--it reads a bit like a memoir with clothes as the structure--then pick up this book. Otherwise, move on.
Grant's book seems to come out of her blog by the same name. I suppose that when I first saw the book I imagined that it would read something like a fashion blog. Perhaps a deconstruction of why certain clothes create different auras and the history of clothes. Instead, we get an interesting history of an Auschwitz survivor who goes on to become a professional shopper and various tidbits of Grant's own personal life.
Much of it felt a bit boring to me, maybe because I was expecting something else from the book. It's not a book that I would pick up again, but it was nice for the one read-through. I did learn a few new things--I love shoes, but Grant loves handbags. One of her mantras (from her mom) is that a good handbag makes an outfit. I don't necessarily agree; I'm one of those people with the same bag all the time (in a boring black, as she points out). If you are interested in reading about Grant's life--it reads a bit like a memoir with clothes as the structure--then pick up this book. Otherwise, move on.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
It's not just about the clothes
25 April 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am a member of the blog by the same name so some of the book reminded me of past conversations. What surprised me was though this is non-fiction I felt the same way I do with a good work of fiction - I couldn't put it down.
Maybe it is our similar backrounds (Eastern European, mothers with dementia) or similar ages (middle), but I was able to put myself in some of the scenarios. I too, am starting to shop like a grownup and last week I bought the most
expensive and beautiful jacket I have ever owned, knowing that it will still look good in ten years.
I liked her sections on Catherine Hill and Emily Tinne.
The key word in the title is "Thoughtful".
I highly recommend it.
Maybe it is our similar backrounds (Eastern European, mothers with dementia) or similar ages (middle), but I was able to put myself in some of the scenarios. I too, am starting to shop like a grownup and last week I bought the most
expensive and beautiful jacket I have ever owned, knowing that it will still look good in ten years.
I liked her sections on Catherine Hill and Emily Tinne.
The key word in the title is "Thoughtful".
I highly recommend it.
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