From the acclaimed author of Stuffed: an intimate; richly illustrated memoir; written with charm and panache; that juxtaposes two fascinating livesmdash;the iconoclastic designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the authorrsquo;s own mothermdash;to explore how a girl fashions herself into a woman. Audrey Morgen Volk; an upper-middle-class New Yorker; was a great beauty and the polished hostess at her familyrsquo;s garment district restaurant. Elsa Schiaparellimdash;ldquo;Schiaprdquo;mdash;the haute couture designer whose creations shocked the world; blurred the line between fashion and art; and believed that everything; even a button; has the potential to delight. Audreyrsquo;s daughter Patricia read Schiaprsquo;s autobiography; Shocking Life; at a tender age; and was transformed by it. These two womenmdash;volatile; opinionated; and brilliant each in her own waymdash;offered Patricia contrasting lessons about womanhood and personal style that allowed her to plot her own course. Moving seamlessly between the Volksrsquo; Manhattan and Florida milieux and Schiaprsquo;s life in Rome and Paris (among friends such as Daliacute;; Duchamp; and Picasso); Shocked weaves Audreyrsquo;s traditional notions of domesticity with Schiaparellirsquo;s often outrageous ideas into a marvel-filled; meditation on beauty; and on being a daughter; sister; and mother; while demonstrating how a single book can change a life.
#1171507 in eBooks 2012-09-26 2012-09-26File Name: B009LO09FW
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. a refreshing breeze of humanity in a nihilistic worldBy David GreuselSolomons book was just the tonic I needed to regain my faith in the real value of the design professions. I had begun to despair that I was the only person who found the Prada posing of Rem Koolhaas and his ilk reminded me ever so much of the childrens story "The Emperors New Clothes." Solomon is apparently another like-minded soul. though his book touches on so much more than the soulless modernism that pervades the design professsion (esp. the academy and the press) today. A committed urbanist. Solomon attempts to show that a very few showoff buildings may have their place in a city. but that a city cannot be made of Frank Gehry monuments. And most especially not of imitation Frank Gehry monuments! He writes with wit. passion. and clarity. three qualities that are often in short supply in tomes by architects. Major kudos to the author. and a strong "buy" recommendation to the reader.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Saying it like it is!By A CustomerI found this book to be so refreshing. Daniel Solomon is an architect and urban designer who writes eloquently and passionately about how cities get built and the huge forces to be overcome if we are to regain civility and harmony with our environment. His writing is funny and perceptive. taking to task the pretensions of Modernist dogma and the way our profession has been taught for the last fifty years. He writes about the need for background architecture to repair the urban fabric and the idea of urbanism as a way of looking at our built environment.There are some fascinating stories about his home city of San Francisco and the fight to pull down the ugly urban freeways built during the 60s.The book is essential reading for urban designers and policy makers and all who care about cities and how they are built.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. a powerfully argued bookBy A CustomerThis author really states with such power and imagery how screwed up the modern world is. He describes the odorless gas of Modernist thinking that has affected the way we design. plan and build that is anti-human and incredibly destructive to civilized living.Great stuff. I couldnt put it down.
