tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post2280736467350040440..comments2024-03-28T20:46:22.875+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Fashion is Spinach by Elizabeth HawesClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-61099354091756653922016-10-05T20:01:05.365+01:002016-10-05T20:01:05.365+01:00Ahem. I did take it down from the shelf, and it is...Ahem. I did take it down from the shelf, and it is sitting in pole position, but haven't actually picked it up. I will, I will...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-63040538154094039022016-10-05T10:48:47.577+01:002016-10-05T10:48:47.577+01:00Stumbled across this.... and just wondered, what d...Stumbled across this.... and just wondered, what did you think of Eric Newby a second time round? Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-90239400239536890992016-05-08T12:51:28.243+01:002016-05-08T12:51:28.243+01:00Yes - enthusiasm and knowledge. There are topics t...Yes - enthusiasm and knowledge. There are topics that you think you wouldn't enjoy or have an interest in, but with the right person writing ...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-43318331153126204272016-05-08T03:15:25.352+01:002016-05-08T03:15:25.352+01:00ggary makes a good point. Any topic can be interes...ggary makes a good point. Any topic can be interesting if the author can write enthusiastically about it. Well maybe it takes a bit more than that but still. I think I would enjoy this too but have too much else to read. But I enjoyed hearing about it.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-77463564863053658442016-04-25T11:28:07.287+01:002016-04-25T11:28:07.287+01:00Exactly - expertise and good writing will get you ...Exactly - expertise and good writing will get you a long way. And on fashion - well I'm quite glad there wasn't FB and Instagram recording my every mistake when I was younger...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-32265564232795092052016-04-25T11:27:11.363+01:002016-04-25T11:27:11.363+01:00I have a copy on my shelves - I read a lot of him ...I have a copy on my shelves - I read a lot of him as a travel writer 30 years ago, and probably thought dept stores less interesting then. Nowadays I would much rather read someone's experience in a shop than travelling - I actually think it tells you more about the world. I have just taken it down to read....Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-85756505866926650902016-04-25T11:25:58.766+01:002016-04-25T11:25:58.766+01:00Thanks Daniel - as I say above, I did suspect this...Thanks Daniel - as I say above, I did suspect this wasn't going to be news to you! Sad but interesting about her life - I did guess something like that from the skimpy bio on Wikipedia. I'm sure I will re-read this book - so full of fascinating info that you don't see anywhere else, as well as its own intrinsic charm.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-35761735447890027412016-04-25T11:23:45.186+01:002016-04-25T11:23:45.186+01:00It's fabulous isn't it? There are so many ...It's fabulous isn't it? There are so many people who would love it...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-26272306965214750262016-04-24T09:54:21.175+01:002016-04-24T09:54:21.175+01:00It sounds fascinating. I've always thought tha...It sounds fascinating. I've always thought that anything can be made interesting if the author is sufficiently interested in the subject. 'Fashion' always comes across as rather pretentious and rarefied, but in the end it is a business and it does impinge on a lot of the population. I'm probably about the least fashionable person possible, but looking at some photos of my younger self that recently turned up during spring-cleaning, the world of fashion did touch my life (The flaaaaares!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83647860878274544112016-04-23T03:55:26.634+01:002016-04-23T03:55:26.634+01:00Although, like Jean Muir after her, Hawes would HA...Although, like Jean Muir after her, Hawes would HATE being called a fashion designer - she insisted that she was a clothing designer, just as Jean Muir insisted that she was a dressmaker.Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-56426132578616382402016-04-23T03:54:24.970+01:002016-04-23T03:54:24.970+01:00Speaking of fashion books - I have to STRONGLY rec...Speaking of fashion books - I have to STRONGLY recommend "Something Wholesale." This is hilarious, written by Eric Newby who was better known as a travel writer/journalist, but who, immediately post-war, dabbled in the world of fashion wholesale - and the fact that he isn't a fashionista makes the book SO BRILLIANT - it's amazing, so much detail, so much honesty, great ear for dialogue and eccentricity.Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-67459024770864024042016-04-23T03:49:19.679+01:002016-04-23T03:49:19.679+01:00You will not be surprised to learn that I love thi...You will not be surprised to learn that I love this book! I recently lucked into the sequel, "It's Still Spinach," for a mere dollar on Amazon - someone must have been napping! - but I can't really recommend it, I think Fashion is Spinach is brilliant in itself.<br /><br />Hawes is such a tragic figure at the end of the day - I have Bettina Burcn's biography of her, and it is quite heart-rending - Hawes was VERY outspoken and opinionated and high-principled, but the sad fact is that she was unfairly victimized by the Red-Baiters - they mixed her up with another Elizabeth Hawes, who was even more dangerous and high-risk, and really destroyed her post-war life and career over this misunderstanding. She ended up becoming an alcoholic and basically drank herself to death.<br /><br />I often cite her men's braces metaphor for fashion to describe the difference between clothing we want, and clothing we are forced to buy by manufacturers.<br /><br />The material about copy shops in Paris is AMAZING, a real resource on such an under-documented (unsurprisingly so) aspect of fashion. Elizabeth Hawes is definitely up there as one of my Top 10 Really Rather Interesting Fashion Designers, along with Elsa Schiaparelli.Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-70551748549283350452016-04-23T03:23:11.369+01:002016-04-23T03:23:11.369+01:00I found it for free online several months ago. Fu...I found it for free online several months ago. Funny how it never occurred to me this would be the perfect book for your blog.<br /><br />https://archive.org/details/fashionisspinach00hawerich Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-44707093600749529682016-04-22T22:48:49.186+01:002016-04-22T22:48:49.186+01:00There were copies on iTunes which were the cheapes...There were copies on iTunes which were the cheapest I saw - I presume that is just like buying a book for Kindle but I don't know. My reprint copy wasn't cheap but I don't regret it. Keep looking - I'm guessing you will LOVE it.<br /><br />Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-81160568905943846732016-04-22T22:47:17.160+01:002016-04-22T22:47:17.160+01:00Yes Margot, it could have been designed for me. An...Yes Margot, it could have been designed for me. And she does tell a good story - as well as suggesting men should wear skirts...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-63676976102661726142016-04-22T20:17:47.802+01:002016-04-22T20:17:47.802+01:00I really want to read this. I've been trying t...I really want to read this. I've been trying to track down an affordable reprint but keep failing - I should just go for a reprint and get on with it! I have read her Why Women Cry, which is fascinating. Not fashion, but the problems she saw that women would face postwar. Last-Year Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05339517973272134452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-87108246573405868402016-04-22T15:28:33.197+01:002016-04-22T15:28:33.197+01:00Oh, Moira, this is exactly the sort of book I woul...Oh, Moira, this is <i>exactly</i> the sort of book I would have recommended to you! It sounds really interesting, even for people who aren't as knowledgeable about and interested in fashion and popular taste as you are. And I do like that matter-of-fact writing style. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com