Confessions of a Window Dresser 
asked by bones on November 15, 2006 1:47 PM
The buzz created by the hardcover of this "engaging, tart, saucy, and very frank memoir" (Liz Smith) ran from a first serial in W to an "Absolut Doonan" ad to Hollywood film rights. For twenty years Simon Doonan, the creator of the hottest window displays in the world at Barney's New York, has collaborated with the biggest names in fashion and the most notorious names in art. Whether he's making fun of blondes, sending up Sigmund Freud, or creating caricatures of celebrities, his work has been fearless and entertaining kitsch. Confessions of a Window Dresser illustrates his work in glorious full-color photographs and wickedly witty commentary on the trends and people of the fashion and entertainment world. Here's a dazzling gift of glamour, laughter, and fashion history.
Reviews
0%
0%
Not really sure how Simon Doonan managed to fail the Eleven Plus; he's (among other geniuses) a Comic Genius. Confessions of a Window Dresser has (surprisingly!) turned out to be an excellent read-aloud.
Mr. Doonan's life is awfully fascinating even without the window dressing (hehe), but if you're interested in display in general, and window dressing in particular, I recommend this book as a Must Have. The archived photos merit close study.
I received the paperback version as a gift. Sadly, it's true about the binding, so the copy i bought for my baby brother is hardcover, built to last!
Mr. Doonan's life is awfully fascinating even without the window dressing (hehe), but if you're interested in display in general, and window dressing in particular, I recommend this book as a Must Have. The archived photos merit close study.
I received the paperback version as a gift. Sadly, it's true about the binding, so the copy i bought for my baby brother is hardcover, built to last!
reviewed by jbritt on November 16, 2006 4:23 AM
0%
0%
This book is a ride for sure, an artistic roller-coaster with a nice beginning, no ending and a meandering middle. I think it would be appropriate to call this book self-absorbed and it is up to you to decide if that is what you want to read. Some of the problems I encountered: First, I really should have bought the hardcover; the [paperback] book literally fell apart in my hands. By page six, the cover was off and soon after that I was picking little bits of glue off my lap. About one third the way through the book, I gave up and tried to stay ahead of the mess by picking the glue off the binding myself. I have read hundreds of books, many of them paperbacks, and I have probably never seen a book so poorly bound; by the end of the book it started to look and feel like a newspaper! Additionally, for what is mostly a color-picture book the quality of paper used is also astonishingly low; the total lack of quality of this book is depressing. Perhaps this is what you get when you manufacture in China and don't have someone watching who speaks Chinese.
Second, I found the text of this book hard to follow. The whole thing should have been arranged better, the captions for the volumnous pictures were all ploped down in paragraph-form and the main text was constantly cut up for random, unpredictable, lengths by the pictures. On the other hand, with careful reading I thought the captions explained the pictures very well.
Third, I would have liked to learned more about his early career in London and L.A. It felt to me that the middle of the "how-I-got-to-where-I-am" story was a soft, like part o the story was missing. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
Second, I found the text of this book hard to follow. The whole thing should have been arranged better, the captions for the volumnous pictures were all ploped down in paragraph-form and the main text was constantly cut up for random, unpredictable, lengths by the pictures. On the other hand, with careful reading I thought the captions explained the pictures very well.
Third, I would have liked to learned more about his early career in London and L.A. It felt to me that the middle of the "how-I-got-to-where-I-am" story was a soft, like part o the story was missing. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
reviewed by dignified1 on November 23, 2006 1:59 AM
0%
0%
Fashion Marketing is everywhere, especially in Fashion Windows where's the retailer's most economical form of advertising; bring glamour, fun, theatre and art to the streets, while visibly expressing the store's image. Of his approach to visual merchandising, Simon Doonan brings a wealth of personal experince and insight to these window displays. The ones who are interested in Fashion Windows, Fashion Marketing and Fashion Advertising, must have this book. (P.S. I bought this book from Amazon and received it at the right time and with no harm. Thanks Amazon.com )
reviewed by ronmiller on November 28, 2006 11:25 PM