Book-It 'o12! Book #44
The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one, two, and three just in case you're curious.) This was a secondhand find.
Title: Jacqueline Kennedy : The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum by Hamish Bowles
Details: Copyright 2001, Bulfinch Press
Synopsis (By Way of Library Journal): "Bowles's book accompanies a summer 2001 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of the same name, curated by Bowles, European editor at large of Vogue. The focus here is Jackie's famous and much emulated wardrobe. Each gown, suit, and accessory has an informational entry that includes a photograph of Jackie wearing the item. The selections highlight the first lady's savvy and sensitivity to the symbolic nature of dress. At a 1962 White House dinner for 49 Nobel Laureates, she looked like a "modern-day muse" in a "liquid, columnar dress suggestive of ancient statuary." A red wool twill Pierre Cardin suit, worn in Canada for her international debut as first lady, was "perceived as a stylish and calculated compliment to the uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." The book provides a wonderful context for the images (many never before seen) while giving readers an enjoyable look at the woman who was arguably our most elegant first lady. Essays by White House gardener and friend Rachel Mellon, historian Arthur Schlesinger, and the author capture Mrs. Kennedy's personality. Highly recommended for all libraries with an interest in Jacqueline Kennedy."
Why I Wanted to Read It: This was suggested to me by a family member since I've previously expressed an appreciation for Jacqueline Kennedy's sense of style and it is for all intents and purposes an art book.
How I Liked It: I didn't see the musuem exhibition in person and I'm willing to bet you didn't either. But this book (unlike many books of art exhibitions) does an excellent job of taking you there.
And by there, I mean into Kennedy's wardrobe and by proxy, into Kennedy herself. The book features photographs (sometimes famous) of Kennedy in each ensemble juxtapositioned with excellent and multi-faceted photographs of the garmets and accessories themselves, in museum display form. Close-ups of fabric, excentuations, and in some, never-before-seen angles of clothes that were designed to be seen (what may look like a simple dress in front has an elegant and elaborate back that is seldom seen in many photographs).
It's not all pictures, however. The accompanying text is not only informative, but carefully not overly didactic. Insights into Kennedy herself (specific cuts and colors she requested and why) are done with a deft hand; not reaching but not overstating, either.
The book is gorgeous and excellent reading for fashion enthusiasts (Kennedy was, after all, one of the most influential women of the twentieth century) as well as Kennedy buffs.
Notable: I had heard that the notorious pink dress has been on display at least once and although it does fit the criteria for this exhibition (Kennedy's fashion during her time as First Lady), it would've robbed any other exhibit of even notice, let alone consideration.
Thankfully, the dress (which Kennedy had worn on other occasions besides the last, most infamous time) does not appear in the book, which focuses generally on the President's successes and joys rather than his tragedies and missteps.
Title: Jacqueline Kennedy : The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum by Hamish Bowles
Details: Copyright 2001, Bulfinch Press
Synopsis (By Way of Library Journal): "Bowles's book accompanies a summer 2001 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of the same name, curated by Bowles, European editor at large of Vogue. The focus here is Jackie's famous and much emulated wardrobe. Each gown, suit, and accessory has an informational entry that includes a photograph of Jackie wearing the item. The selections highlight the first lady's savvy and sensitivity to the symbolic nature of dress. At a 1962 White House dinner for 49 Nobel Laureates, she looked like a "modern-day muse" in a "liquid, columnar dress suggestive of ancient statuary." A red wool twill Pierre Cardin suit, worn in Canada for her international debut as first lady, was "perceived as a stylish and calculated compliment to the uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." The book provides a wonderful context for the images (many never before seen) while giving readers an enjoyable look at the woman who was arguably our most elegant first lady. Essays by White House gardener and friend Rachel Mellon, historian Arthur Schlesinger, and the author capture Mrs. Kennedy's personality. Highly recommended for all libraries with an interest in Jacqueline Kennedy."
Why I Wanted to Read It: This was suggested to me by a family member since I've previously expressed an appreciation for Jacqueline Kennedy's sense of style and it is for all intents and purposes an art book.
How I Liked It: I didn't see the musuem exhibition in person and I'm willing to bet you didn't either. But this book (unlike many books of art exhibitions) does an excellent job of taking you there.
And by there, I mean into Kennedy's wardrobe and by proxy, into Kennedy herself. The book features photographs (sometimes famous) of Kennedy in each ensemble juxtapositioned with excellent and multi-faceted photographs of the garmets and accessories themselves, in museum display form. Close-ups of fabric, excentuations, and in some, never-before-seen angles of clothes that were designed to be seen (what may look like a simple dress in front has an elegant and elaborate back that is seldom seen in many photographs).
It's not all pictures, however. The accompanying text is not only informative, but carefully not overly didactic. Insights into Kennedy herself (specific cuts and colors she requested and why) are done with a deft hand; not reaching but not overstating, either.
The book is gorgeous and excellent reading for fashion enthusiasts (Kennedy was, after all, one of the most influential women of the twentieth century) as well as Kennedy buffs.
Notable: I had heard that the notorious pink dress has been on display at least once and although it does fit the criteria for this exhibition (Kennedy's fashion during her time as First Lady), it would've robbed any other exhibit of even notice, let alone consideration.
Thankfully, the dress (which Kennedy had worn on other occasions besides the last, most infamous time) does not appear in the book, which focuses generally on the President's successes and joys rather than his tragedies and missteps.