Synopses & Reviews
Glamorous eccentrics are irresistible people. They are irreverent, occasionally impertinent, a tad mysterious, charming, often self-invented, good at applying eyeliner, and above all nonconformist. They are a fabulous confection of style, self-empowerment, and black patent sling backs. Everyone wants to be one, but how? Ubiquitous style guru Simon Doonan has the answer.
By no means a typical how-to manual, Eccentric Glamour is a mixture of cultural commentary and personal disclosure, generously seasoned with gushings of wildly dictatorial, provocative, and reckless style advice. Through cautionary tales and inspirational examples, Doonan shows how to develop your own brand of eccentric glamour -- by magnifying everything that is already unique and idiosyncratic about you.
In these comic essays, interspersed with one-on-one interviews with some of the world's most glamorous eccentrics (including Iman, Lucy Liu, Tilda Swinton, Malcolm Gladwell, and many more), Simon Doonan offers the women of America an alternative to the cheapness and tackiness that currently pass for personal style. Eccentric Glamour is intended as an antidote to the epidemic of slutty dressing and porno-chic that has taken over since the arrival of Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith (may she rest in peace). While the typical TV boobs 'n' Botox makeovers force every woman to look the same, the transformations this book strives to inspire are the very opposite. Dressing like a ho is not just bad taste but boring! In Simon Doonan's book, conformity is the only crime and dressing down the only faux pas.
Eccentric Glamour is every woman's birthright. SO SAY NO TO HO!...and yes to ECCENTRIC GLAMOUR!
Review
"Who better than Simon to write about glamour and eccentricity? He is both!!!!"
--Diane von Fürstenberg
Review
"Simon Doonan is a modern Noel Coward with a dash of Auntie Mame and Liberace thrown in for good measure!"
--Michael Kors, Project Runway
Synopsis
Celebrated style arbiter Doonan offers a tongue-in-chic guide to personal style for women who want to break out of the retail-chain doldrums. An antidote to the epidemic of slutty dressing, "Eccentric Glamour" teaches women how to create an original style. 15 b&w illustrations.
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About the Author
Simon Doonan is the bestselling author of Wacky Chicks and Confessions of a Window Dresser. In addition to his role as creative director of Barneys New York, Simon writes the "Simon Says" column for The New York Observer. He frequently contributes observations and opinions to myriad other publications and television shows. He is a regular commentator on VH1, the Trio network, and Full Frontal Fashion. He lives in New York City with his partner, Jonathan Adler, and his Norwich terrier, Liberace.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER 1
Simone de Beauvoir Was Totally Hot
Say no to ho and yes to eccentric glamour
PROFILE
Tilda Swinton
CHAPTER 2
A Small Quantity of Spit
Guarding your self-esteem, not to mention your maquillage
PROFILE
Dita Von Teese
CHAPTER 3
What the Hookers Are Wearing
The meaning of snakeskin culottes
PROFILE
Iman
CHAPTER 4
Freud's Handbag
Nobody wants an old clutch
PROFILE
Isabel Toledo
CHAPTER 5
Call Ghost Bustiers
Exorcising your vintage clothing
PROFILE
Mr. Mickey Boardman
CHAPTER 6
Aunt Sylvia's Fanny Pack
A career à la mode
PROFILE
Iris Apfel
CHAPTER 7
Looking Cher
Tempus fugit, so get used to it
PROFILE
Alexandra Jacobs
CHAPTER 8
Who Killed Joie de Vivre?
Squeeze a lemon on the cat and shout, "Sourpuss!"
PROFILE
Malcolm Gladwell
CHAPTER 9
Frenchwomen Don't Know Diddly
Vive la vulgarité!
PROFILE
Kelly Wearstler
CHAPTER 10
A Large Woman on a Small Stool
An etiquette for the twenty-first century
PROFILE
Amy Fine Collins
CHAPTER 11
A-List Celebs Don't Puke in Their Purses
Fame and the glam eccentric
PROFILE
Lynn Yaeger
CHAPTER 12
Hurl Your Arms Heavenward
A glam eccentric guide to weight loss
PROFILE
Beth Rudin DeWoody
CHAPTER 13
Soothing or Annoying
The glam eccentric guide to love
PROFILE
Lucy Liu
CHAPTER 14
Splash Your Breasts with Ice-Cold Water
Lousy advice with chilling consequences
PROFILE
Hamish Bowles
CHAPTER 15
Dressing Down Is a Crime Against Humanity
Don't hide your eccentric glamour under a bushel
POSTSCRIPT
Isabella Blow