Kate Betts

An award-winning fashion journalist looks back at her adventures in Paris in the 1980s, where she, fresh out of Princeton University, started an apprenticeship at Women's Wear Daily and was initiated into the high fashion world during the explosion of a new generation of talent, while finding herself falling in love and exploring a dazzling new world.

My Paris Dream

Slim Aarons

Jonathan Adler

Getty Getty Images

Shawn Waldron

Style

A visual celebration of Brooks Brothers' remarkable heritage and how its iconic clothing has been worn and revered by cultural figures, fashionable rule breakers, and pop-culture icons. Since 1818, Brooks Brothers, America's oldest clothing brand, has grown into a global sartorial institution that has influenced American style through its iconic fashions, which conjure intimate memories of pivotal life events--from your first navy blazer as a child to stepping into a bespoke suit on your wedding day. On the eve of its two-hundredth anniversary, Brooks Brothers remains synonymous with timeless style, the finest quality, and innovative designs that resonate with both old and new generations. This richly illustrated book is replete with photographs of the signature heritage pieces, from the Original Polo(R) button-down oxford, gray flannel suit, and Rep ties to the camel overcoat, and features an unparalleled roster of high-profile political and cultural icons who have worn and made these pieces their own: from Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy to Madonna, Lady Gaga, Grace Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Miles Davis, and Andy Warhol, as well as TV and film stars in Glee, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. The text comprises interviews and personal anecdotes from the retailer's loyal clientele--fashion designers, writers, and celebrities--each sharing treasured memories and connections to Brooks Brothers. This dazzling volume invites readers to delve into the world of Brooks Brothers, providing insight into the people, places, and historical moments that have shaped and provoked the innovative yet timeless American institution, and is a must for those interested in fashion and American style.

200 Years of American Style

Brooks Brothers

A charming and insightful memoir about coming of age as a fashion journalist in 1980s Paris, by former Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar editor Kate Betts, the author of Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style “You can always come back,” my mother said. “Just go.” As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college—and not without trepidation—she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style, and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay. After a series of dues-paying jobs that seemed only to reinforce her outsider status, Kate’s hard work and willingness to take on any assignment paid off: Her writing and intrepid forays into la France Profonde—true France—caught the eye of John Fairchild, the mercurial fashion arbiter and publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, the industry’s bible. Kate’s earliest assignments—investigating the mineral water preferred by high society, chasing after a costumed band of wild boar hunters through the forests of Brittany—were a rough apprenticeship, but she was rewarded for her efforts and was initiated into the elite ranks of Mr. Fairchild’s trusted few who sat beside him in the front row and at private previews in the ateliers of the gods of French fashion. From a woozy yet mesmerizing Yves Saint Laurent and the mischievous and commanding Karl Lagerfeld to the riotous, brilliant young guns who were rewriting all the rules—Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang, John Galliano—Betts gives us a view of what it was like to be an American girl, learning about herself, falling in love, and finding her tribe. Kate Betts’s captivating memoir brings to life the enchantment of France—from the nightclubs of 1980s Paris where she learned to dance Le Rock, to the lavender fields of Provence and the grand spectacle of the Cour Carrée—and magically re-creates that moment in life when a young woman discovers who she’s meant to be. Praise for My Paris Dream “[A] glittering coming-of-age tale.”—Entertainment Weekly (The Must List) “Fashion and self-examination—froth and wisdom—might seem like odd bookfellows, but Betts brings them together with winning confidence.”—The New York Times Book Review “As light and refreshing as an ice cream cone from the legendary Berthillon, My Paris Dream evokes the sights, sounds, smells and styles of 1980s Paris.”—USA Today “My Paris Dream is awesome.”—Man Repeller “What was Bett’s Paris dream? Her dream was her awakening, [which] is elegantly chronicled in these pages.”—The Daily Beast “For those who are interested in the men and women involved in haute couture, Betts’ reminiscences will be a delight.”—Kirkus Reviews “Full of slangy French, delectable food and swoon-worthy fashion.”—BookPage “An amazing story of a young woman in Paris trying to break into the fashion business.”—Sophia Amoruso, author of #GIRLBOSS “Kate Betts’s story brought me back to my own young self and the journey I made—in my case, from a small town in Illinois to New York City.”—Cindy Crawford

An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

Evaluates the First Lady's emergence as a style icon and her growing influence on a changing American understanding of etiquette and femininity, in an illustrated account that also tours the cultural contributions of previous First Ladies. 60,000 first printing.

Michelle Obama and the Power of Style

Every Day Icon

Glamorous fashions, personalities, and places captured by iconic photographer Slim Aarons Slim Aarons, at least according to the man himself, did not photograph fashion: “I didn’t do fashion. I did the people in their clothes that became the fashion.” But despite what he claimed, Aarons’s work is indelibly tied to fashion. Aarons’s incredibly influential photographs of high society and socialites being unambiguously themselves are still a source of inspiration for modern day style icons. Slim Aarons: Style showcases the photographs that both recorded and influenced the luminaries of the fashion world. This volume features early black-and-white fashion photography, as well as portraits of the fashionable elite—like Jacqueline de Ribes, C.Z. Guest, Nan Kempner, and Marisa Berenson—and those that designed the clothes, such as Oscar de la Renta, Emilio Pucci, Mary McFadden, and Lilly Pulitzer. Featuring some never-before-seen images and detailed captions written by fashion historians, Slim Aarons: Style is a collection of the photographer's most stylish work.

Slim Aarons: Style

In many ways the world has never seen a First Lady like Michelle Obama. From the precedent of her race to the singularity of her style, she has been the object of immense fascination. What she says, what she does, and not least, what she wears, is scrutinized around the world. Writing at the crossroads of politics and fashion, Kate Betts explains why Michelle Obama’s style matters, and how she has helped liberate a generation of women from the false idea that style and substance are mutually exclusive. Following the transformation of Mrs. Obama from her early days on the campaign trail to her first state dinner at the White House, Betts, a longtime fashion journalist and former editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, reminds us that while style can be expressed in what you wear, it is inextricably bound up in who you are and what you believe in. In a smart, breezy voice backed by extensive interviews and historical research, Betts shows how Michelle Obama’s bold confidence and self-possession have made her into an icon and transformed the way women see themselves, their roles, and their own style. With two hundred color photographs, original designer sketches, and historical images, Everyday Icon is not only a lavish tour of our First Lady’s style statements, but also a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of how she created her image and, more important, what that image says about American style today. Much has been written about Michelle Obama, but Kate Betts places her in a broader cultural and historical context; Everyday Icon is the definitive book on how a working mother of two became an unforgettable, global style icon.

Kate Betts

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