Author: David Chierichetti
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
About the book…
A biography of one of Hollywood’s most well-known costume designers, Edith Head. Head worked in Hollywood from the 1930’s up until the 1970’s, designing costumes for some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
What I think…
A few years ago I read Edith Head’s Hollywood by Paddy Calistro and enjoyed it so much that I approached this book with fairly high hopes that it would be just as informative. It, however, was not. This isn’t to say it was a bad book, it just wasn’t as focused on Head and her style as much as I had hoped.
I felt that this book was more focused on giving an impression of what was going on in Hollywood, specifically in the area of costume design and those who worked in it during time Head was there. There were several interesting things I learned about the way a costume department functioned. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about some the difficulties that the costumers had with fitting certain actresses, such as Bette Davis (she wouldn’t wear a bra), and the politics behind getting a specific costumer to work on certain pictures (much like with the stars working for different studios).
One thing I liked was that there were a great deal of quotes from people working with her, so you are not just seeing her solely through the perspective of the biographer. It also provides some rather amusing stories as they recall some of the things that she did or didn’t do. The end was also much more about the author’s impression of during the time he spent with her (he was close friends with both Head and her husband), which added a nice personal touch.
There are a number of photos, including ones of her, her sketches, and the actresses wearing the costumes she designed, which I enjoyed looking at as I was reading.
To sum it all up…
Overall, an okay biography, that while not entirely focused on Edith Head, gives an interesting account of what was going on in the world of costuming when she was working in it. ♥
