IN MY FASHION

by Bettina Ballard ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 1960

Bettina Ballard, the skinny young lady who in 1934 won a membership in the Vogue family because she had had the audacity to satirize the Vogue style, is today an international mentor of woman's fashion. In this autobiography of her career--which to some extent parallels Always in Vogue by Edna and Ilka Chase--she meticulously diagrams her rise from glorzed office girl to fashion editor. It is a diagram of change; the change in the world; in Vogue, and in the mind of fashion. In detailed accounts she describes the European fashion greats--Chanel, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli--not as frothy symbols of glamour, but as diligent and determined people in a context of exceedingly hard work. Nostalgically she recalls pre-war Vogue, the haven of ambitious women and of decorative ones. And then came the war. Miss Ballard served a tour of duty with the Red Cross and returned to find a changed scene. Decorativeness was not enough, nor was the European label any longer the sine qua non of elegance. America had come into its own, and with it the mass production of alluring copies which rendered haute couture- exclusivity- nearly extinct. Miss Ballard's eye is sure, she writes with an ""easy pen"", but for those who seek escape and diversion there is little here in this deliberate, honest and often repetitious account of a life spent in the energetic pursuit of a demanding and exacting career. Recommend to women with a professional interest in some aspect of fashion.

Pub Date: March 25, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION