SHOCKING LIFE

by Elsa Schiaparelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

One of the greatest of the European dress designers writes a moving story of her creative and inwardly disturbed life. Born of Italian parents, ""Sciap"" considered herself an ugly duckling and displayed characteristic imagination by planting seeds in her nose, mouth, ears and throat to make her face beautiful with blooming flowers. Not until many years later, after a brief unhappy marriage and many journeys in the United States and Europe did she turn her restless talent to creating clothes. Her first attempt, while living in her adopted country of France, was a sweater with a bow at the neck; this attracted orders from all over the world and soon she was in business as ""Schiaparelli, Pour le Sport"". Before long whe was painting skeletons on black sweaters, fish swimming on the bellies of bathing suits, creating trouser skirts and originating the little shop, ""Boutique""; but her best customers were rich conservative women who liked her starkly simple and beautifully cut black dresses. She tells of customers from the Duchess of Windsor to Marlene Dietrich and Mae West; but mostly it is the story of a talented, unhappy woman, who admits herself more adrift since World War II (when she left New York for the countryside to lie flat on the ground to gather strength), who finds the trends today towards uniformity and supervision disturbing, but who has a residue of imagination to carry her on. Schiaparelli's life story is not ""Shocking"" (that is the name of her most famous perfume), but it is exotic; told unevenly, amateurish, it is also vivid, fresh, with the ring of honesty.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION