A good introduction to issues within the fashion industry, but activist readers might need some encouragement to pick it up.
Not all activism starts with fundraising or marching. You can begin in small ways, like with your clothes.
Beginning with her story about making a prom dress from her math homework and then donating her prom-dress funds to charity (not as original as it sounds, as a simple Google search reveals), white author Paisley leads teens toward an activist approach to their clothing. Starting with the how and the who of clothing manufacturing, she asks readers to think about the impact of the clothes they wear on the environment and on the people who make them under exhausting conditions. Ethical clothing brands and stores are highlighted, with a Canadian slant. (Both author and publisher are Canadian.) After discussions of methods to reduce, reuse, and recycle, the latter third of the book focuses on the bigger picture, such as understanding messages in fashion and providing examples of how teens can speak out. Peppered with photos and “pop quiz” sidebars to inspire further thought, this slim volume gallops through fashion activism. Discussion of diversity and gender roles in fashion is a welcome inclusion in addition to this book’s solid information. Unfortunately, the glossy slickness of the presentation might keep this book out of the hands of those who might be interested.
A good introduction to issues within the fashion industry, but activist readers might need some encouragement to pick it up. (glossary, resources) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1306-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For a guide to fashion, there's not much flair here. But there's plenty of valuable info for budding fashionistas and...
A matter-of-fact tone removes the mystery from style in this work that is one-part fashion manual and one-part career guide.
Flaherty begins by explaining what a stylist is and the tools he or she uses. She moves on to a wide range of different looks like Socialite, Tomboy and Hipster; fashion elements like color and prints; and a thorough understanding of body type. While the number of fashion personalities is impressive, not one is male, a confusing omission given that boys wear clothes, too. The section on body types is very useful with its real-world examples, Naomi Campbell representing the Inverted Triangle type. The second half is more practical, focusing on "curating" a closet, building a wardrobe, styling oneself and others, and styling as a career. Sprinkled throughout the text are activities like a fashion-movie night and organizing a clothing swap. The illustrations are attractive, yet it's too bad there isn't a greater variety of body types represented.
For a guide to fashion, there's not much flair here. But there's plenty of valuable info for budding fashionistas and stylists, going beyond the shallow glitz of fashion magazines and blogs. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9827322-4-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
Considerably more edgy satire than Happily Ever After here; a bracing take for teens.
From Puss in Boots’ swaggering descendant “Puss-in-Trainers” to the titular break-and-enter artist caught on security cameras, Agard lays urban-inflected modern twists on 29 folkloric characters.
Written in rhyme or free verse with hip-hop cadences, the poems are nearly all in first person and range in tone from funny or acid (“Bring on your shining armour, dude. / I’ll be your damsel in distress with attitude”), to dark, even threatening. Many offer fresh approaches to the familiar, such as quick portraits of Cinderella in biker leathers and Iron Jack as an emotionally vulnerable Gulf War vet. An apple and a magic mirror provide unusual points of view about their assigned roles, as do “Two Ugly Sisters” who defiantly declare that they “won’t be face-down in no make-up kit / We give the thumbs-up to hair in the armpit,” but end with a sobering “Never mind the eye, we enchant the ear / From our ugly mouths come song, come prayer.” The poems are printed in a variety of typefaces, and Kitamura’s heavily inked black-and-white cartoons or silhouettes likewise change looks while adding appropriately dark, angular, energetic visual notes.
Considerably more edgy satire than Happily Ever After here; a bracing take for teens. (Poetry. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84780-183-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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