A candid, entertaining memoir told through clothes.Tracy Peacock Tynan grew up in London in the 1950’s and 60s, privy to her parents’ glamorous parties and famous friends—Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Orson Welles. Cecil Beaton and Katharine Hepburn were her godparents. Tracy was named after Katherine Hepburn’s character, Tracy Lord, in the classic film, The Philadelphia Story. These stylish showbiz people were role models for Tracy, who became a clotheshorse at a young age. Tracy’s father, Kenneth Tynan, was a powerful theater critic and writer for the Evening Standard, The Observer, and The New Yorker. Her mother was Elaine Dundy, a successful novelist and biographer, whose works have recently been revived by The New York Review of Books. Both of Tracy’s parents, particularly her father, were known as much for what they wore as what they wrote. In the Tynans’ social circles, style was essential, and Tracy had firm ideas about her own clothing for as long as she can remember. Shopping was an art passed down through the family; though shopping trips with her mother were so traumatic that Tracy started shopping on her own when she was fourteen. When Tracy started... [Read More]

"I have rarely met someone as vivid, as alive, as vital, vivacious, irreverent, joyous, relevant, and needed as Iris. She breathes young air, thinks young thoughts, and gathers no dust. I simply adore her."--Dries van NotenA unique and lavishly illustrated collection of musings, anecdotes, and observations on all matters of life and style, infused with the singular candor, wit, and exuberance of the globally revered ninety-six-year-old fashion icon whose work has been celebrated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and by countless fans worldwide.A woman who transcends time and trends, Iris Apfel is a true original, one of the most dynamic personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design. As the cofounder with her husband, Carl Apfel, of Old World Weavers, an international textile manufacturing company that specialized in reproducing antique fabrics, her prestigious clientele has included Greta Garbo, Estee Lauder, Montgomery Clift, and Joan Rivers. She also acted as a restoration consultant and replicated fabric for the White House over nine presidential administrations. Iris’s travels worldwide and a passion for flea markets of all sorts ... [Read More]

Los Angeles, 1937. Lillian Frost has traded dreams of stardom for security as a department store salesgirl . . . until she discovers she's a suspect in the murder of her former roommate, Ruby Carroll. Party girl Ruby died wearing a gown she stole from the wardrobe department at Paramount Pictures, domain of Edith Head.Edith has yet to win the first of her eight Academy Awards; right now she's barely hanging on to her job, and a scandal is the last thing she needs. To clear Lillian's name and save Edith's career, the two women join forces. Unraveling the mystery pits them against a Hungarian princess on the lam, a hotshot director on the make, and a private investigator who's not on the level. All they have going for them are dogged determination, assists from the likes of Bob Hope and Barbara Stanwyck, and a killer sense of style. In show business, that just might be enough.The first in a series of riveting behind-the-scenes mysteries, Renee Patrick's Design for Dying is a delightful romp through Hollywood's Golden Age.

A Seattle Times Best of 2017 Book!Los Angeles, 1938. Former aspiring actress Lillian Frost is adjusting to a new life of boldfaced names as social secretary to a movie-mad millionaire. Costume designer Edith Head is running Paramount Pictures’ wardrobe department, but only until a suitable replacement comes along. The two friends again become partners thanks to an international scandal, a real-life incident in which the war clouds gathering over Europe cast a shadow on Hollywood.Lillian attended the Manhattan dinner party at which well-heeled guests insulted Adolf Hitler within earshot of a maid with Nazi sympathies. Now, secrets the maid vengefully spilled have all New York society running for cover – and two Paramount stars, Jack Benny and George Burns, facing smuggling charges.Edith also seeks Lillian’s help on a related matter. The émigré pianist in Marlene Dietrich’s budding nightclub act has vanished. Lillian reluctantly agrees to look for him. When Lillian finds him dead, Dietrich blames agents of the Reich. As Lillian and Edith unravel intrigue extending from Paramount’s Bronson Gate to FDR’s Oval Office, only one thing is certain: they’ll do it in style.The... [Read More]

Celebrating a quarter-century since its initial release, "Edith Head's Hollywood" is reissued in trade paper, complete with an expanded photo section featuring the best work of the world's most famous costume designer. As the only authorized posthumous autobiography, Edith Head's Hollywood, the twenty-fifth anniversary edition tells her remarkable story the definitive book by and about the woman whose name is synonymous with Hollywood costume design. Through six decades of Hollywood fashion, Edith Head dressed the screen's best Dietrich, Lombard, the Hepburns (Audrey and Kate), Hope and Crosby, Grace Kelly and Elvis Presley, to name a few. She won an unprecedented eight Oscars for her spectacular creations. As Bette Davis says in her Foreword, "You'll read her story the way she would have told it and, indeed, did tell it . . ."

Find your inner Grace: A modern day guide to the classic beauty and timeless style of the Hollywood starlet and real-life Princess, Grace Kelly Grace Kelly set a standard for elegance that continues to inspire women today—particularly in our Mad Men-crazed era. More than merely blessed with camera-wooing beauty, Princess Grace was also a canny decision maker who selected roles that quickly made her one of cinema’s most adored and unforgettable leading ladies. She also captured hearts on- and off-camera, including many belonging to her handsome co-stars. Though her reign as Princess of Hollywood yielded all-too-soon to her real-life role as Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly remains the timeless embodiment of refined glamour, style, and poise. Now, Gina McKinnon makes Grace Kelly’s indelible style secrets available to everyone. In What Would Grace Do?, readers will find invaluable lessons in charm and loveliness—from handling careers and cashmere to manners and men. In the style of What Would Jackie Do? and What Would Audrey Do? comes a beautifully designed book filled with lovely two-color illustrations. What Would Grace Do? inspires women everywhere to reach for those mom... [Read More]

The inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II.Between Youth and Adulthood…At age twelve, Sira Quiroga sweeps the atelier floors where her single mother works as a seamstress. At fourteen, she quietly begins her own apprenticeship. By her early twenties she has learned the ropes of the business and is engaged to a modest government clerk. But everything changes when two charismatic men burst unexpectedly into her neatly mapped-out life: an attractive salesman and the father she never knew. Between War and Peace…With the Spanish Civil War brewing in Madrid, Sira leaves her mother and her fiancé, impetuously following her handsome lover to Morocco. However, she soon finds herself abandoned, penniless, and heartbroken in an exotic land. Among the odd collection of European expatriates trapped there by the worsening political situation back on the Continent, Sira reinvents herself by turning to the one skill that can save her: her gift for creating beautiful clothes. Between Love and Duty…As England, Ge... [Read More]

Edith Head is probably the most iconic of all Hollywood costume designers. Beginning in the early 1930s until her retirement in 1977, Edith Head costumed the stars of over 500 films. With 35 Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design, she won 8—the closest to come to her record is Irene Sharaff, who garnered 15 nominations and 5 wins. Edith Head truly surpassed all of her competition. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Lucille Ball, Barbara Stanwyck, Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, and Katherine Hepburn are just a few of the female stars Head dressed, both in character and as themselves. And winning her last Oscar for The Sting in 1974 meant that her designs for male stars, explicitly Paul Newman and Robert Redford, were superb as well. Her style acumen stretched from the exotic, historical costumes she designed for Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments to the classic, timeless costumes she designed for Roman Holiday, To Catch a Thief, and Sabrina. This book is a sampling of Edith Head’s most famous work.

"An attractive and informed guide. It includes an extensively cross-referenced list of films on which leading couturiers worked, a superb collection of stills, and a brief history of costume on the screen." -- George L. George, MillimeterThis handsome book, the first comprehensive reference work on costume design in films, is a remarkable tribute to the men and women who "dress" a film. Substantially revised and updated, it not only presents a splendid record of costume designers' contributions to cinema but also those of some of the world's great couturiers.The heart of the book is an illustrated listing, arranged alphabetically by

The Celebrity 411: Spotlight on Costume Designer Patricia Field, Including Her Works on Famous Television Shows and Blockbusters Such