Allure Book

I have always been obsessed with Diana Vreeland, ever since I was a little girl, and read my mother's "Vogue" magazines back in the 1960's when Vreeland was the editor. Then, when I became a Fashion Merchandising major, at CSULA, with more style than money I again turned to her issues in the school's periodical archives for tips on how to wear my predominately vintage wardrobe. Back then, in the early to late 1980's, you could go to a thrift store and find the 1950's and 1960's clothes I liked, for a song. With Vreeland's help I was able to create my own style that set me apart but also allowed me to always be appropriately attired for work, school and social occasions.
When I read about her book "Allure", co-created with Christopher Hemphill and with a foreword written by one of my favorite American designers Marc Jacobs, I wasn't sure what to expect. Was it going to be a 1960's throwback with pithy, but humorous, quotes by Mrs. V. or was it going to be an inane picture book I'd read in a day? I'm happy to say it was neither totally nostalgic or shallow, instead it was an insightful, utterly personal look into the creative mind of a groundbreaking fashion icon.
Arranged in an order where the images and text flowed in a seamless and dramatic way, the black and white photos taken by Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Deborah Turbeville, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Baron De Meyer, Sir Cecil Beaton, Horst P. Horst, George Hoyningen-Huene, Louise Dahl-Wolfe and others reflected the singular style of Diana Vreeland regardless if they were taken in 1910 or 1977.
Through her selections I again became a student of fashion and photography and appreciated how the strict, linear 1936 photo of Mrs. Ernest Simpson by Man Ray "made her look like a painting by Titian" and how Deborah Turbeville's 1977 photo of "A Givenchy Dress" resembles Edward Steichen's 1926 photo of "Duchesse de Gremont". She reminded me, in "Allure", that while style is fluid and "elegance might be about refusal" the individual quest for self-expression is what dressing well is all about.