Just Jennifer

Elsa Schiaparelli by Meryle Secrest (Knopf, 2014)

Growing up in a Roman household with an academic father, a distant mother and a prettier, older sister, no one could have guessed that Elsa Schiaparelli would become a taste maker as one of the most innovative fashion designers of the early twentieth century and that her styles would be embraced especially by American women, forever changing the way they dress.  Biographer Meryle Secrest has taken the life of this woman, whose name admittedly is not as commonly known today as Chanel, and has examined and explored the many facets that inspired and drove Schiaparelli.  After making a bad marriage to a cad and a fraud, Schiaparelli found herself deported from Britain and living in Greenwich Village essentially as a single mother with a seriously ill young daughter (Gogo contracted polio at a young age).  With a lot of moxy and daring (“Dare to be different” became one of the quips she was known for) Schiaparelli began accessorizing---hats (that looked like shoes or were inspired by lamp chops), purses and gloves, and then turned to the practicalities of the time and women: dresses that wrapped on rather than went over an elaborate hairdo, and unexpected fabrics and textiles in unexpected places (otters are good swimmers so why wouldn’t their fur make an exceptional bathing suit?) and practicality, split skirts turned into wide-legged long trousers.  She was inspired to be as daring as Dali who painted a dress design for her, a dress that was instantly snapped up by the Duchess of Windsor as a honeymoon gown.  Schiaparelli’s personal life was not nearly as elegant or glamorous as her public life, rarely seeing her daughter, though all the time attending to Gogo’s corporal needs.  Schiaparelli was also under suspicion as a spy as the United States neared and entered World War II; her returned to Paris was marred by this dark cloud, but Schiaparelli was not kept down and continued to forge ahead.  This well researched, well documented biography is a must read for anyone with an interest in the popular culture or haute couture of the early twentieth century.  Elsa Schiaparelli is a fascinating woman about whom many more should know much more.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.