What Lori Has Been Reading This Week

With school being out of session this summer, my reading has been on fire.  I've read a ton of great books in the past few months and I'm disappointed that the break is coming to an end.  But I'm hopeful that my reading will continue.

This week I started The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan.  I'm really enjoying it so far.  My favorite characters are Delphine, the French woman whose relationship is in a shambles, and Kate, the one who refuses to marry her longtime partner.  Those two characters are, thus far, the most interesting and complex.  This one has been on my radar since before it came out in 2013, so I'm very glad to finally be getting to it.

Since it's almost time for back to school, I've been thinking about clothes a lot.  I've been consulting a couple of my favorite clothing books so I can make sure I've got what I truly need.  A while back, I decided to pare down my wardrobe and also primarily focus on wearing black, white, and gray.  I can get dressed so much more quickly because I don't have to think when I get dressed.  I recently decided to add navy blue to the mix as neutrals.  In my opinion, How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas, and Lessons from Madame Chic, by Jennifer L. Scott, are two of the best (though they both cover WAY more than just what to buy).  They both cause me to focus on what I want and need to round out my closet, which makes shopping infinitely easier.  I still look at all the wares because something else might catch my eye, but I'm not in a frenzied state, buying a ton of items I really can't afford.

I've also been in an organizing mood lately.  I haven't actually done a whole lot of organizing, but I've been thinking about it.  This means that I'll probably be pulling out one of my favorite lifestyle guides, Maria Menounos's The EveryGirl's Guide to Life.  This one covers a lot of areas to be organized, like your home and your office.  I usually wind up consulting it before the start of every school year, when I'm still hopeful that my life won't be a hot mess.  I keep meaning to read The Art of Getting Things Done, but I just freeze every time I start.  Maybe I need to find a digest version.

I have a few things incoming that I'm looking forward to--Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Siracusa by Delia Ephron.  Homegoing is one that I've been hearing a lot about recently.  I've heard that the novel brings you from Africa through the antebellum South and into the Harlem Renaissance, which I think is really interesting.  I love lengthy sagas.  Americanah is one that I've bought before, but I can't remember whether I donated it or if it's still at my parents' house.  So I went ahead and ordered a new copy.  If my old copy shows up, I'll pass it along to a friend.  And Siracusa is the Book of the Month that I selected.  I know nothing about it other than what is written on the Book of the Month Club website.  I loved Nora Ephron, but have never read anything by her sister, Delia, so I want to give it a try.  I've heard that it has some mixed reviews, so we'll see.  I'm hoping to finish The Engagements by the time it arrives.

What have you been reading lately?

Julia Reviews Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

Title/Author: Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet by Tim Gunn
Publisher/Year Published:  September 2012 by Gallery Books
How I got this book: The Library
Why I read this book: I LOVE Tim Gunn's books. I love history and random facts. This book is facinating!
Rating: 4 stars

Summary via Goodreads

In the beginning there was the fig leaf... and the toga. Crinolines and ruffs. Chain mail and corsets. What do these antiquated items have to do with the oh-so-twenty-first-century skinny jeans, graphic tee, and sexy pumps you slipped into this morning? Everything! Fashion begets fashion, and life—from economics to politics, weather to warfare, practicality to the utterly impractical—is reflected in the styles of any given era, evolving into the threads you buy and wear today.

With the candidness, intelligence, and charm that made him a household name on Project Runway, Tim Gunn reveals the fascinating story behind each article of clothing dating back to ancient times, in a book that reads like a walking tour from museum to closet with Tim at your side. From Cleopatra’s crown to Helen of Troy’s sandals, from Queen Victoria’s corset to Madonna’s cone bra, Dynasty’s power suits to Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits, Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible takes you on a runway-ready journey through the highs and lows of fashion history.

Drawing from his exhaustive knowledge and intensive research to offer cutting-edge insights into modern style, Tim explains how the 1960s ruined American underwear, how Beau Brummell created the look men have worn for more than a century, why cargo capri pants are a plague on our nation, and much more. He will make you see your wardrobe in a whole new way. Prepare to be inspired as you change your thinking about the past, present, and future of fashion!

I seriously love Tim Gunn's voice as a writer... and as a person too I guess. But I digress before I've even started. I've read two of Gunn's books in the past and have enjoyed both immensely  so when I heard that there was another coming out, I immediately was on the waiting list. I was even more excited when it was about the history of clothes. How often does that topic come up? Not very, but I have pondered the history of fashion and how it evolves passingly on occasion. Especially when reading historical novels. I've often found myself thinking "Wow. How have we come from a time when women's skirts couldn't even fit through doors (hence architecture adjusted) to the jegging?" And you know, Tim Gunn has pondered the same.

Each chapter is a different article of clothing, starting with the under wear and going from there. Some are relatively brief (like the underwear chapter... pun intended) and other are quite long (like the chapter on dresses). Gunn goes into detail on how the trend started, if we have that knowledge, and how it has evolved today. The text is never too dry or too fashiony that I don't understand what is going on (trust me. I am no queen of fashion). Gunn has a great way of taking these historical and modern facts and making them endlessly enjoyable. It is easy to get caught up in the genesis of the jean!

If you like facts and historical jaunts down into places that may have never really crossed your mind, I recommend this book. I think it would make a great coffee table book! It is really easy to pick up, put down for a while, and then jump right back into!