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Nov 23, 2008

K rated it:

Oh god. This book is ridiculous and self-indulgent to be sure. But there's also something so pathetic about it. It's really just a big fashion/art coffee table book which is fine but there are these simpering insecure interviews that bother me more than the giant closeups of the simian waif faces. I actual enjoy their style and don't understand why they can't be happy being tousled layabouts and insist on their hard workingness.

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2009

Evan rated it:

My pal Melanie here got me onto this book, and I have to admit, the Olsen's oddly twisted cherubic visages kind of intrigue me, so I thought I'd go to the library and check the thing out. When I learned not one library in the city of Louisville had it, I got obsessed by the idea that I couldn't get it, and, of course, at that point had to have it, come hell or high water. It was no longer an issue of the book being something I wanted to read all that much, but the idea that it was being denied m More...

10 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2009

Madison rated it:

I actually just got this at a book signing in LA, so meeting them was quite a treat! They're so adorable in real life!

That said, this book is very eccentric, odd, eclectic, and bizarre just as I'm sure the girl's lives are. It really gives the rest of us a glimpse into what couture exclusivity these girls have access to!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 24, 2008

Dana rated it:

I anxiously awaited for this book to become available with my library request. FINALLY when it did I couldn't stop flipping through pages. The photography and editing of this book is nothing short of phenominal. I felt inspiration in my fngertips just glancing through.

.... Then I started to read. HOLY CRAP. Mary Kate and Ashley got together a bunch of people (some household names and some hugely infulential behind the scenes) and interviewed them. Well... by interview I mean converse More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2010

WORN added it

When I heard last year that the Olsen twins would be releasing a book chronicling their fashion influences, my mind immediately flashed towards the Paris Hilton-penned Confessions of an Heiress - after all, it seemed like another set of tabloid darlings were trying to add “author” to their resumés. But, to their credit, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s coffee table book, Influence, is not another collection of gaudy images depicting Chihuahuas in pink tutus. True, neither one of the Olsen twins is More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2009

Christine rated it:

After reading through reviews other people have written on Influence, it's clear that many go into this book as skeptics. It's the OLSEN TWINS, how can they actually put together something great? It's the OLSEN TWINS, how can you respect that? I mean, c'mon... it's the OLSEN TWINS. Their minds have been made up before even opening the cover.

My response? GET OVER YOURSELF. Influence is ecelctic, artsy and stylish- much like Mary Kate and Ashley. The book is nicely laid out, full of g More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2009

Juliette rated it:

I saw this at the library and was curious, so I checked it out. This book should be called "Privilege". The Olsen twins are billionaires, thanks to their sweatshop manufactured goods for Wal-Mart and their direct to DVD films.... They decided to interview rich and famous people for this book, which looks like a cross between a hard cover coffee table book and Interview magazine. They fly to Coco Chanel's old apartment in Paris to interview Karl Lagerfeld, various hotels and restaurants More...

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Feb 10, 2012

Ria rated it:

I found it to be a brilliant insight into the lives of whose interviewed. While it was an interview, the chatty feel to it made it much easier and more enjoyable to read. It made you feel as though you were there, as the scene would be set and photos are included.

You see designs of theirs [the designers in the book] everywhere- shop windows, catwalks, red carpet events, in magazines, so reading an interview which gives you so much insight into their lives is quite fascinating. The ph More...

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Feb 26, 2009

Shanaz rated it:

me love mary kate and ashley. tee hee.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, known around the world for their individual, unique style have emerged as two of our shared cultures most influential women. In the pages of Influence, Ashley and Mary-Kate take readers on a journey through their celebrated young lives, pausing to reflect on what has helped shape them into who they are today.

Influence will be filled with never-before-seen photographs from Ashley and Mary-Kates private co More...

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Oct 10, 2010

Dasily rated it:

This book is definitely more of a coffee table book, or something to browse through different sections that interest you. The book is a culmination of interviews of individuals that have influenced Mary-Kate and Ashley in their short lives--mainly celebrities of fashion. The book is part interviews part scrapbooks of images. I find Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen interesting people, and enjoyed reading interviews with famous people in fashion, but I wouldn't recommend this as a book to read cover-to More...

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Oct 13, 2010

Courtney rated it:

I have been wanting to buy this book, but I could not find it anywhere. Then one day I was looking for another book in the non-fiction section of the library when I found a copy. I grabbed it off the shelf like I was the five year old girl I used to be when I saw the Barbie I was dying for. I started instantly flipping through the pages, the pictures where beautiful and the people they interviewed where great people. Some I have never heard of and some I have been adoring for some time now.
More...

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Oct 15, 2010

Nickolette rated it:

..a fashion book for fashion people..

I like lookin' at candids of the Olsen twins probably as much as they hate being shot. They are pretty much the only celebrities I follow captivated by their artfull boho style. So romantic and decadent it makes you dream of the parallel reality those two live in. Although fully satisfying my visual greediness they leave me intellectually starving. Their interviews are boring and lack the eccentricity one would expect judging by their appearance. Fo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 23, 2009

Jamie rated it:

It's fun to peruse...but not a cover to cover, to be sure. A little self-indulgent, but it's the Olsen twins. Given their life story, I'd say they've turned out surprisingly well. Fashion is clearly their thing, and a form of art, expression and their "serious" factor. While it's easy to brush aside as another substance-lacking component, it suffices. Jackie Kennedy apparently spent 121,000 in 1961 on a wardrobe. To put that in perspective, JFK's salary as President was 100,000. More...

1 comment like

May 27, 2009

Meghan rated it:

I really loved reading this. I'm a big Olsen twin fan, so I didn't think twice about buying it. The pictures are awesome, and the interviews are pretty intriguing. The Lauren Hutton one is one of my favorites. I felt pretty inspired after reading this. I think the girls did a good job with the interviews, and it was interesting to see the celebrities from a different perspective.
I think this book is a great example of why Mary Kate and Ashley should be taken seriously. They're creative, t More...

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May 13, 2011

Lindsay rated it:

This is one of my all-time favorite coffee-table books. It is incredibly inspiring and definitely a worthwhile read, particularly for someone who is interested in pursuing a creative career. Mary-Kate and Ashley have given us access to people we would otherwise never have access to and asked all the relevant questions! It is the kind of book you can read again and again and it contains lots of pretty pictures and insights... I definitely cherish this book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2009

Melinda rated it:

I bought this because I had a gift voucher and this was the only book I really wanted to get. To be honest, I didn't expect much. But it's a pleasant surprise, considering what other kinds of books the Olsen twins were in. This is the kind of book that you can flip through again and again. The book in and of itself is quite beautiful just to look at. People who aren't interested in art and fashion need not apply.

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Jan 29, 2011

Laila rated it:

I have an 'obsession' with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I think they have impeccable style and constantly look chic but so effortlessly. The book is a set of interview between M-K and A and various designers and other influential people in the fashion industry. The book is inspirational and has great pictures in. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the Olsen sisters or Style.

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Sep 05, 2011

Emily (You Are Beautiful) rated it:

Boring, and had really nothing whatsoever to do with them other than these designers and stuff. Just an oversized book filled with their influences(none of whom I even know)and nothing interesting in my opinion. Pretty cover though. Got to give them that. Totally just flipped through it, and ended up just looking at the pictures. Bleh. Good thing I didn't buy this.

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Jan 22, 2009

Emily rated it:

There are some highlights (like the Lagerfeld interview: "How tall are you? My people told me you were four-foot-eight."), and Mary-Kate and Ashley as interviewers kind of works because people are a lot more honest with them than with actual journalists. But unless you're really into all the "inspiring" people in the book, the interviews go on a bit too long, and tend to sound much the same.

2 comments like

Dec 20, 2011

Jillian rated it:

I'm not a fan of the Olsen's but I do like Derek Blasberg (author of Classy), who wrote the foreword, and I appreciate a glam fashion read. As far as the layout and photography, it's stylish. The interviews aren't terribly exciting (I've read better interviews with most of these designers in magazines) but if you're an Olsen fan you'll enjoy it.

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Jan 27, 2009

Mathieu added it

I love this book. I found it at Urban Outfitters in the "cool books" section with Nylon guides and such and bought it at the airport as a present to my girlfriend. At UO, it was by the reissues of vintage Holga cameras. The book consists of interviews with fashion people and artists they like. The one with Karl Lagerfeld is great, among others, and there's one with Diane von Furstenberg. What's also cool is that they interview each other towards the end and it's accompanied by a s More...

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Aug 18, 2010

♥Audrey rated it:

Boring. This book is just interviews and pictures of various celebrities and fashion designers they like. It's a shame because it would have been much more interesting if Mary-Kate and Ashley would have written a book about their own lives. The few pages dedicated to themselves left me unsatisfied. The rest is fluffy photography. Nice pictures... but it is disappointing being that most people get this book to read about and look at the twins themselves, not their high society friends.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2010

Heather rated it:

Not what I thought it was going to be at all...major thumbs down. Waste of my time. It was clearly made for their sake only and the people who have had "influence" over their lives..otherwise it's just a bunch of names of people I don't have a clue who they are.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Anina rated it:

Did you know that Ashley Olsen's favorite author is Plato? Who decided that sounded believable?

The pictures that don't have any Olsen twins in them are interesting. The interviews are totally awkward but have some comedic value.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2010

Natalie rated it:

these twins are no journalists but I found it cute that they idolize people more interesting than they are. interview with Bob Colacello is especially interesting: dinner parties as cultural revolutions!

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Feb 04, 2012

Claudia rated it:

Nice coffee table book I got for Christmas featuring an interesting array of personalities that the sisters had conversations with. However, the editor wasn't overly meticulous, to put it mildly.

0 comments like

Jun 20, 2011

Deyara rated it:

Okay, would be more interesting if I were more into fashion, have only vague ideas who some of these people are, and others I've never heard of. Not what I was expecting when I ordered it.

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Nov 24, 2010

Haylee rated it:

This one is a fun coffee table book. I think the Olsens have great style, and this is all about their fashion influences, and there are tons of great photos. Love.

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Mar 13, 2009

Danielle rated it:

Surprisingly interesting. A collection of interviews with some of the greatest designers, photographers, models and artists. Learned quite a bit.

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Nov 29, 2008

Ketija rated it:

It's like a VIP pass to their creative minds. Surprisingly not even a pinch cheesy/hollywoody. Makes me want to make an inspiration book of my own.

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