Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
D.V.
As fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue, Diana Vreeland-and her passion, charm, insouciance, and genius for style--energized and inspired the fashion world for fifty years. In this glittering autobiography she takes us around the world with her, revealing her obsession with fashion high and low--pink plastic poodles, for example--and dropping time...more
Paperback, 216 pages
Published
May 8th 2003
by Da Capo Press
(first published 1984)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,047)
this was certainly...well, interesting.
diana vreeland was obviously a one-of-a-kind character, and possessed some whimsical brilliance. however, her privileges offered her an almost maddening sense of obliviousness to the world around her.
example? her comments on WWII were more about how she refuses to talk about politics and about how devastated she was that she couldn't visit paris for five years. there is no acknowledgement of the horrors of the time, nor the lives lost.
while i find the pe...more
diana vreeland was obviously a one-of-a-kind character, and possessed some whimsical brilliance. however, her privileges offered her an almost maddening sense of obliviousness to the world around her.
example? her comments on WWII were more about how she refuses to talk about politics and about how devastated she was that she couldn't visit paris for five years. there is no acknowledgement of the horrors of the time, nor the lives lost.
while i find the pe...more
The editor of vogue during the 1950s and 1960s was influential and worldly. She doesn't come off that way in this rambling memoir. There's a lot of name dropping. It's also a bit frustrating that she lived during some great historical moments and has a very superficial grasp of her eras. It's like reading the memoir of Bertie Wooster or a character from Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies. Her old-fashioned ideas on women and race made for some uncomfortable reading.
Reading Vreeland’s autobiography is like chasing a butterfly – enchanting, delightful, and sometimes exasperating. The former fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar and editor in chief of Vogue dances from tale to tale with little organization, amusing readers with endless celebrity encounters, dramatic adventures (involving murder, zebras, and fistfights), and emphatic opinions on matters of style. In D.V., Vreeland is more interested in entertaining than she is with providing deep thought or even a...more
Feb 13, 2010
Joan
added it
I really adored this book. It's not written. Instead, it's rather obvious that the editors, George Plimpton and Christopher Hemphill, just sat down with Mrs. Vreeland and let her talk, and then pretty much transcribed the conversation as it had happened. And, boy, can she talk! A mile a minute is a conservative estimate. You zip through this book because you find yourself reading it as quickly as it was said. And it's full of italics! Vreeland's excitement and enthusiasm for whatever it is she's...more
This book is quite gloriously ridiculous! I discovered it happily and completely by accident while looking for something else entirely in my university's library (I went to fashion school) and decided to pick it up along with my course books for some light reading.
And light reading it turned out to be: this book is completely an wonderfully shallow, full of stories about parties, scandals, lovers, artists, travel, colleagues, the competition and, of course!, clothes. It's written entirely by (we...more
And light reading it turned out to be: this book is completely an wonderfully shallow, full of stories about parties, scandals, lovers, artists, travel, colleagues, the competition and, of course!, clothes. It's written entirely by (we...more
Thank you Kate Betts for recommending this book in THE WEEK magazine. I *loved* it. Diana was a fabulous, fascinating, incomprable woman. But this book is much more than her acheievments, it's a walk through her life in Paris, London, Budapest, New York, etc and a view of a certain time and place through her eyes. Her breathless narration is captivating -- probably why she was so successful in magazines? -- and I found myself reading passages over and over again because her opinions are as profo...more
Sep 15, 2012
Jecka Marie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fashion-history-good,
historical-bios
The fashion world might never again have such a quirky and original treasure as Diana Vreeland. Not only is this woman a legend in the field of fashion publishing (working at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar during both magazines' heyday), but she is also responsible for a dozen fashion exhibitions at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As Mary Louise Wilson notes in her foreward to this edition, Vreeland had the fortune of living through almost every decade of the twentieth centur...more
I was so excited to read this autobiography since she was a legend in the fashion world and the personal inspiration behind the fashion company I'm currently working for. I stopped reading at about page 50 when it dawned on me that Diana Vreeland was the Paris Hilton of her time. She was a spoiled, pampered, uneducated woman (she never went to high school) who enjoyed shocking people, and had an overly high opinion of her own sparkle. She became famous and powerful purely on the basis of her mon...more
I saw the documentary on Diana Vreeland and was captivated. She was brilliant, visionary, original and iconic in the world of fashion and the life as well. See the documentary - D.V. The Eye Has to Travel if you get a chance.
This book could not be more charmant! It reads as though Diana is speaking directly to you, and I suspect it was transcribed from conversations with a friend/relative (though I haven't looked it up to confirm yet). It is also written with her inflections, which makes it so easy to "hear" her voice.
Mrs. Vreeland was just the so fabulous! Though I am sure many of her stories were embellished, it is for the sake of a good story and therefore completely allowable, as Diana would say. On one page sh...more
Mrs. Vreeland was just the so fabulous! Though I am sure many of her stories were embellished, it is for the sake of a good story and therefore completely allowable, as Diana would say. On one page sh...more
Diana Vreeland's autobiography is better than the recent spate of biographies about her - even if she didn't write it her self. I read a copy in her friend's castle, lying on the horsehair bed Mrs V allegedly used when she visited.
Addicted to red, Mrs Vreeland rouged even her ears and 'gave them what they never knew they wanted'.
For a review of the Eye has to Travel documentary, made about 100 years after her death using old footage, she Vivien Lash's Shallow not Stupid.
http://www.hintmag.com/...more
Addicted to red, Mrs Vreeland rouged even her ears and 'gave them what they never knew they wanted'.
For a review of the Eye has to Travel documentary, made about 100 years after her death using old footage, she Vivien Lash's Shallow not Stupid.
http://www.hintmag.com/...more
I'd been recommended this book before but only just now got around to reading it since I saw the trailer for "The Eye Has To Travel." I liked "The September Issue" and I planned on seeing this one since I actually like fashion documentaries.
I wanted to rate this book higher, but I just couldn't do it. I read an edition from 1984 and it seemed like in later editions there were some additions to the text. I can see that.
On to the book: It was a slow start on this one. There's no doubt that Diana V...more
I wanted to rate this book higher, but I just couldn't do it. I read an edition from 1984 and it seemed like in later editions there were some additions to the text. I can see that.
On to the book: It was a slow start on this one. There's no doubt that Diana V...more
Eccentric kook and former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland makes devil-in-Prada Anna Wintour seem like the boring girl next door. Vreeland is a great storyteller, and the book is filled with glamour and exoticism, though the vapidity of it can begin to wear you down after a while (her completely naive, self-centered account of WWII was rather shocking, for instance). Still an enjoyable read, if only for such priceless--and sometimes ridiculous--bon mots as "Lettuce is divine, although I'm not...more
To begin, Rachel and I went to see a bio-documentary on Diana Vreeland at the CIA Cinematheque on Sunday, January 13. It was very interesting, entertaining. They used her interviews recorded by George Plimpton for her autobiography that he was editing back in the 80s. Well, Rachel went home and found the exact book she had purchased at the half-price book store. It is this book DV. It was great hearing her speak because it is what the book was based on! I could hear her voice speaking the words...more
Diana Vreeland was a ground-breaking, eccentric tastemaker. I saw the documentary first (Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel), and I think it added enormously to being able to understand what the hell she's talking about most of the time. Otherwise, I think the book would have been much more confusing, as it's pretty much a collection of ramblings. She gives herself an awful lot of credit for all sorts of things, many of which may be true, but it's certainly clear that she's prone to exaggerat...more
What did I learn from the books? Among other things, that Diana Vreeland basically gave Revson the formula for quick-drying nail polish, that the Duke of Windsor and Coco Chanel were quite fond of one another, which hotel the entire Spanish royal family stayed in as they fled Europe, that DV introduced the thong sandal to America, that it is nearly impossible to find the perfect shade of red. In other words, not much of import, and yet this book was quite entertaining.
Diana Vreeland has such a wonderful voice and is so amusing. One of the cover blurbs says "D.V. is a champagne party" and that's completely true of my experience of reading it. It's very conversational in tone. Really, her turns of phrase are the reason to read this book. Sure, she may not be telling the utmost truth about her life - and she admits that - but even so she's clearly had an extraordinary one. I particularly loved chapter sixteen where she talks about her love of color.
I read this a long time ago, but remember being entranced by her life and her effortless way of dropping just the right name. She must have been something else to work for, but the experience would have outweighed the attitude. I always remember her when I look at the bottom of my shoes - her shoe soles were polished perfectly, always, pristine . . . mine are . . . well shoe soles and well worn from doing the everyday. I also loved her adoration of the color red and imprinted in my memory is the...more
I reread this short book every few years & always get enthusiastic about life's possibilities! I have bought several copies over the years on different continents but continue to pass them on, so there's always a reason to buy it again when I next find it. Thoroughly recommend it for a 'shot in the arm'.
I picked up this book because I had seen "The Eye Has to Travel" - a documentary on her life and career. I absolutely LOVED it. I thought I'd pick this book up to get more insight on her life. And you know what? I think in one of those rare instances, the movie was better than the book.* The movie was able to capture her spirit and since she's in fashion, it was visually stimulating. I will say that the book made me smile because I could hear her voice as I read her words, but something was miss...more
Amazing book!! Amazing woman!! Full of delicious quotes and name dropping. Very "dishy", you know, giving the scoop on all sorts of famous-name people. I bought this as a gift for some one I knew would love it, and of course had to read it before giving away.
Reads like a conversation. It is a conversation. I loved it- completely- and read it in about 2 days. People who say it is superficial don't get it. She lived a BEAUTIFUL life- was brilliant- and completely understood the art of living well.
I loved this book. It was pure white trash. LOTS of helpful hints, for instance, you can rinse your blonde child's hair with leftover champagne. Who the hell ever has leftover champagne?
This is a great book to read in the can. It's totally ridiculous.
This is a great book to read in the can. It's totally ridiculous.
I expected so much more. I mean, this is written in D.V.'s own words. This is a woman who was fashion's #1 maven for decades. By her own hand she is vapid and not especially interesting. For that reason alone, stay away from this book.
I was hoping for more of an account of Mrs. Vreeland's work life and instead it was an "as told to" collection of incidents of her past. It was an interesting picture of what life was like in the early 20th century, but not enough information about her career.
A must read for anyone hoping to develop any sense of style. I have to read it every few years jut to recharge. Diana Vreeland is living proof that one need not be pretty in order to be Glamourous.
How could you not get a kick out of the legendary DV? I love her zest for life, her curiosity, her antidotes & contradictions. This is an essential book for anyone interested in fashion & style.
Today the idea of identity creation is more prevalent than ever and this book really highlights its beginnings during the 60s -- a time filled with extravagant personalities.
Fun, frothy. Not much new here. All of her famous quotes are in it. You can definitely hear her voice, but not necessarily the truth.
Who doesn't want to know what a kabuki make-wearing Vogue editor was thinking as she set the style for decades. Lots of fun to read.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman and British father Frederick Young Dalziel. Hoffman was a descendant of George Washington's brother a...more
More about Diana Vreeland...
Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman and British father Frederick Young Dalziel. Hoffman was a descendant of George Washington's brother a...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
19 de Jul 23:11