A Lady Of Fashion

In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion—the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs—was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.

Here is a unique window into 18th-century English life, into a privileged world of fashion, country houses, and travel as it was experienced and recorded by Barbara Johnson. 122 illustrations, 93 in color.

"Explores the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. Included are Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Sidebar subjects include: Elizabeth I, Marilyn Monroe, Rihanna, and Vivienne Westwood."--Provided by publisher.

The election of Barack Obama exhilarated the nation—and brought the most stylish, sophisticated, and fashion-conscious First Lady since Jacqueline Kennedy into the White House. A beautiful, strong, and elegant career woman, wife, and mother, Michelle Obama appreciates the importance of image—and not only recognizes the power of fashion...but truly enjoys it! Michelle Style celebrates the distinctive style of our incomparable First Lady, featuring color photographs, exclusive illustrations, and descriptions of her most iconic looks—from the sleeveless Maria Pinto purple silk crepe sheath that Michelle dazzled in the evening Barack clinched the Democratic nomination, to the ivory fairy-tale gown by Jason Wu that she wore for the historic inauguration. Including quotes from world-famous designers, stylists, and fashion insiders—and inspired advice on everything from dressing to suit your body type to shopping at Target—this one-of-a-kind volume spotlights and celebrates our remarkable twenty-first-century fashion icon.