Wacky Chicks
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Graphic Design
Wacky Chicks Details
Review "My favorite fresh new writer of the year award goes to Simon Doonan...the most brash and brilliant thing in type." -- Liz Smith"[Doonan is] a postfeminist writer cloaked in the drag of a sly fashion insider." -- The New York Times"Simon Doonan is not just a brilliant artist, he is also a keen observer of the most wacky, insane pockets of our society. As a woman I applaud him, as a reader I laugh with him, and as a book buyer I can tell you Wacky Chicks is worth paying retail for." -- Joan Rivers"A rollicking ride through the loud, controversial, dramatic, and utterly engrossing lives of our society's most noteworthy Auntie Mames." -- Gotham Read more About the Author Simon Doonan is the bestselling author of Wacky Chicks and Confessions of a Window Dresser. In addition to his role as creative director of Barneys New York, Simon writes the "Simon Says" column for The New York Observer. He frequently contributes observations and opinions to myriad other publications and television shows. He is a regular commentator on VH1, the Trio network, and Full Frontal Fashion. He lives in New York City with his partner, Jonathan Adler, and his Norwich terrier, Liberace. Read more
Reviews
I bought this book because I had just read Eccentric Glamour and Beautiful People (aka Nasty) and was desperately starving for some more Simon Doonan. However this one was far less interesting. One reviewer said that it had "too much Simon" in it, but for me the problem was not enough Simon.His style is breezy and witty as usual, but the women he writes about are fairly irritating, shrill, silly types who are mostly successful in fashion (except Jessica Porter, who is a macrobiotic preacher; I have a book of hers about macrobiotics, and a very silly book it is).I thought it was odd that he describes a few of the women in this book as looking/dressing like strippers, whereas in his later book Eccentric Glamour he specifically rails against the stripper look. I think it's better to follow his advice in the latter book rather than seeking to emulate the chicks in this one.And even if you aren't seeking to emulate these wacky chicks - I doubt anyone would be, really - they're just not that interesting to read about. Just because they aren't "traditional" (whatever that means) doesn't mean they are really that fascinating. They all come across as flaky in a bad way, like they are trying too hard to be different and are totally desperate for attention. Of course, Simon himself (or at least the character he portrays in Beautiful People) is also desperate for attention, but he is also infinitely more amusing and self-aware than these women. Reading about "the original wacky chick", his mother, is also preferable to reading about most of these overrated blathers. Skip this one and go for Beautiful People or Eccentric Glamour.
