Posted by Nat Bernstein
I just came across the book covers for the U.S. and U.K. editions of Women in Clothes at the same time and I honestly cannot decide which I like better, they’re both so lovely:
A compilation of thoughts, photographs, interviews, and illustrations from the likes of “Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton & 639 Others” — including Cindy Sherman, Kim Gordon, Kalpona Akter, Sarah Nicole Prickett, Tavi Gevinson, Miranda July, Roxane Gay, Lena Dunham, and Molly Ringwald—Women in Clothes began as a survey project of 50 questions prompting women of all ages, nationalities, religious affiliations, class, and ethnicities to consider how apparel influences women’s lives day-to-day. This one’s another exception to the “never judge a book by its cover” rule: subdued yet striking, alluring and unusual inside and out.
Plus, I submit the following soundbite from one of the interviews within, a dialogue between preschool teacher Dina Goldstein and her son, radio host Jonathan Goldstein:
JONATHAN: Okay, what is your cultural background and how has that influenced how you dress?
DINA: Well, I’m Jewish. How has that influenced me? I guess I dress like other Jewish women. But I don’t like those well-kept women. They all look sort of alike, and they all have makeup. They wear their hair in a ponytail, their clothes are just so, and their shoes are the latest… I can’t be that type.
Related Content:
- Baruch and Judy Sterman: Stumbling on Jewish Suppliers to the Confederacy
- The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant
Nat Bernstein is the former Manager of Digital Content & Media, JBC Network Coordinator, and Contributing Editor at the Jewish Book Council and a graduate of Hampshire College.