Confessions of a Window Dresser: Tales from a Life in Fashion

by Simon Doonan

Book Overview

The buzz created by the hardcover of this engaging, tart, saucy, and very frank memoir (Liz Smith) ran from a first serial in W to an Absolut Doonan ad to Hollywood film rights. For twenty years Simon Doonan, the creator of the hottest window displays in the world at Barney's New York, has collaborated with the biggest names in fashion and the most notorious names in art. Whether he's making fun of blondes, sending up Sigmund Freud, or creating caricatures...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141003626
• ISBN13: 9780141003627
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Viking Studio
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.0" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

A Fascinating & Colorful Memoir

I bought this book for a gift, but was so intrigued by Doonan's windows I had to read it myself. From the minimal and sometimes upsetting displays of his early years to the more recent, gaudy and pop-influenced windows of Barneys, Doonan's book shows and tells the craft, work, and often times controversy that went into his displays. An incredible glimpse of one man's work, and the importance of a store display to grab and interact with the customer. Never bores, never falters.

"The Lucky Leprechaun"

Simon Doonan gives us a gift in this delectable bon-bon of a book! The self-professed "Lucky Leprechaun", Doonan proves it does indeed take more than luck-it takes talent, drive, and vision to become a success. Dispelling the myth that all "window dressers" are poisonous, bitter, queens, this insanely funny, engaging, and gorgeously illustrated biography is the perfect late summer book. A must read!

fashion secrets revealed...very funny, too.

Mr. Doonan's personal od(d)yssey begins in dreary Reading, England turns violently into the ultra-chic dept. store of Maxfield's on the Sunset Strip, then veers off into the never-never land of Barney's. This is a visually stunning book, a great achievement in art direction, despite Doonan's persistent refusal to hold the management of Barney accountable for its heady fashion forward taj mahal nineties excesses. Nevertheless, Doonan understands his subjects (fashion and display) and imparts great wisdom for those who covet it. The appendix of useful words in the back is really great. I plan to pepper my conversations with such useful vocab as "big girl blouse" and "trag." (abbrev. form of tragic) Interestingly, Doonan never really comments (or dishes)on the deseigners themselves, but judging from the # of photos, he appears to have a soft spot for Azzedine Alaia (who doesn't?). I've also chanced upon his rather trenchant commentary... I appreciate the distinction he makes between fashion in terms of clothing and fashion in the abstract sense.

Mad genius Simon Doonan takes us for a hilarious ride.

Simon Doonan is the mad genius of the display world. His confessions weave a tale of a truly twisted spirit operating within a truly twisted demimonde. Doonan's celebrity anecdotes puncture the veil of fabulousness that surrounds so many famous people, and his personal recollections of his supremely dysfunctional family are mesmerizing. This is a book that will delight any creative soul. Doonan's story provides a glimpse into a rarely exposed world where insanity seems to be a big career booster. I also love the fact that all the profits from the book are being donated to God's Love We Deliver, an incredibly worthy organization that delivers hot meals to home-bound people with AIDS. I'm giving Confessions to all my friends for Christmas. In short, Simon Rules!