Bad Girls of Fashion

August 1, 2016
Grades 8-10 Croll introduces women throughout history who have chosen their clothes in order to manage their public images, explore their identities, or rebel against societal expectations. Each chapter discusses one woman at length, along with single- or multi-page articles on three others. Cleopatra is profiled as a ruler who dressed to please her subjects with sartorial references to Egyptian goddesses and to impress all with her regal appearance. Related three-page articles discuss Queen Elizabeth I and activist Angela Davis, and a single page presents the Empress Dowager Cixi. The chapter on Frida Kahlo's life and her use of traditional Mexican clothing includes spotlights on Miuccia Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, and M.I.A. While the short articles sometimes interrupt the flow of the longer features, readers attuned to fashion will find plenty of intriguing ideas here, written in an engaging style and illustrated with colorful, styled digital art as well as reproductions of period paintings, archival photos, and publicity shots. From gender-bending clothing to anti-fashion, here's an entertaining, informative, and often edgy look at who wears what and why.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 1, 2016
A probing look at influential women in fashion history.In her follow-up to Fashion That Changed the World (2014), Croll chronicles more than 40 women throughout history who, either by vocation or influence, have proven "fashion is anything but frivolous." With the aid of archival photos and Buchholc's spirited illustrations, Croll unveils rounded portraits of 10 fashion "bad girls" and spotlights a few dozen more who learned--many at a young age--"how tactical fashion can be" in "shaping opinion" and "challenging the status quo." Croll's "style rebels" range from present-day pop icons Lady Gaga and Madonna, legendary fashion editors Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour, and Black Panther radical Angela Davis all the way back to Cleopatra, who became pharaoh at the tender age of 16 and carefully styled herself in the likeness of the goddess Isis. To show how fashion can be used to one's advantage, Croll points to gender-bending Marlene Dietrich, clad in suit and tie, as well as Marilyn Monroe, who had a cobbler shorten one of her heels to exaggerate the swing of her hips. Overall, the scope and variety of Croll's subjects compellingly present women as powerful arbiters of--rather than slaves to--fashion. Richly detailed and engagingly written, Croll's captivating study is sure both to enlighten and embolden fashion-minded youth. (index, bibliography, further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-17)

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August 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-The 40-plus "style rebels" past and present run the gamut from cheeky to outrageous to murderous, but the book's focus is on how these women used fashion to defy society and make their mark on the world. Queens (Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette), designers (Coco Chanel, Rei Kawakubo, Rose Bertin), artists (Cindy Sherman, Frida Kahlo), performers (Lady Gaga, Kathleen Hanna, Rihanna), writers and editors (George Sand, Anna Wintour), and even political dissenters (Pussy Riot) enter the spotlight for a few pages, then cede to the next "bad girl." The layouts are somewhat confusing; "Fashion Spotlights" featuring other bad girls are interspersed among the pages covering the main subjects, and sidebars about social and cultural events pop up in odd spots. While Buchholc's hand-drawn illustrations are charming, other art verges on clip art territory. An interesting choice in this mostly chronological presentation is the omission of death dates for its subjects, comical in the case of long-dead rulers and would-be monarchs such as Wallis Simpson, but more serious in other instances, such as the case of fashion stylist Isabella Blow, who took her own life in 2007. The ensuing narratives do mention the women's deaths, but having that information up front would be more accessible. "Iconic Look" sidebars about the subject or her era give author and illustrator a chance to shine. VERDICT This is a good, if somewhat scattered, launching pad for beginner rebels and women's history buffs.-Liz French, Library Journal

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