Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!)

Book Description

A fascinating read of personal experiences from the famed fashion designer that showcases the lives and contributions of iconic women -- from Jackie Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor to Laura Bush to Princess Diana

Arnold Scaasi has been dressing legends for almost five decades. His enduring tenure as one of the world's premier fashion designers and tastemakers has afforded him vast stores of insider knowledge and firsthand perspectives on an array of illustrious personalities who -- in their disparate arenas of high-wattage celebrity and influence -- have defined our contemporary notions of female power and glamour. Here, for the first time, Scaasi invites readers into his glittering A-list realm as he recounts his intimate experiences and interactions with larger-than-life female icons who made their mark in spheres as varied as politics, Hollywood, the music industry, and high society.

Scaasi devotes each chapter to a specific woman or to a group of women, including "Broadway Girls," "New York Girls," and "Hollywood Girls." He shares dozens of behind-closed-doors anecdotes exploring what makes these women tick. In candid prose, he recalls what they said and how they acted, and most important, offers keen observations of who they really are underneath his creations. Using a privileged entrée into their private and public lives, Scaasi takes the measure of their impact on the world at large.

Here, readers will discover: Joan Crawford's fetish for cleanliness; the dazzling Barbra Streisand's famous Oscar night outfit and her obsession with perfection; Mamie Eisenhower's staunch refusal to wear a bra; the bountiful charms of Joan Sutherland, the opera legend; Mary Tyler Moore's and Sophia Loren's unique glamour; Rose Kennedy's prediction of a future woman president; Aretha Franklin's fear of flying; Scaasi's visits to the White House to his good friend and client Barbara Bush; his confrontations with Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe; and much more!

Scaasi dresses only women he genuinely likes, so his tales are never mean-spirited. Instead they spotlight the designer's surprising interactions and often poignant perceptions of Eleanor Roosevelt, Joan Rivers, Louise Nevelson, Natalie Wood, Hillary Clinton, and many others. The book is filled with photographs from the author's personal scrapbooks and fond recollections of some of the world's most beautiful, accomplished, and powerful women.

Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!) is a trove of irresistible insider dish and a tender, humorous memoir of the most influential women of our time.

Customer Reviews:

Not only is he a talented designer but a writer as well.......2006-11-07

I enjoyed this book very much. Mr. Scaasi's life story is so fascinating and inspiring. He has been surrounded by the creme de la creme of society. I would love to be an assistant in his life. Hats off to you Mr. Scaasi.

So much fun!.......2005-01-03

Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi has seen many of the most important American women of the 20th Century in their underwear. In consequence, he knows their secrets, which he shares in his memoir, WOMEN I HAVE DRESSED.

This book just is plain old fun. Scaasi drops lots of names, and he tells lots of tales. Whether it's sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom or dining with Diana, Princess of Wales, this boy from Montreal has done it all.

In the process of designing his gorgeous couture garments, he has learned intimate details about some of the most beautiful women in modern history, such as Elizabeth Taylor, and some of the most famous, such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

WOMEN I HAVE DRESSED is Scaasi's own story. It makes for a wonderful read.

A very good book of its kind.......2005-01-01

This is the kind of book I have a fatal weakness for. You get little points of information you never knew about both stars and first ladies. I read it in one sitting!
If you like glamour, if you like celeberties, if you like living life with style, get this book! Mr. Scaasi not only knows clothes, he knows how to maintain friendships and move in the highest circles. A fascinating read.

Average customer rating:

Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!)
Arnold Scaasi
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1416575286

Book Description

Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!) is a trove of irresistible insider dish and a tender, humorous memoir of the most influential women of our time.

The Art of Partnership: The 2001 Charles Fowler Colloquium on Innovation in Arts Education : University of Maryland, College Park, October 12-13, 2001 (State-of-the-Arts Series, No. 5)
Average customer rating:
The Art of Partnership: The 2001 Charles Fowler Colloquium on Innovation in Arts Education : University of Maryland, College Park, October 12-13, 2001 (State-of-the-Arts Series, No. 5)
Charles Fowler Colloquium on Innovation in Arts Education (1999 : University of Maryland) , Gail E. Burnaford , Craig Dreeszen , and David Myers
Manufacturer: University of Maryland at College Park
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Study & Teaching | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0965523365

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Average customer rating:

He's a little preachy

"I've tried to return some of the fun, magic, and beauty I've enjoyed in other comics. "

Love this book

LUV'D IT!!!!!

Fantastic

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Bill Watterson
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Parenting & Families | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons

It's A Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection

There's Treasure Everywhere--A Calvin and Hobbes Collection

ASIN: 0836204387

Amazon.com

Now that Bill Watterson has retired from drawing syndicated cartoons, the only way to get our Calvin and Hobbes fixes is through his book collections. The 10th Anniversary Book is particularly notable, because in addition to getting some of his most wonderful cartoons, we also gain a sense of Watterson as a person.

Approximately one-tenth of the book contains essays about matters great and small--from cartooning to life--and stories about the inspiration behind some of his greatest strips. Not surprisingly, Watterson shines through as a being of considerable integrity, and the cartoons gain in depth thanks to his commentary. And, of course, the cartoons in the other 90% of the book are alternately side-splitting hilarious or touching. Happy Anniversary, Bill, and good luck with whatever it is you are doing now!

Customer Reviews:

He's a little preachy.......2007-09-12

Don't get me wrong, I love C&H. But Watterson is a bit preachy in this book. He tries to explain his rationale behind some of these comics and that's generally cool. But he has comments where he bashes other comics for being pretentions jerks while he comes across like basically a pretentious jerk. /shrug, it's still a good book with good comics. For me, it was a mix of eye-rolling at Watterson's comments vs. laughing at the comics.

"I've tried to return some of the fun, magic, and beauty I've enjoyed in other comics. ".......2007-01-31

"I've always loved cartoons. With 'Calvin and Hobbes', I've tried to return some of the fun, magic, and beauty I've enjoyed in other comics. It's been immensely satisfying to draw 'Calvin and Hobbes', and I will always be grateful to have had the opportunity to work in this wonderful art form." (p. 208)

This book allows us to see the man behind the pen. This collection is a selection of what Watterson thought was important, interesting or profound about various strips he drew. It is the equivalent of a director's commentary on a DVD.

I relished the introductory essay, which is far superior to the one found in the Monster Box Set. It covers more of the in and outs of drawing, Watterson's battle for control of Calvin, his no-marketing stance, and his push for those wonderful Sunday comics. We have yet to see his artistic superior, much less an equal.

If we read between the lines, Watterson's retirement was not a surprise. The battles he fought for his integrity really damaged a part of his soul. This book provides a better explanation than his terse press release, and I feel for him. The Far Side, Bloom County, and now Foxtrot have run their course, and like these other comics, we can use this book to stoke memories--the roses of the soul that charm us in winter.

From Watterson's point of view, this book is the best of the best. After reading it, I see what he meant. The reason why C&H was so popular was that he touched the soul's taproot. You have the two sides of the man, with the animal being human, and the human an animal, then the shifting frame of reference between the imaginary and real world. As a chronic daydreamer, I understand this perfectly. In fact, I find myself in many situations that Calvin does, with the same results.

This is art--we se ourselves, and are better for it.

Love this book.......2006-11-10

Best cartoon series that I can remember. Use it as a coffee table book for guests to flip through and enjoy. Very satisfied with condition when received.

LUV'D IT!!!!!.......2006-09-17

Calvin And Hobbes...What A CLASSIC! It's hillarious, its clever, it's got everytihin! I bought this book as my first Calvin and Hobbes book years ago and I loved it immediatly! If im sad or upset, I just read this book and i'm happy again! IT's incredible! Watterson's commentary is an extra for this book and it's informative too. Also, this book has more strips than some of the other ones so buy this one! I hope this helped!

Fantastic.......2006-09-01

Having already owned every conceivable collection and reprint of Calvin and Hobbes material, I hardly needed a recap of the previous decade up to the point when this book was published. The attraction, then, had less to do with the smattering of strips that filled these pages and more to do with the bonus essays and commentaries that Watterson provides, shining some significant amount of insight onto the world of Calvin and Hobbes.

The first twenty pages or so are filled with Watterson's ruminations on the transformation (or devolution) of comics from their inception to the present day, licensing issues regarding his own strip, sabatticals, influences, the writing process, and his hard-won superior Sunday strip format. A lot of readers regard these essays (particularly the one dealing with licensing) as the verbal equivalent of Watterson patting himself on the back, but I firmly assert that any such interpretation can only result from entirely misreading Watterson's words. I can only conclude that Watterson's natural eloquence is confusing to those readers who are only capable of understanding illustrated stories, or else that they don't finish the essay before jumping to conclusions. A careful, complete read will guarantee clarity, as Watterson is extremely succint and therefore precise in the ideas he is communicating.

I only have two minor complaints regarding this edition, the first being that I would have appreciated a bit more analysis of the characters and their origins. I have read in interviews that an earlier strip of Watterson's contained an imaginative, tiger-toting younger brother of the protagonist, and it was only at an editor's suggestion that Watterson considered making these characters the focal point of the strip--which, needless to say, became by degrees the Calvin and Hobbes we know and love today. This information, along with a few of those old strips containing the "prototype" Calvin and Hobbes, would have made an excellent addition to the book.

My other complaint is that too much space is given to entire stories--weeks of strips--that are preceded by only one or two lines of commentary. I wish only a few strips from the entire story had been included, so as to free room for more material and resulting commentary.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all is the fact that Watterson retired shortly after publishing this compilation. I suppose I should feel grateful for the wonderful ten years that were given to us, and I certainly do, but another part of me wonders at all the possibilities that the next decade might have held for the two intrepid explorers as they discover a universe of humor, whimsy, imagination, tragedy, and friendship. The Tenth Anniversary Book highlights the brilliance of Calvin and Hobbes, and makes us realize how short ten years can really be.

THE CALVIN AND HOBBES TENTH ANNIVERSARY BOOK

Average customer rating:

Watterson Philosophizes

THE CALVIN AND HOBBES TENTH ANNIVERSARY BOOK

Manufacturer: Andrews and Mcmeel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000H263R0

Customer Reviews:

Watterson Philosophizes.......2006-09-08

When I bought this "Calvin and Hobbes" book I had a hard time getting into it at first. The first eighteen or nineteen pages contain more prose and philosophy than it does art and I have always bought "Calvin and Hobbes" books for the humor. I really felt as though the philosophy and description that Bill Watterson was describing was a distraction, at first. But the more I read the more I started to get into "Calvin and Hobbes" from Watterson's perspective. Looking at the evolution of "Calvin and Hobbes" as described by Watterson, and his travails with syndicators, I have a new perspective on what it takes to create a strip like "Calvin and Hobbes."

The art and the strips are outstanding, as with other "Calvin and Hobbes" collections, but this time we also get to see Watterson's perspectives on various characters. Some of Watterson's observations about various characters are as funny as the strips themselves. Watterson makes a rather succinct comment regarding Moe the bully. I will leave you to read the comment, but it is hilarious.

Watterson offers comments on all the major characters along with key details about each. Moe, of course, being a simple moronic bully, requires minimal description, but the other key characters have a history associated with them. Watterson provided a bit of a compliment to his wife in his description of Susie Derkins. I also agree with Watterson that I suspect that Calvin does have a mild crush on Susie. Watterson offers nearly a half a page of comments on both Calvin and Hobbes that are interesting reading.

I also enjoyed the selection of various strips from over ten years of the strip, showing the evolution of the strip and the characters. It is interesting to see how the quality of the strip has improved in ten years as Watterson continually perfected the characters. Being a cartoonist is clearly much more difficult than I ever thought it was.

I will miss "Calvin and Hobbes" since Watterson has retired the strip. However, all the collections are still available and I think they will continue to be fresh in the decades to come. The insight Watterson has provided in this book is valuable for hard core fans interested in Watterson's viewpoint on his creations. If you are uninterested in Watterson's perspective, you can always skip over it and read the strips! I highly recommend this book for all "Calvin and Hobbes" fans.

Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book

Average customer rating:

Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Bill Watterson
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000NY27NQ

Average customer rating:

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Bill WATTERSON
Manufacturer: Andrews and McMeel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OPG2RG

Average customer rating:

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Watterson Bill
Manufacturer: Andrews and McMeel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UF3N7C

Average customer rating:

The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book
Bill Watterson
Manufacturer: Andrews and Mcmeel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Calvin and Hobbes | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KAFVC2

Customer Reviews:

You Need To Know These Words.......2007-07-29

A lot of people try to avoid learning swear words in other languages. I don't understand why. These words are part of the language, and you shouldn't avoid them because they make you feel bad. Barry Farber and A.G. Hawke say in their books that you shoud avoid learning profanity in other languages. I say you should as long as you avoid SAYING them. Just KNOW them. I discuss this in my new book below.

Brandon Simpson, Author of Learning Foreign Languages: Everything You Need To Know and If You Ain't Got No Grammer...

Hahahaha.......2007-05-07

These phrases will go over really well at my Alliance Francaise meeting! I can't wait to join the French conversation group.

Lives up to the title!.......2007-01-13

We are taught such prissy French in school or language courses, this is real world and very helpful. French movies are more understandable, too.

A useless piece of merde.......2005-08-16

Before travelling to France a few years back, I studied Merde! religiously, thinking if I integrated some of its colorful terms into my vocabulary I could be cool and "blend in." However, every time I used a word from this book around real French people, I was met with blank stares. I showed the book to my French-speaking uncle (who lives in Paris), and after reading it through he told me that most of the words in the book are either completely outdated and never used in conversation today, or their "definitions" are just plain wrong.

Merde! is entertaining enough, but I strongly advise against using it as a real reference, lest you want to risk looking like a complete moron (as I did on several occasions, thanks to this book).

A book that actually succeeds at what Merde! attempts is Berlitz's Hide This French Book. Get that instead.

Solid book.......2005-01-22

Contains lots of slang and is very thprough. I tend to agree with other reviewers however, this should be treated essentially as a vocab book, since no converstions are really present. If you want to see how slang is used in conversation, perhaps StreetWise French by Ian Pickup and Rod Hares and/ or the Dictionary of Colloquial and Slang Expressions by Struth are better choices. That said this book is fun to read and does provide exercises for you test your knowledge. If you study this book and apply it correctly you wil become la gosse legume avec ton amis francais!

Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School

Average customer rating:

Fills in the cracks
this is fine
An Outsider's "Look" into the French Psyche?
Quelle Joie!
(Expletive deleted) formidable!

Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School
Genevieve
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Slang & Idioms | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Conversation | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Merde!: The Real French You Were Never Taught at School
Street French 1: The Best of French Slang (Street Language)
Street French 3: The Best of Naughty French (Street Language)
Street French 2: The Best of French Idioms (Street Language)
101 French Idioms

ASIN: 0684854287

Book Description

Sacre Bleu!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the café...

For those of you who delighted in Geneviève's deliciously naughty first book, Merde!, and for those unfortunate few who have not yet had the pleasure...Geneviève is back with Merde Encore!

Here the inimitable Geneviève makes further fabulous forays into French argot and comes up with an enormous range of colorful idioms, essential for anyone who wants to speak the language as it really is spoken. As an additional treat, she also gives instructions in the correct use of impassioned Gallic gestures -- those silent but expressive signals so beloved of the French motorist and shopkeeper. And, most important, she reveals how the French language, both spoken and visual, is a key to the spirit and character of the people who use it. With infectious humor, she exposes the idiosyncratic attitudes that have produced so great a wealth of vivid expressions.

So now discover how the French really feel about sex, food, la belle France, foreigners, hygiene, death...Merde Encore! may confirm what you've always suspected.

Customer Reviews:

Fills in the cracks.......2007-01-13

This book teaches you things that only a good friend who is French could tell you. Not covered in the usual French text, it is for real world French.

this is fine.......2006-11-11

I got it for my teen, and it was a huge hit. LOTS of R rated phrases and words. Be warned! Still it was good for fun and some of it might be useful to know.

An Outsider's "Look" into the French Psyche?.......2000-12-23

In "Merde Encore!," author Geneviève recommends that one should have looked over her previous book, "Merde!," because she "shall at times . . . assume knowledge acquired in the first." Thus, she says, "What I offer here is further exploration of colloquial vocabulary and idioms and, through them, deeper insights into the French psyche." So, while the layout of "Merde Encore!" is similar to "Merde!," there is a difference in tone between the two books. "Merde!" presents a colloquial and idiomatic French glossary, and "Merde Encore!" attempts to offer an outsider's view on the French psyche (in particular, on the Frenchman's psyche) in a rather sarcastic commentary interspersed with additional vocabulary. Here, Geneviève extends her thesis from "Merde!" (see the chapter on "Xenophobia and Racism") on the "innate French feeling of superiority" by indulging in lots of name-calling and stereotyping. In the interests of free speech, a glossary, dictionary, or phrasebook may offer "politically incorrect" terminology and usage. However, it is up to the reader to decide if a line has been crossed when an author chooses to perpetuate xenophobic stereotypes by using the words "Frog," "Froggie," and "Frog Pathology," and by offering undocumented commentary on the hygiene of the French, for example. Sometimes it is difficult to determine what is humour and what is not. (The foregoing remarks are offered by this reviewer as a disclaimer.)

"Merde Encore!" has thirteen short chapters: "Verbs" (i.e., the "moi-je" syndrome); "Suffixes" ("instruments of belittlement and contempt"); "Les Beaux Gestes" (with cartoons of French gestures, illustrated by Michael Heath); "Guillotined French" ("shortened" French words, like "cap" for "capable"); "Counting in French" (including "The Frog Clock"); "Sound Effects"; "The Most Popular Ingredients of French Idioms" (food and animals); "Anatomy of a Frog"; "Appee Beurzdé Tooh Yooh" ("Franglais"); "Allons Enfants" ("kiddie talk"); "The Cocorico Syndrome" (i.e., "Frogs on Wheels"); "Geography à la Française" (i.e., "the Parisians and the rest"); and "Your PH.D. Exam."

This book has quite a bit of useful idiomatic vocabulary and phrasing; it is also quite humourous. As to an insight into the French psyche or national character, I think not. For a more perceptive, witty, and insightful read on an outsider's view of the (Parisian) French, I highly recommend "French Toast," by Harriet Welty Rochefort. The irony of Geneviève's books (particularly the second one) is that they would be most appealing to an age group who should not be reading them!

Quelle Joie!.......2000-08-19

Ooh-la-la. This is a delightful gift for the friend who has a decent elementary grasp on the French language and a rolicking sense of humour. Written with great lingusitic dexterity, both in French aan in English, it will be treasured for years to come.

Excerpt: < >

(Expletive deleted) formidable!.......2000-05-30

This book assumes you have at least a full year of French behind you. It is not for beginners, even given the fact that most learners of a second language usually go for the "cinq lettres" words first. It was absolutely a must read for me when I visited Paris, and a bit of a help when I eventually visited Quebec. Lots of cultural nuances about the French (even body language is discussed), funny illustrations, and plenty of good intentioned advice... if a bit R-rated.

Merde et Merde Encore: The Real French You Were Never Taught At School

Average customer rating:

Merde et Merde Encore: The Real French You Were Never Taught At School

Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GKD36M

MERDE! MERDE ENCORE! The Real French You Were Never Taught at School

Average customer rating:

MERDE! MERDE ENCORE! The Real French You Were Never Taught at School

Manufacturer: Quality
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GB959K

Product Description

Body parts and functions, various epithets, French slang, how people really speak.

Average customer rating:

Merde et Merde Encore! The Real French You Were Never Taught at School
Genevieve
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000W27E2I

Merde! The Real French You Were Never Taught At School.

Average customer rating:

Merde! The Real French You Were Never Taught At School.
GENEVIEVE.
Manufacturer: Angus & Robertson (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOGTLG

Average customer rating:

Merde et Merde Encore: The Real French You Were Never Taught At School
Genevieve Michael Heath
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000U378ZW

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books