I thought the book was interesting but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless they were into fashion history. I was in high school and college by the time Mary’s career really took off so it’s was fun reminiscing about some of the people she interacted with especially the Beatles. I am currently reading Michelle Obama’s book, The Look. It highlights a very different perspective on fashion as being more than just wearing stylish clothes. The skill of her stylist was incredible. The manner in which some designers created clothes for Mrs Obama reminded me of how Mary Quant came up with her ideas.
I enjoyed this book and liked the idea of the story, but I wanted it to delve more deeply into the background and motivations of Mary Quant. Her creativity and business acumen were amazing, and the fact that she was able to accomplish so much as a woman at that time in history left me wanting to know more about her as an individual. While I am aware that this book is a fictionalized account of Quant’s story, I was drawn to the other supporting characters who impacted her success and was disappointed to learn that they are composites of multiple people rather than distinct individuals as presented in the story and the epilogue! While the book may lack depth, it does capture the post-World War II era and the rapid cultural shift of the 50’s and 60’s.
I grew up during the 60s so I was very aware of Mary Quant and her effect on ‘swinging 60s’ fashion. I found it very interesting to read about her life and how hard she had to work to be successful while also depending on good friends to help her out. I also enjoyed the author mentioning other real life people throughout the book – Jean Shrimpton, Patty Boyd, etc
I grew up during this time period and was excited to read a book about this era. However,I felt that, for the most part, the characters were rather one dimensional. Famous names were sort of just “dropped into” the storyline. I was reminded of the stories my friends and I wrote when we were young teens infatuated with the Beatles. We conjured up similar scenarios, imagining ourselves as part of a similar world.
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I was in my teens when Mary Quant was a fashion influencer. I was eager to read this book but was very disappointed. I thought the characters were flat and underdeveloped. I am sure the author did her research about Mary Quant, but even she was one dimensional
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