Bare Blass

Rating:
Summary: Interesting book for fashionistas
Review: Bare Blass written by Bill Blass and completed by Cathy Horyn soon after his death earlier this year is a lovely memoir. Bill Blass is and always will be the epitome of the modern American Gentleman: handsome, witty, charming and above all else, a unique talent in the world of fashion.

Mr. Blass is quite frank speaking about his personal life up to a point. At the outset of the book, he is very upfront about his views on sexuality and relationships. While he doesn't declare himself a homosexual, he doesn't declare himself bisexual either. He leaves that designation ambiguous: in any case does it really matter in our times?

What does matter is the legacy he leaves us from a long and illustrious career in the fashion industry. His influence can be seen in many of today's young designers: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Nicole Miller to name a few. His love of color and pattern is probably inspired most by the work of Yves Saint Laurent for color/pattern, and Claire McCardell, the American doyenne of modern sportswear.

Blass has a good time telling a story and reading them is a real treat. He's not above criticism of himself and others, a refreshingly candid attitude in today's climate of political correctness and PR maneuvering.

If you enjoy reading memoirs or reading about fashion design, BARE BLASS is well worth your time.

You will be missed, Mr. Blass.

Rating:
Summary: At last, Blass
Review: Blass was a true genius and an enigma -- the genius might be gone, and though this book does shed light onto his inner workings, he will always, by his own design, remain an enigma.

A pioneer in the American fashion scene, and true to the American spirit of self invention, we finally get a chance to learn about him on a more personal basis... and true to form, he only reveals what he's comfortable revealing... making it just as telling for what he doesn't address as what he does.

This isn't as closed a volume as one might expect -- he's quite candid when it comes to elusive subjects of personal relationships and his unconventional sexuality (which is sure to confuse some who need things to fit into neat categories), and he's disarmingly self effacing in almost all areas -- including professionally.

The book is a fun read, with beautiful photos -- dispensing with the traditional autobiography format to embrace a looser, to-and-fro free-association timeline that suits the tone of a wonderful dining companion with a lifetime of charming stories.

Rating:
Summary: At last, Blass
Review: I think it would be correct to say that this posthumously published memoir by a legend in the Fashion Industry was a little superficial. This is not a bad thing, but one could only hope that Blass would have opened up more about his personal life. He was a very handsome man, who happened to be gay, and not much of this part of his life is mentioned. This is understandable for his generation and the time. Another reason perhaps is because of the part he played in New York Society, and the people who surrounded him and admired him his entire life. He wanted to be a class act, looked-up to, and a proper gentleman and he will always be remembered as just that. Blass practiced style, lived and breathed it. He was an iron disciplinary, style & work came first, laughter and fun later.

This book is like an encyclopedia of encounters with the rich and famous, and well-dressed people of the world. He loved being photographed with the Reagan's, Buckley's, Kissinger's, and Vanderbilt's. His contribution to fashion, the beautiful fabrics, and well-designed clothes are legendary. Over the years, his designs stood above all the rest in New York. This book is a great introduction to the world that Bill Blass wanted to show us, a world he loved, created and played a big part in. A giant in the fashion industry that will be truly remembered, and a man of class. A perfect gentleman!

Joe Hanssen

Rating:
Summary: A Man of Class........and Restraint!
Review: I think it would be correct to say that this posthumously published memoir by a legend in the Fashion Industry was a little superficial. This is not a bad thing, but one could only hope that Blass would have opened up more about his personal life. He was a very handsome man, who happened to be gay, and not much of this part of his life is mentioned. This is understandable for his generation and the time. Another reason perhaps is because of the part he played in New York Society, and the people who surrounded him and admired him his entire life. He wanted to be a class act, looked-up to, and a proper gentleman and he will always be remembered as just that. Blass practiced style, lived and breathed it. He was an iron disciplinary, style & work came first, laughter and fun later.

This book is like an encyclopedia of encounters with the rich and famous, and well-dressed people of the world. He loved being photographed with the Reagan's, Buckley's, Kissinger's, and Vanderbilt's. His contribution to fashion, the beautiful fabrics, and well-designed clothes are legendary. Over the years, his designs stood above all the rest in New York. This book is a great introduction to the world that Bill Blass wanted to show us, a world he loved, created and played a big part in. A giant in the fashion industry that will be truly remembered, and a man of class. A perfect gentleman!

Joe Hanssen

Rating:
Summary: More a book about gossip than about fashion
Review: If you're looking for insight into the creativity of Bill Blass, this book isn't going to work for you. It's much more a namedropper's delight, particularly if you are interested in the high society bitchiness of New York City in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

I liked that he came clean about many issues... his attraction to men, his Yves Saint-Laurent knock-offs and his penchant for glamour but I was really hoping to find out more about his clothes.

It left me wondering how exactly he had contributed to advancing American fashion and why he was so popular.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting book for fashionistas
Review: My only regret from reading this book is that I will never get to meet Mr. Blass. What a really swell guy he must have been. Many situations he describes are laugh-out-loud funny--particularly his encounter with the mysterious "Ms. Fitzgerald" at Bonwit's. And just to set the record straight--my mother grew up in McMinnville TN and knew Miss Sedberry of the Sedberry Hotel--it wasn't a brothel!!