Rating: 
Summary: Mrs. Parish was one of the grandest of the Grand Dames.
Review: I couldn't put Sister down once I started reading it. It was a great tribute by the daughter and granddaughter of one of the most interesting, eccentric and outlandishly one-of-a-kind people I've ever encountered in print, or anywhere else for that matter. She was so fascinating as to be almost a figment of someone's imagination. What I really appreciated was that even though Mrs. Parish could be cruel (telling her chauffeur "turn left, stupid", etc.,) most people (including her chauffeur) seemed to have liked her immensely. Her style of decorating is as fresh and likeable today as it must have been back when she first got started. And it's lovely to read about someone whose relatives obviously adored her. No Mommie Dearest here! Such a treat.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Parish was one of the grandest of the Grand Dames.
Review: I couldn't put Sister down once I started reading it. It was a great tribute by the daughter and granddaughter of one of the most interesting, eccentric and outlandishly one-of-a-kind people I've ever encountered in print, or anywhere else for that matter. She was so fascinating as to be almost a figment of someone's imagination. What I really appreciated was that even though Mrs. Parish could be cruel (telling her chauffeur "turn left, stupid", etc.,) most people (including her chauffeur) seemed to have liked her immensely. Her style of decorating is as fresh and likeable today as it must have been back when she first got started. And it's lovely to read about someone whose relatives obviously adored her. No Mommie Dearest here! Such a treat.
Rating:
Summary: Great lady, great read!
Review: One of the legendary designers of any period - this book by the granddaughter and daughter of Sister Parish is a terrific testament to the legacy this lady left on the decorating world. It's chatty without being gossipy, plus you get a real feel of how Sister decorated. Thoroughly enjoyable and readable!
Rating: 
Summary: Sgt. Sister
Review: Sister (Dorothy) Parrish was "gently" born, and she played this card like a violin all her life to great success. Expensively, but scantily educated Sister had an "eye" for proportion and taste that never failed her. Her decorating services became astronomically expensive, yet she had a Grande Dame persona that made her clients feel she was doing them a great favor by decorating their homes."Sister" is authored (perhaps edited) by her daughter and granddaughter very respectfully indeed. It contains little essays and remarks by friends and colleagues, plus sections by Sister herself from her autobiography that never was completed. Her daughters were clearly terrified by her, though her granddaughter seems to be a little bit of a chip off the old block. An oddity I noticed in the pictures: movie-star-handsome men run in her family while the women are plain as peahens. Sister speaks of growing into beauty, but I would have to respectfully disagree. Imposing, and dramatic--yes; but "beautiful"--no. All mention her wonderful sense of humor, which struck me as cruel and belittling along with a razor sharp tongue. The pictures of her projects (sadly, most in black and white) show her capabilities in making a fabulous mansion into a home rather than a museum. However, in spite of Sister's declamations that the client's wishes were first and foremost, most of her actions show that you go her way or the highway. Her Pekinese dogs always were with her and each seemed to have a talent for vicious nipping. "Sister" is fascinating and does a good job (mostly Sister herself) describing her artistic techniques. The family history is well done. But there is a slightly patched together quality of the book that makes this reader feel the events are only half-told and some not told at all. I don't mean I expected or remotely wanted a "Sister Dearest." I admire the tact and respect displayed by Ms. Parrish's heirs. I just wish a few of the reminiscences were by folks who had less than 100% adoration for Sister!
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Brother!! Don't Bother.
Review: Sister should have been a funfilled ,gossipy journey into the life and mind of a great decorator. Instead it is repetitive laundry list of furniture and chintz and innuendos.The book could have been made at least bearable if it had contained pictures of the beautiful rooms that are described in minute detail.A far more interesting book is the Parish Hadley book.
Rating:
Summary: Speak softly, and carry a big roll of chintz
Review: The book, a series of interviews, doesn't hold together as well as I might have liked, though it is chock-full of intriguing raw materials, including reminiscences of Sister by other legends (e.g. the late Mark Hampton, John Fowler, and Mario Buatta). I read it in a hotel room dashing out to shop and to go to a wedding, and I naturally began to critique the decor from what I imagined as Sister's point of view. The hotel forbade dogs, small or otherwise, which would never have done. Sister's Pekinese Yummy went everywhere. There was a certain baroque grandeur to the lobby, which was carried into the rooms, where one could not miss the giant chandelier. You just stared at it, and perhaps felt that this justified the price of the night. But this would not have been Sister's way. As she demonstrated during her days in the Kennedy White House, she could differentiate between public spaces and private ones. Private ones were subtle in tone, with the emphasis on incorporating one's own sentimental possessions into the general scheme. A client's library might have a Picasso or a Monet, but it wouldn't be the first thing that would hit you when you walked into the room. You'd probably be drawn to a cozy fire, and only gradually realize the masterpiece off somewhere to the side. Public spaces could be grand as befitted their function. None of her clients wound up living in a museum. She's worth knowing about, and a nice guide to what endures. The current rage for "homekeeping" probably would have pleased her, as the basis of it is making people comfortable rather than knocking them upside the head with your worldly success. She also had a sort of innate ability to measure things, and to compose with her eye, like a really good candid photographer. However natural things appeared, her own description of a "typical" day makes one think of show business. She was a life force, and no family can ever make up for the gap someone like this leaves, I am sure, but this book is a fine eulogy, which works the way the great ones do: it's an encouragement to more life. Sister Parish seems thoroughly to have enjoyed hers.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just For Interior Decorators
Review: This book is a fascinating account of the life of a woman from a privileged social background who defended tradition while breaking with it completely: starting her own business, forming friendships in the art and design world, painting the antique mahogany tables red and stripping the stained wood floors. An oral history told by the people who knew her best, "Sister" illustrates by their varying perspectives how Sister Parish was many things to many, very different people, and how creative, innovative talent can override even the inherited attitudes of the people who possess that talent to change taste and style. A very interesting, fun book: gossip, decorating tips, and all.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just For Interior Decorators
Review: This book is a fascinating account of the life of a woman from a privileged social background who defended tradition while breaking with it completely: starting her own business, forming friendships in the art and design world, painting the antique mahogany tables red and stripping the stained wood floors. An oral history told by the people who knew her best, "Sister" illustrates by their varying perspectives how Sister Parish was many things to many, very different people, and how creative, innovative talent can override even the inherited attitudes of the people who possess that talent to change taste and style. A very interesting, fun book: gossip, decorating tips, and all.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely delightful!!!!!
Review: This book is superb. I am a window dresser for a high end furniture store. Three other co-workers plus myself have been waiting for our copies of this book to come in for weeks! We come to work in the morning and rave to each other about what we have read. It is written in such an interesting manner. There are wonderful excerpts from conversations with people about Sister. Some are: Letitia Baldrige (Jackie O's former secretary), Mark Hampton, Parish-Hadley decorators and her children plus lots more. It's written in vivid detail and transports you to another time. Sister remembers rooms in such a manner that you feel as if you are there in the bright sunny rooms of her childhood at the beginnings of the century. Not only that, but this books paints a good picture of what life was like for the upper class pre-WWI and after both wars. I highly recommend it. One thing my friends and I all love is the way that this book is written with "blips" from all of her family and friends. You feel as if you sitting there having a conversation with all of these truly fascinating people.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: Well written and thoughtfully organized, I throughly enjoyed this window into the life and times of Sister Parish. A worthy addition to any reading list.
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