Ilene Beckerman

On its surface this is a memoir of the author’s life told through the clothes she wore from childhood through mature adulthood. There’s a deeper story between the lines, of the mother she lost at puberty, of the father she never saw again after she went to live with her mother’s parents, of a rift with her grandfather who didn’t approve of her first marriage, of the child she lost due to acute illness, of the rift the child’s death created in her marriage. Sadness is tempered by show more relationships with her best friends and her obviously cherished granddaughter.

If you’ve thought about writing an autobiography for your children and grandchildren but struggled to get started, I think this is a great idea for a writing prompt. Most people, especially women, wear special clothes for significant events, and we often have photographs of ourselves at these events. Why not try telling your own story through the clothes you wore? show less

This was a short but enjoyable read. I loved the concept of author Ilene Beckerman describing her life through the outfits she wore from the 1940s through the 1990s. At first glance you could underestimate the content as just a few reminisces accompanying her color sketches of the clothing worn during that time period. But each page is poetry-like in its brief summary of a specific event in her life - she hints at so much more using just a few words. Most pages conveyed her naivete, sadness, show more yearning and other emotions - as the title implies, she experienced much "love and loss" in her lifetime.

While this was published in 1995, and covers the years from the 1940s through 1990s, this is a timeless commentary on culture from a women's point of view. show less

A life told with style. I remember a few outfits from my childhood--mainly because I only had a few--but Beckerman seems to have total recall of nearly every outfit she ever wore and the circumstances in which she wore them. This deceptively small book packs a big punch and brought tears to my eyes.

This inspired me to write down my own history of fashion and it turned out to be more interesting than I ever imagined, at least to me. Ilene Beckerman charted her own course of fashion over five decades and illustrated each pithy event with charming drawings. From rag curls to maternity wear, it will make you think about the events of your life and the influence of your own style. A quick read and much fun.