Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World

by Deirdre Kelly

John, Paul, George, and Ringo were more than great they were the quintessential fashion icons of one of the most exciting and memorable fashion eras of all time. From their starts in black leather through Sgt. Pepper to Nehru collars and psychedelia, the Beatles used clothing to express their individual and group identities and, especially, to grow their following.  They did it without benefit of stylists or consultants, making their own rules and changing their looks as many as five times a year to keep a few steps ahead of the crowd in the tumultuous, fashion-obsessed sixties. More than fifty years after their break-up, their style continues to animate the collections of some of the world’s leading designers, including Thom Browne, John Varvatos, Anna Sui, Tom Ford, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and, yes, Stella McCartney. Fashioning the Beatles, the first in-depth look at their sartorial legacy, demonstrates that their inimitable style was not an incidental by-product of their fame but an integral part of their act and a key to their globe-spanning success.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Fashion, Art

293 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

DEIRDRE KELLY has written on dance, fashion, and pop culture since 1985. She started as the award-winning dance critic, pop music columnist, investigative and senior fashion reporter for Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper. She continues writing, reporting and editing today as correspondent for the Dance Gazette in London, England, the bilingual Chinese-Canadian magazine Fête Chinoise, and the Toronto-based arts e-zine, Critics At Large, where she also writes on the Beatles, among other favourite topics. Her published books are Paris Times Eight, Ballerina: Sex, Scandal and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection and Fashioning The Beatles: The Looks That Shook The World.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fashioning The Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World by Dierdre Kelly takes us on a journey through the years of Beatles clothing and the history behind it. Chronologically, the book provides a look at the evolving fashion sense of the Fab Four - the Teddy Boy look the Hamburg leather, Mr. Epstein's suits, corduroy of the mid-60s, psychedelia, and onto the denim look of late 1968 to Abbey Road and a close to the 1960s.

The Beatles were always a step ahead of trends when it came to clothing. And when the masses started wearing something like what the Beatles were wearing, they would change their look. Their look changed with the music. This book really details the evolution of the Beatles sartorial appearance.

Also of great interest was reading about the different London fashion shops where the Beatles bought their clothing. This book is a unique and wonderful addition to the Beatles' bibliography. "The clothes tell the story" indeed!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fresh and fun look at the Beatles story, an in-depth examination of their image, one that still influences today's fashion trends. The Beatles not only rewrote the book sonically, they were visual trendsetters as well. The latter may not have been as intentional as the former, but Deidre Kelly demonstrates what they wore and how they presented themselves as a group showed the way forward as much as the music.

On the down side, I'm a bit appalled at the sloppy editing job. Doesn't anyone proofread final drafts anymore? There are numerous annoying grammatical as well as factual errors. One is a footnote referencing "Dave" McGuinn of the Byrds (which the author must know is incorrect because she uses the correct name Roger McGuinn elsewhere). Another is an unintentional witty gaffe of the "Ringo's Rotogravure" album, instead calling it "Photogravure", a likely mix up of the album title and Ringo's hit song "Photograph". Some may call this nitpicking, but it's easily avoidable so why not get it right? It ends up lowering the quality of an otherwise excellent book.

For further exploring the Beatles and fashion, Paolo's Hewitt's "Fab Gear: The Beatles and Fashion" would make a nice visual companion, chock full of photos of the clothes, accessories and hair styles referenced in "Fashioning The Beatles".

[Carolyn Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were together for such a short time but have had such far reaching influence. Loved this dig into their sartorial choices from the little suits that evidently made them look tough and sinister (at the time) through to the brown fur John wears at their rooftop concert - my favourite and inspired by Aunt Mimi. Only one quibble, it’s a beautiful expensive book with lots of great pics so really should have been edited properly- a number of typos and possibly even a missing sentence in one section.

[Judith R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and quite detailed book about an aspect of the Beatles that is largely unexplored in such a chronological way. There are photos even this Beatles fan had never seen before. Many British designers and fashion boutiques are mentioned that I remember from my days as a Beatles fan, but the book would have benefited greatly from more photos of the fashions of the day. The author includes extensive documentation and an index.

[Adrihanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I was worried that this book would read like a textbook but Kelly was able to beautifully weave in the Beatles story with their clothes. As fashion historian Amanda Halley always says “Fashion is not an island, it’s a response”. This point is perfectly demonstrated in this book. I wish there was more pictures and I wasn’t a big fan of the conclusion but other than that I would recommend this book to any 60s fashion lover.

[zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very enjoyable, detailed read! much fun for a beatles nerd and fashion dood like myself. like other readers, i reallyyyyyyy wish this had more photos :-( the author constantly referenced photos from certain moments in beatle history, or different cuts and styles of clothing that i had to look up myself. i really wish they and other photos had been included throughout the book, like a catalog—it would’ve made for a far better read methinks.

[Jim Duggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique perspective on the history and legacy of the Fab Four. While they are certainly known for their music, their fashion parallels their journey.
This book chronicles, by year, how what they wore reflected the development of their image and their personalities.
Worth a read by every Beatles fan!

[Clarence Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twas very interesting, but how about more pix?

[Charles Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equally influential the Lads' fashion sense to their music. Great, convincing, well researched fashion history!

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, well written account of an area of The Beatles that has been unexplored...until now.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is amazing to think that the Beatles created their own style trends with only the help of friends like Astrid Kircherr influencing them. Although admittedly the photos are more interesting than the text, the descriptions provide detailed background to the creation of their outfits.