In My Own Fashion: An Autobiography

by Oleg Cassini

The designer offers an account of European high society, Hollywood's Golden Age, the Kennedy White House, high fashion designing, his own romantic adventures, and fifty years of jet-setting

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

379 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1987

Reviews

[Timmy Cham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read chapter 11, in which Cassini discusses designing 300
dresses for Jackie Kennedy during the JFK years. Filled
with fun and quotable quotes:

Jackie on the Eisenhower style: "The White House looks
like a Statler hotel."

Cassini on Jackie: "Her taste was excellent. To paraphrase
Oscar Wilde: it was very simple--she liked only the very
best."

Cassini on fashion: "I believe fashion is an applied
art meant to enhance and reflect. It augments the true
creation: the woman who wears the clothes."

Quoting JFK: "I'll do my best, in my style, and leave the
rest to God."

Quoting JFK on the Kama Sutra: "It's not just the
eighty-six positions--I'm convinced, by the way, that no
one has ever tried all of them successfully and lived--it is
a guide of the achievement of happiness through the
perfect knowledge of another, and this can only be done
through love."

Quoting JFK on Secretary of State Dean Rusk: "He always
gives me twenty options and argues convincingly for
and against each of them."

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassini comes off as a charming old school gentleman. He easily could have been a gigolo or trophy husband, but he had a surprisingly strong work ethic for someone from minor nobility. The chapter towards the end on his licensing deals was interesting since those really changed the fashion industry. Bits of his story seem incredible, but the only unbelievable parts were his claims that he didn't think JFK cheated much and that his relationship with Grace Kelly was platonic for a long time.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gatte Gene Tierneys und Modemensch schreibt sehr vergnügliche Memoiren. Wie er mit Gene durchbrennt und Grace Kelly verführt.
Tochter kommt geistig behindert zur Welt, weil kranker Fan mit Gattin während Schwangerschaft in Berührung kam. Vorlage für Christie: The Mirror cracked.