A Life in Frocks: A Memoir

by Kelly Doust

A personal, entertaining, exquisitely illustrated exploration of the significance of clothes, filtered through one woman's life-long sartorial infatuation A seductive mix of memoir, philosophies, and fantasies, this is a book for those who love clothes and find fashion beguiling, fickle, and fabulous. For as long as she can remember, Kelly Doust has been passionate about clothes. They are her first, and most enduring, love affair to date. Like many women, she adores the playfulness of fashion and its endless ability to transform. She loves the ritual and drama of getting dressed, assuming different identities in different outfits, and exploring the many facets of her personality. She buys far too many glossy magazines, and puzzles over how she can spend half her life shopping and yet still find herself with nothing to wear. Over the years, clothes have comforted her, given her confidence, lured lovers, made her invisible, secured jobs, aged her, and given back her youth. And yes, they have betrayed her. This is one woman's charming analysis of her fascinating relationship with what she wears.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Memoir

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Kelly Doust is the author of the novels 'Dressing the Dearloves' and 'Precious Things'; 'A Life in Frocks' (a memoir); vintage fashion bible 'Minxy Vintage: how to customise & wear vintage clothing' and The Crafty Minx series of craft books.

With a background in book publishing and publicity, Kelly has worked in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia, and has freelanced for Vogue, Australian Women’s Weekly and Sunday Life Magazine.

She currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and daughter and works as a Lifestyle Publisher for Murdoch Books.

Reviews

[Natalie June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Overall, I gave this book 5/5 Stars and a favourite, aside from a few (minor) differences I really enjoyed 'A Life in Frocks'. The luxurious descriptions and little connections the autho
r made between her life and the clothes she wore was very original; very inviting. This is a book I'd recommend to anyone with a polyvore account (that they use frequently), anyone who spends just a little too much time staring at the pictures of glamorous models in magazines, Or, anyone who likes op-shopping not only because it's cheap, but because they like the idea of finding "treasure" (or something they can create "treasure" out of). After you've read it this book will make you want to: buy a sewing machine, travel, go op-shopping, read every issue of vogue you have (twice) and go through your current wardrobe organising and ditching things that no-longer have any appeal to you.

Full review: http://quirkygirllikesvintage.blogspo...

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say this book is fabulously well-written. In the true memoir style, it's just a better organized (though sometimes not even) collection of thoughts and musings. What I loved about this book was its ability to force me into analyzing and appreciating my own sartorial journey. It's less about one woman's life as told by her clothes and more about what fashion and frocks can mean to a person. Over the past few days I've found myself dictating inner-monologues of what clothing, jewelry and makeup mean to me, and it's frankly really exciting. I am far too self-indulgent when it comes to what I wear and especially when buying shoes. After high school (and probably the first couple years of college) I was lacking in personal style. I often dressed well, but now I have truly developed my own look. My friends often say "that outfit is SO you!" It feels good to have a style all my own. But I digress. See what this book has done to me?!?

[Carol-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this prettily packaged little memoir. I have read and enjoyed Kelly's other books and have formed a strong opinion that she is an lovely, energetic and unselfconsciously creative person. The subject matter was interesting for me as I have a real interest in fabric, fashion, sewing and crafts. Also, being a fellow Australian and having lived in Sydney as a student, I am familiar with many of the places mentioned (enriching her recounts somewhat). Certainly not a book for everyone, but I'm glad I read it and wish her all the very best with her future endeavours (literary and otherwise).

[Sapphoiseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light but entertainingly written, Doust walks the reader through her wardrobe and the many places and experiences in which said wardrobe has participated. Hers is a true love affair with clothes and explores how we connect through them to the world around us. It's all about fashion and it's fabulous!

[Emma Mascall · Rating 4 out of 5]

About half way through and loving the little gems of stories all around her life but more importantly her clothes and how her style has evolved. Beautiful book with equally beautiful illustrations making me smile every time I pick it up. Perfect to dip in and out of. Thanks to my gorgeous girlfriends who bought me this to cheer me up because I was having a tough time, it has succeeded.

[Alethea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written memoir of a woman's life through the clothes she's owned, loved and dreamed about.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book. cleverly written and had you nodding in recognition at times and searching ebay for others!

[Edwina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't finish it, though in saying this, I really enjoyed it, I smiled and cringed throughout the book as I can relate to LOVING clothes.

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the way she describes clothing, the colours and cuts and fabrics. The language is vivid and beautifully descriptive but the rest of the prose were a little flouncy for me like it was the princess diaries, written for teens with overly romantic tones and graces, all of it was a bit much. I guess it did read a bit like those Shopaholic novels, if you loved this then read those, you’ll love them. I can see what she was trying to do in weaving the clothes throughout her stories but it didn’t land for me. I think it needed another rewrite to get it to flow. As I said, it’s a tone issue that’s just not for me not overly a content problem, though I’m not sure why she had to spell out the 000 vs 911 emergency number difference, was a bit eye roll ensuing when an author talks down to their audience, make them come up to you.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. I love clothes and I don't think it's shallow or frivolous to love them with the passion that Doust does. Sometimes though I think she writes as though she does feel shallow or frivolous. Maybe it was that this has an essay style element to it. Some of the chapters that make up this memoir were written as assignments for magazines and there is that editorial style voice here that means that I think she glosses over things when they get interesting. There are a couple of chapters I found particularly interesting, like the one where she remembers what she was wearing on the day she was in a car accident and how silly she felt and that she should have worn something more appropriate. It began to be great, and then the chapter finished and we were on to the next thing. I would have liked more meat on these bones.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love clothes. Style and fashion and all it's details delight me. So how much fun to find a memoir of a womans life through the lens of the clothes she wore. I loved the concept right away.
The end result I like, but am not wildly in love with. The chapters are almost more like blog posts, or little details in between sections of a fashion magazine.
The author has a fun, breezy style and is honest about her love of fashion and her love of the new. Its rare to find a book about fashion so firmly in the camp of following trends and enjoying the now, over the careful cultivation of the classic. Its not quite my own style, but it's lovely to read someone so dedicated to it.
This is a fun read, and enjoyable for all those who love clothes, fashion, and the endless joy of self expression.

[Tamara Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book to make you think about times and places and choices you made..... ostensibly it's about clothes.... but its about so much more than that....

A lovely book

[Stephanie Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely easy read. As a crafter it was interesting to read if someone else’s experiences and thoughts. And plus the cover was just gorgeous

[Mishy Moo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I would challenge that there is something affordable and glamorous for every size and budget- very hard to find beautiful shoes for big feet!

[Deborah Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully packaged book with a lovely jacket that reveals - well, I wont spoil the surprise. As a premise I thought this was excellent, every woman can look through her wardrobe and see her own history written there. And Kelly Doust is adept at describing all the particulars of her various outfits, and this would be poignant were it matched in any way by a memoir of equal calibre. I think it is hard to write a convincing substantial memoir at the age of 33, if like Ms Doust. you have not had a particularly eventful life so far. On the other hand, during the one scene of drama where a family member is injured, it did seem rather odd to be describing the red trench coat rather than concentrating on the actual traumatic event. It made the whole thing appear rather shallow and vacuous, which in the end I suppose fashion is. Make no mistake, Doust is a good writer and as a series of small magazine articles this would probably work perfectly, but the word "memoir" is too big a word for this collection of musings.

The illustrations are gorgeous and quirky, but I can't help feeling that they undermine the author's words which have already done the job of describing the outfits in more than enough detail.

I think this book will be enjoyed most by women of a similar age to Ms Doust, who can compare the minutiae of their wardrobe with that of the author, and who are looking for light read on their daily commute.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just too silly. Loved the craft books though.

[Deeelljay · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun and easy to read. Made me feel less guilty about being a shopaholic, and made me also feel more confident in what I wore by reading about the writer's flamboyant and eccentric style. It reflected the many associations with fashion that we have with friends, experiences, milestones and lovers. Would have liked to hear more about the psychology/sociology of fashion and culture, but the book is also more of a memoir so can't be expected. I loved the illustrations and reading the book never felt like a chore, instead something I looked forward to diving into.