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Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga
The title says it all: Bad Girls of Fashion explores the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. Included are Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Sidebar subjects include: Elizabeth I, Marilyn Monroe, Rihanna, and Vivienne Westwood.
Photos illuminate the text, while edgy, vividly colored illustrations depict the subjects with interpretive flair. Readers will learn not only about changing fashion styles through history, but about changing historical attitudes toward women, and the links between fashion and art, film, music, politics, and feminism. With an energetic, appealing writing style, Croll demonstrates how through the ages, women — often without other means of power — have used fashion as a tool, and how their influence continues to shape how women present themselves today.
Photos illuminate the text, while edgy, vividly colored illustrations depict the subjects with interpretive flair. Readers will learn not only about changing fashion styles through history, but about changing historical attitudes toward women, and the links between fashion and art, film, music, politics, and feminism. With an energetic, appealing writing style, Croll demonstrates how through the ages, women — often without other means of power — have used fashion as a tool, and how their influence continues to shape how women present themselves today.
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2016
11 people are currently reading
634 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Croll
12 books28 followersJennifer Croll is the author of
Free the Tipple
,
Bad Girls of Fashion
and
Fashion That Changed the World
and has written for magazines including NYLON, Adbusters, and Dazed and Confused. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
October 5, 2016
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Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels: from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll and illustrated by Ada Buchholic was strangely disappointing. The illustrations themselves were beautiful, and for the most part, the descriptions themselves served to do what Croll wanted them to: tell stories of women who used fashion to rebel. Unfortunately, that goal was ultimately undermined by Croll’s own choices. The organization of the book was unnecessarily confusing: smaller “fashion spotlights” and “iconic looks” served as seemingly random story breaks within each chapter based on a “fashion leader.” For example, Cleopatra’s chapter had random pages dedicated to Elizabeth I, Angela Davis, and Empress Dowager Cixi. This was confusing and disorienting, and not all of them made sense. The chapters didn’t seem to be related to a fashion leader’s influence on the other women (Cher, after all, was a “fashion spotlight” within the Lady Gaga chapter, and Madonna had her own chapter). I kept losing my place in a history because the transitions were sudden, and they appeared in full page or 2-page sections rather than sidebars.
The other reason for my dislike was more concerning. The book failed to discuss cultural appropriation. After explaining how Cleopatra used fashion and creating an image of herself to bolster her political power, the book shifts into her influence. A page describing Cleopatra in film mentions how the Western idea of her hairstyle is not historically accurate, but fails to make a point of the fact that she was depicted by white women. Similarly, there’s a whole page dedicated to “Celebrities Who Have Dressed as Cleopatra,” including Blake Lively, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, and Heidi Klum. All would have been good moments to address cultural appropriation, but she never does. The closest she gets is this section:
“A newly centered Madonna appeared in public wearing a sari, a bindi, and mehndi painted on her hands, all of which carry religious and cultural symbolism for South Asian people. Some people suggested that this was an act of cultural appropriation—that is, that Madonna stole from another culture without really respecting it. Regardless, her new appearance and sound inspired millions of Western women to take an interest in Eastern culture and fashion.”
Her seemingly flippant attitude towards minorities and cultural appropriation made me look more critically than I would have otherwise at who got chapters and who only got spotlights. Grace Jones, Nicki Minaj, Josephine Baker, and Rihanna were hidden in chapters dedicated to white women such as Lady Gaga and Madonna. Considering the book she was writing—fashion rebels and bad girls—I would have thought a deeper discussion of cultural appropriations and its controversies, as well as more of a focus on women-of-color who used fashion to rebel, would have been more satisfying and more useful for her ultimate goal.
Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels: from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll and illustrated by Ada Buchholic was strangely disappointing. The illustrations themselves were beautiful, and for the most part, the descriptions themselves served to do what Croll wanted them to: tell stories of women who used fashion to rebel. Unfortunately, that goal was ultimately undermined by Croll’s own choices. The organization of the book was unnecessarily confusing: smaller “fashion spotlights” and “iconic looks” served as seemingly random story breaks within each chapter based on a “fashion leader.” For example, Cleopatra’s chapter had random pages dedicated to Elizabeth I, Angela Davis, and Empress Dowager Cixi. This was confusing and disorienting, and not all of them made sense. The chapters didn’t seem to be related to a fashion leader’s influence on the other women (Cher, after all, was a “fashion spotlight” within the Lady Gaga chapter, and Madonna had her own chapter). I kept losing my place in a history because the transitions were sudden, and they appeared in full page or 2-page sections rather than sidebars.
The other reason for my dislike was more concerning. The book failed to discuss cultural appropriation. After explaining how Cleopatra used fashion and creating an image of herself to bolster her political power, the book shifts into her influence. A page describing Cleopatra in film mentions how the Western idea of her hairstyle is not historically accurate, but fails to make a point of the fact that she was depicted by white women. Similarly, there’s a whole page dedicated to “Celebrities Who Have Dressed as Cleopatra,” including Blake Lively, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, and Heidi Klum. All would have been good moments to address cultural appropriation, but she never does. The closest she gets is this section:
“A newly centered Madonna appeared in public wearing a sari, a bindi, and mehndi painted on her hands, all of which carry religious and cultural symbolism for South Asian people. Some people suggested that this was an act of cultural appropriation—that is, that Madonna stole from another culture without really respecting it. Regardless, her new appearance and sound inspired millions of Western women to take an interest in Eastern culture and fashion.”
Her seemingly flippant attitude towards minorities and cultural appropriation made me look more critically than I would have otherwise at who got chapters and who only got spotlights. Grace Jones, Nicki Minaj, Josephine Baker, and Rihanna were hidden in chapters dedicated to white women such as Lady Gaga and Madonna. Considering the book she was writing—fashion rebels and bad girls—I would have thought a deeper discussion of cultural appropriations and its controversies, as well as more of a focus on women-of-color who used fashion to rebel, would have been more satisfying and more useful for her ultimate goal.
April 23, 2017
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
RATING: 4 STARS
A fun book for anyone that likes fashion, history and feminist! It is geared towards teens but I quite enjoyed it as a coffee table kind of book.
RATING: 4 STARS
A fun book for anyone that likes fashion, history and feminist! It is geared towards teens but I quite enjoyed it as a coffee table kind of book.
October 9, 2016
Fashion is huge in junior high. This could be a junior high student's first intro to those amazing trendsetters of old. It covers all the bad girls of fashion, and it's all here in a fun format. Take a look.
February 9, 2017
Interesting mix of subjects, easy to read, and the pictures are generally nicely chosen, though I could have done with a few more.
November 9, 2024
الكتاب عبارة عن الناس المهمة ف الفاشون من وجهة نظر الكاتبه بداية من كليوباترا ل لدي جاجا
احلى جزء عجبني بتاع مادونا لأنها مغنيتي المفضلة 😍
الكتاب احلى حاجه فيه هي الرسومات
بصور الكتب اللي بقراها ع انستجرام 👇
@mai.designer92
احلى جزء عجبني بتاع مادونا لأنها مغنيتي المفضلة 😍
الكتاب احلى حاجه فيه هي الرسومات
بصور الكتب اللي بقراها ع انستجرام 👇
@mai.designer92
September 28, 2017
Bad Girls of Fashion intrigued me with its title. I love bad girls. I love lists. I love history stuff. Fashion is one of those things that I always wanted to learn about but was never interested enough in actual fashion to really absorb the information properly in most cases (and if you don't believe me, just look in my closet!). This books offered a little bit f everything for some interesting and entertaining reading.
Each chapter focuses on a different "type" of fashionista from "fashion leaders" to "fashion freaks." They focus on one particular person who fits into that category, but also deviate briefly to go over a few others. Buchholc's illustrations are colourful and charming, and the selected photographs were all good choices. Croll manages to cover basic background info, along with how they were significant to the fashion industry, and how they were able to use fashion to navigate in the world. I thought it covered a lot of the greats, and did so with a great deal of readability. I did wish that it went more in depth in a couple of places, but it was definitely ideal for some light nonfic reading.
I would definitely recommend this to any teens or adults looking for a light piece of nonfiction about the bad girls of fashion. I am also definitely interested in seeing what Croll's other book (Fashion That Changed the World) has to offer.
Each chapter focuses on a different "type" of fashionista from "fashion leaders" to "fashion freaks." They focus on one particular person who fits into that category, but also deviate briefly to go over a few others. Buchholc's illustrations are colourful and charming, and the selected photographs were all good choices. Croll manages to cover basic background info, along with how they were significant to the fashion industry, and how they were able to use fashion to navigate in the world. I thought it covered a lot of the greats, and did so with a great deal of readability. I did wish that it went more in depth in a couple of places, but it was definitely ideal for some light nonfic reading.
I would definitely recommend this to any teens or adults looking for a light piece of nonfiction about the bad girls of fashion. I am also definitely interested in seeing what Croll's other book (Fashion That Changed the World) has to offer.
April 29, 2021
Quite interesting. Features notable women from history to present day who have made an impact using the clothes they chose to wear. The book starts off with Cleopatra and talks about how her attire reflected her political motives, then moves forward in history to cover other women along the way (e.g. Marie Antoinette, Marlene Dietrich, Frieda Kahlo, Coco Chanel, Madonna, Lady Gaga, etc), explaining how their clothing choices were an integral part of their identity. Though in many cases the link to fashion felt forced, it was still fun to read about these women's life stories and how they came to be famous.
July 5, 2017
Poorly organized with surprising choices of whom is highlighted and how much so. Meant to be a hip summary for teens; needs better and more photos for several fashions described and less wasted design space on its very pages. I also disliked the full page described as "Coco's Men." It felt tired and gossipy. Just not a good enough book for the quality of fashion that exists in the world.
March 26, 2017
Meh. Started off more interesting - Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette were more interesting to read about than Madonna for me.
Layout/structure was awful! Mini profiles shoved in the middle of the longer chapters made it tough to read. I can't imagine why anyone thought that was a good idea...
Layout/structure was awful! Mini profiles shoved in the middle of the longer chapters made it tough to read. I can't imagine why anyone thought that was a good idea...
August 31, 2016
Ok, so you might not care about fashion, but you care about women in history. Then this book is for you. It is more than a book about fashion. In fact, if you are into fashion you might feel a little cheated because there isn't page after page of different outfits. What this book does is show how women have used fashion for power.
It starts with Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I. From there is moved to Marie Antoinette and Rose Bertin, her fashion designer. And ends with women like Madona and and Lady Gaga. With Angela Davis, Yoko Ono and Bjork thrown in for good measure. Each section explains how the women being featured used fashion to get what she wanted, fame, power, wealth.
There was stuff I didn't know, which is always fun, and women I wasn't aware of.
Written at about a middle-grade level, this is very readable for all.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
It starts with Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I. From there is moved to Marie Antoinette and Rose Bertin, her fashion designer. And ends with women like Madona and and Lady Gaga. With Angela Davis, Yoko Ono and Bjork thrown in for good measure. Each section explains how the women being featured used fashion to get what she wanted, fame, power, wealth.
There was stuff I didn't know, which is always fun, and women I wasn't aware of.
Written at about a middle-grade level, this is very readable for all.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
January 24, 2021
Not a lot of depth. Kind of “Tourette’s like”
Just an intro to a bunch of “famous and sometimes off-beat fashion moments,” no real analysis or investigation, just fact regurgitation.
Three stars for the unique women covered and decent diversity.
Just an intro to a bunch of “famous and sometimes off-beat fashion moments,” no real analysis or investigation, just fact regurgitation.
Three stars for the unique women covered and decent diversity.
August 24, 2017
Interesting idea, but ultimately meh.
Bad Girls of Fashion is about women through the ages who have used (or misused) fashion to their own ends. Most of these are twentieth-century women: we've got Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette and then we skip to the more or less present. They're also largely white women, though we did get Angela Davis (hell yeah hell yeah) and Wu Zetian, among others, in sidebar spotlights.
Which is actually one of my major criticisms of the book. It's very oddly organized. There's ten chapters, each one the story of a single woman's life, and that's good! However, the chapters are interrupted at seemingly random intervals by "iconic looks" (single-page discussions of a person's fashion sense) and "fashion spotlights" (multiple-page looks at specific women). The transitions are jarring and abrupt, sometimes mid-sentence, and who gets spotlighted where doesn't seem to have much continuity. It's almost like the chapters were written first and then the looks and spotlights were wedged in wherever there was space.
My other major criticism of the book is that the choices are... strange. We get, for example, both Madonna and Lady Gaga with chapters of their own, yet Elizabeth I, who used fashion in really interesting ways, is stuck with a spotlight. Frida Kahlo, more famous for her artwork than necessarily her fashion choices, got an entire chapter, but Vivienne Westwood and Anna Wintour only have spotlights. Plus, unpleasant details like Coco Chanel's Nazi sympathies and Madonna's cultural appropriation are glossed over or not mentioned at all, which is really kind of gross in a book that talks about fashion as power.
It's interesting in a few ways: I enjoyed learning more about some of the women portrayed in this book, and I liked how Croll (generally) tied the exercise of fashion to power and vice versa. Plus, Buchholc's illustrations are really gorgeous. Pick this book up at the library for the illustrations, maybe, but I wouldn't buy it.
Bad Girls of Fashion is about women through the ages who have used (or misused) fashion to their own ends. Most of these are twentieth-century women: we've got Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette and then we skip to the more or less present. They're also largely white women, though we did get Angela Davis (hell yeah hell yeah) and Wu Zetian, among others, in sidebar spotlights.
Which is actually one of my major criticisms of the book. It's very oddly organized. There's ten chapters, each one the story of a single woman's life, and that's good! However, the chapters are interrupted at seemingly random intervals by "iconic looks" (single-page discussions of a person's fashion sense) and "fashion spotlights" (multiple-page looks at specific women). The transitions are jarring and abrupt, sometimes mid-sentence, and who gets spotlighted where doesn't seem to have much continuity. It's almost like the chapters were written first and then the looks and spotlights were wedged in wherever there was space.
My other major criticism of the book is that the choices are... strange. We get, for example, both Madonna and Lady Gaga with chapters of their own, yet Elizabeth I, who used fashion in really interesting ways, is stuck with a spotlight. Frida Kahlo, more famous for her artwork than necessarily her fashion choices, got an entire chapter, but Vivienne Westwood and Anna Wintour only have spotlights. Plus, unpleasant details like Coco Chanel's Nazi sympathies and Madonna's cultural appropriation are glossed over or not mentioned at all, which is really kind of gross in a book that talks about fashion as power.
It's interesting in a few ways: I enjoyed learning more about some of the women portrayed in this book, and I liked how Croll (generally) tied the exercise of fashion to power and vice versa. Plus, Buchholc's illustrations are really gorgeous. Pick this book up at the library for the illustrations, maybe, but I wouldn't buy it.
Read
April 13, 2021Bad Girls of Fashion talks about the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. I loved how the book went from Cleopatra to modern day people like Madonna. Photos help illuminate the text , while illustrations help readers get a visual to understand the women's powerful fashion. The author demonstrates how through the ages women often without tons of power have used fashion as a way of gaining more, and how their influence continues to shape how women present themselves today.If you read this book you will not only learn about styles of fashion changing through history but you will also learn about the way these women used their power to change the world they live in. I really enjoyed this book and I believe it was because of all the pictures, illustrations, colors, and the layout. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about fashion. I would give this book an overall rating of 8 out of 10.
April 13, 2022
Pros:
Well informative
Interesting color schemes
Cons:
Disorganized. Like weird interceptions of other artists icons that kind of threw me off after the first chapter.
I think some icons should have gotten actual chapters, like Prada versus Frida as I said in my status update.
Thoughts:
I know some people complained about cultural appropriation, but Cleopatra's race is heavily debated and unknown so I don't think it matters if a white or black person plays her. I also don't think the Madonna thing was a big deal, I've noticed most people who are upset about hair styles anyway are white people who do not even know the cultural that they are supposedly defending.
I do wish that she had wrote about different race icons. We got some cool people who weren't white but they were subjected to the shorter pages or just 1 chapter dedicated.
Well informative
Interesting color schemes
Cons:
Disorganized. Like weird interceptions of other artists icons that kind of threw me off after the first chapter.
I think some icons should have gotten actual chapters, like Prada versus Frida as I said in my status update.
Thoughts:
I know some people complained about cultural appropriation, but Cleopatra's race is heavily debated and unknown so I don't think it matters if a white or black person plays her. I also don't think the Madonna thing was a big deal, I've noticed most people who are upset about hair styles anyway are white people who do not even know the cultural that they are supposedly defending.
I do wish that she had wrote about different race icons. We got some cool people who weren't white but they were subjected to the shorter pages or just 1 chapter dedicated.
July 2, 2017
So fascinating and fun to read! This book really shows that fashion is about more than just clothes--that it can be a powerful tool for self-expression, political protest, and challenging societal expectations and stereotypes. I loved the way the book was designed and all the lovely illustrations. However, it was organized in a really strange, unintuitive, and random way--there would be totally random "fashion spotlights" and "iconic looks" interspersed through larger sections about different "fashion rebels" which was confusing. But overall, this book was so feminist, interesting, and important--I really enjoyed it.
September 21, 2019
Wow! I didn't think this would be the book that has ended my reading slump!
I have literally spent my Saturday reading this book cover to cover and only stopping along the way to research the wonderful women discussed in this book.
I love fashion and how it can be used to express ones feelings, thoughts and beliefs. These women have shown that fashion is not necessarily about actual clothing, but a powerful tool of communication.
Great read!
I have literally spent my Saturday reading this book cover to cover and only stopping along the way to research the wonderful women discussed in this book.
I love fashion and how it can be used to express ones feelings, thoughts and beliefs. These women have shown that fashion is not necessarily about actual clothing, but a powerful tool of communication.
Great read!
March 16, 2020
A fun and insightful look at women that used fashion to communicate, push boundaries and change history. Women like Chanel, Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette are featured with an approachable tone that allows readers to get to know women that influenced the world while using fashion to their advantage. This is an enjoyable read with illustrations and photos to help bring the stories of these women to life.
November 16, 2020
If you love history & are interested in the biographies of women who made an impact by using fashion, then this is a book for you. It was an interesting book about fashion & history all wrapped up into one!
This book explores the lives of fantastic women throughout history who used fashion to make a statement, exert power, change lives, exude confidence & express their individuality.
It was a very interesting read in a well presented format.
This book explores the lives of fantastic women throughout history who used fashion to make a statement, exert power, change lives, exude confidence & express their individuality.
It was a very interesting read in a well presented format.
January 17, 2017
This is such an amazing book if you are interested in fashion and fashion idols of different eras. This bok is basically a book about all the women who took a stand and fought with fashion. The other thing about this book is that it explains ideas that people came up with that were quite revolutionary. If you love fashion, you should definetely read this!
January 21, 2018
this was actually very interesting.
it was on the shelf w/other books for YA/Teens but i think it's ok for adults as well.
fashion isn't my thing but it was presented in a way that was fun & informative.
each person profiled was given a wiki summary that was easy to read.
i'd recommend it for anyone who wanted a cliff notes on "Stylistas" throughout history.
it was on the shelf w/other books for YA/Teens but i think it's ok for adults as well.
fashion isn't my thing but it was presented in a way that was fun & informative.
each person profiled was given a wiki summary that was easy to read.
i'd recommend it for anyone who wanted a cliff notes on "Stylistas" throughout history.
May 26, 2019
I read the ebook which was hard to follow at times. Jumped all over the place. White washed views that's for sure. Sure she added other women of color, but not really. At the end of the day it was a book that praised white women for once again stealing the fashions from women of color. It's just tiring at this point.
April 25, 2020
I think it’s a great book, but I found it to be mainly repetitive. It would refer to the same people a lot of times and others barely at all. It also says more than 50 different women, but some of them get 1 paragraph only, while others get 2 or 3 pages. I would still recommend this though if you are looking for an interesting book that is feminist.
March 7, 2021
This short book packs a punch. It is full of fascinating tidbits about a wide variety of women in history who have used fashion to make a statement. The illustrations are adorable but the inclusion of more photos would have elevated this to four stars. Recommended for middle and high school libraries.
June 28, 2022
3.5- This book is certainly aptly named... Somewhat scandalous for younger readers, I'd classify this as a young adult book (high school? maaaybe an 8th grader?). Photos and drawings of iconic fashionistas and their looks sometimes show more than I'd want an elementary school kid to see. I definitely learned a lot!
Notes- affairs, LGBTQ, smoking/alcohol use, mentions of suicide
Notes- affairs, LGBTQ, smoking/alcohol use, mentions of suicide
May 17, 2017
Love this book! Reading about all these great fashion icons in one book was a real joy ride. While I'm not a clothes horse, or fashion plate, myself, I know lots of women who are going to enjoy this book! Quick, fun and easy read. It's a winner!
August 29, 2017
(Informational) I love the idea of this book. The graphics are fun and the photos of the fashion are engaging. The format is terrible and hard to understand how the different women relate to each other when their stories are stuck within each other. Some suggestive material
May 31, 2018
Stunning illustrations (Coco Chanel on the Cover).
Informative and Entertaining about all the beautiful historical fashionistas.
Some of the Fashionistas:
Coco Chanel
Frida Kahlo
Elsa Schiaperelli
Marie Antoinette
Anna Wintour
More
Perfect if your a FANGIRL about Fashion.
Informative and Entertaining about all the beautiful historical fashionistas.
Some of the Fashionistas:
Coco Chanel
Frida Kahlo
Elsa Schiaperelli
Marie Antoinette
Anna Wintour
More
Perfect if your a FANGIRL about Fashion.
May 25, 2017
Women from various cultures and ethnicities, with an emphasis on their historical context and their place in history.
September 30, 2017
Like so many other reviewers have mentioned, the layout of this book is horrible!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews