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Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion
Legendary actress Brigitte Bardot led fashion revolutions throughout her career; this retrospective includes BB’s comments on her iconic style in a rare, intimate interview. Brigitte Bardot is a style icon whose legacy has undeniably shaped the face of fashion as we know it. She was discovered by a magazine editor at only 14 years old, her career blossomed as the world emerged from the ashes of World War II. She found fame and admiration on the big screen in the 1950s and then became the fiery sex symbol of the groovy and liberated 1960s. Over the course of her career, all of the great French designers—including Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, and Pierre Cardin—outfitted Bardot on- and offscreen. In photographs that capture her attending receptions by Queen Elizabeth II and Charles de Gaulle or on glamorous visits to the United States, in fashion shoots and on film sets, or relaxing on a grassy field, this volume illustrates all the key looks that BB wore and brought to the international spotlight as she invented and edited her own highly imitated style. In an extensive—and extremely rare—interview, accompanied by her personal comments on the photographs, Bardot explains the context of the often vanguard fashions she wore, making headlines wherever she went. Evoking French style and the glamour of St. Tropez, her legacy endures—from ballerina slippers with sweeping skirts to figure-hugging knitwear, gingham fabrics and gypsy dresses, kohl eyeliner and tousled hair.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 8, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 17, 2020
BB is one of my biggest inspirations in terms of style, energy and how free she was as a person. This book is beautiful! It's filled with stunning pictures of BB throughout her life and includes an interview with her and a few words from people who admired her. She was and is one of a kind! love her!
May 29, 2024
At least half of the book is made up of black & white and color photographs. There is an interview and some biographical background also. Dreamy!
September 25, 2018
[I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review; full review originally posted at http://vivelaqueen.blogspot.com/2017/...]
Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion offers unique insight into Bardot's style, both through the gorgeously reproduced images as well as the exclusive interview and foreword by Bardot. The interview is definitely the most interesting aspect of the book's text, since it provides Bardot's personal thoughts on her own style, her popularity, and her experiences. Servat's rapport with Bardot makes the interview especially warm and personable and it should be a true delight for those who are eager to hear the thoughts and recollections from Bardot herself rather than fashion historians. The essays featured in the book, while short, provide the framework for understanding the context of Bardot's fashion and its influence on the world during different periods in her life.
The images in the book, 187 in all, are organized into years, with several photographs, quotations and a short essay accompanying most of them. The images are reproduced in high quality and are a delight to look at, especially if you have an interest in fashion from that era. There is a reason people today still introduce influences that harken back to the "Bardot Style"! Many of the images featured in the book have been rarely reproduced elsewhere, so fans of Bardot will be especially pleased to find some new, high quality images of this fashion icon. I personally found the behind-the-scenes film photographs the most interesting, since they not only showcased her film fashion but her film work as well.
The quotations that are partnered with many of the images are from Bardot as well as her contemporaries, including photographers, designers, producers, and others who worked with Bardot; these quotations offer an intimate look at Bardot's influence through the people who worked, dressed, and shared the world with her. I appreciated that the quotes chosen were from people who had some kind of connect to Bardot, which gave them greater weight and interest.
I recommend Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion for fans of Brigitte Bardot, as well as anyone with an interest in 1950s-1970s fashion. It is an intimate, visual and fashion-savvy look at one of the most influential style icons of the 20th century.
Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion offers unique insight into Bardot's style, both through the gorgeously reproduced images as well as the exclusive interview and foreword by Bardot. The interview is definitely the most interesting aspect of the book's text, since it provides Bardot's personal thoughts on her own style, her popularity, and her experiences. Servat's rapport with Bardot makes the interview especially warm and personable and it should be a true delight for those who are eager to hear the thoughts and recollections from Bardot herself rather than fashion historians. The essays featured in the book, while short, provide the framework for understanding the context of Bardot's fashion and its influence on the world during different periods in her life.
The images in the book, 187 in all, are organized into years, with several photographs, quotations and a short essay accompanying most of them. The images are reproduced in high quality and are a delight to look at, especially if you have an interest in fashion from that era. There is a reason people today still introduce influences that harken back to the "Bardot Style"! Many of the images featured in the book have been rarely reproduced elsewhere, so fans of Bardot will be especially pleased to find some new, high quality images of this fashion icon. I personally found the behind-the-scenes film photographs the most interesting, since they not only showcased her film fashion but her film work as well.
The quotations that are partnered with many of the images are from Bardot as well as her contemporaries, including photographers, designers, producers, and others who worked with Bardot; these quotations offer an intimate look at Bardot's influence through the people who worked, dressed, and shared the world with her. I appreciated that the quotes chosen were from people who had some kind of connect to Bardot, which gave them greater weight and interest.
I recommend Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion for fans of Brigitte Bardot, as well as anyone with an interest in 1950s-1970s fashion. It is an intimate, visual and fashion-savvy look at one of the most influential style icons of the 20th century.
March 14, 2018
Wonderful collection of photos! Also a short interview of Bardot and contributions from people that knew her or worked with her or dressed her. If you are a fan of Bardot and you like the fashion of 50s-60s-70s it is recommended!
April 21, 2022
I am a fan of old Hollywood style movie stars. Brigitte Bardot is someone with whom I am familiar, but about whom I do not know as much as say, her contemporaries Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. In fact, I do not think I have seen any of Bardot's many films.
This book is about her as a style icon, and covers her active film star decades in the 1950s and 1960s. I chiefly associate BB (as she is referred to in the book) with her boho 1960s style, so it was interesting to learn that she was dressed by several fashion designers such as Chanel and Givenchy. She did make use of several off-the-rack designers, especially when she had to costume her own films.
The book is full of colour photographs of BB, and anecdotes about her. It writes of her in consistently laudatory praise, which is quite over the top, and becomes grating to read. It also emphasises how unique her style was, yet never actually defines it. I have never thought of her as a fashion icon, with her own distinct style, rather than as a film icon with a distinctive image. This book doesn't do anything to change that. Still, it was an interesting read about the French cinema icon.
This book is about her as a style icon, and covers her active film star decades in the 1950s and 1960s. I chiefly associate BB (as she is referred to in the book) with her boho 1960s style, so it was interesting to learn that she was dressed by several fashion designers such as Chanel and Givenchy. She did make use of several off-the-rack designers, especially when she had to costume her own films.
The book is full of colour photographs of BB, and anecdotes about her. It writes of her in consistently laudatory praise, which is quite over the top, and becomes grating to read. It also emphasises how unique her style was, yet never actually defines it. I have never thought of her as a fashion icon, with her own distinct style, rather than as a film icon with a distinctive image. This book doesn't do anything to change that. Still, it was an interesting read about the French cinema icon.
April 5, 2024
this felt like flipping through a photo album of one of my greatest influences. 💖
by far my favorite "coffee table book".
by far my favorite "coffee table book".
April 20, 2022
Bardot will, and always will be, a fashion icon. From the voluminous hair, to her perfectly smudged eyeliner, to her plump pout, to her classic “Repetto” style- she never fails to look fashionably fun. “My Life in Fashion” was a very personal connection with BB, one that brought light to just how many beauty trends she’s created. She will always be in style, right next to Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie-O.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews