Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up

by Claire Wilcox (editor), Circe Henestrosa (Editor)

Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), as an artist and a woman, has a unique international appeal. Her instantly recognizable work draws extensively on her life and her extraordinarily personal reflections upon it.
 
On Kahlo’s death, her husband, Diego Rivera (1886–1957), ordered that her most private possessions be locked away until 15 years after his death. The bathroom in which her belongings were stored in fact remained unopened until 2004. Through this incredible archive, Frida Kahlo’s Wardrobe gives readers a unique window into Kahlo’s life. It will focus on the personal, combining her prosthetics, jewelry, and clothes with self-portraits, diary entries, and letters to build an intimate portrait of the artist through her possessions, setting this in the context of her political and social beliefs.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, Fashion, Art History, Autobiography, Photography

256 pages, Hardcover

Published July 24, 2018

About the author

From Wikipedia: Claire Wilcox (born 1954)[1] is senior curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[2] She received an honorary doctorate in art and design from Middlesex University in July 2017.[3] She sits on the editorial board of the journal Fashion Theory.[4] She is professor of fashion curation at the London College of Fashion. She won the 2021 PEN/Ackerley Prize for Patch Work.[5]

(Not to be confused with American economist https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the death of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in 1954 her husband, Diego Rivera, insisted that a room in her house containing many of her posessions remain locked until after his own death. In 2003 these personal items were rediscovered & included clothing, jewellery, letters & photographs.
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London put together an exhibition of the items & this illustrated book shows many of them. Each section of the book looks at the items found as well as Kahlo's life & even a brief delve into the history of Mexican art.
I love Kahlo's work & this was a unique way to discover more about her extraordinary life.

[Macey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book out of the library a while ago and just sort of skimmed it and looked at all the pictures, but I actually read it this time and it's very good. A very insightful intersectional view of how Frida Kahlo presented herself both in her self-portraits and in her daily life. It spent a lot of time talking about the intersection of her femaleness (being overshadowed in her lifetime by Diego Rivera), her disability, and her part indigenous identity which was cool, and how by dressing in a Tehuana style it wasn't a purely sartorial choice it actually represented a revolutionary view of Mexico as she and her compatriots wanted it to be, as well as reflecting back on traditional Mexican culture.

As opposed to being a linear biography it's a collection of essays focusing on some part of her identity.
The pictures were very colourful and well printed which makes it feel a lot more real.

[Wendy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Loved all the detailed photographs of the exhibition.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm normally averse to artists that make any matter of spectacle of themselves as a means of expression, however there's a eternal fondest for Kahlo that led me to this book, and Claire Wilcox, to her credit, was able to show how Kahlo's external appearance was more than empty spectacle.

Using the actual clothes, make-up, and garbs that Kahlo dressed herself with through her life Wilcox manages to demonstrate that Kahlo saw her body as much as an extension of her identity as a Mexican and a woman and therefore dressing herself became another means of personal exploration. This book is visually lovely for the way it balances photography of Kahlo's actual make-up and clothes, personal photographs, and close-up images of the fabrics Kahlo dressed in, the reader is able to follow Kahlo's reinvention of herself and her creation of her public persona.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself up is an opportunity to observe an artist in the context of her times, her culture, her ethnicity, and her desire for personal self-creation alongside a look at her art. This book is beautiful and a wonderful addition to the body of work by and about Kahlo.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book with lots of beautiful pictures and a very interesting discussion of Frida Kahlo as she wanted to be seen and how she was, and how the two were basically the same and intrinsic to her sense of self. That’s not the greatest summary ever. It’s such a wonderful book, however, both in its contents and its printing—it’s a very good quality art book that is full of a lot of new information.

When the book came out on Kahlo’s wardrobe I procrastinated and didn’t buy it, and now it’s significantly more expensive. This book talks about her wardrobe and how carefully she chose everything she wore, so it’s very nice that it also includes some of those details.

Frida Kahlo is a fascinating woman to me because she appeals to _so_ many women across all backgrounds, cultures, etc.. This book goes into a lot of detail about how very carefully she cultivated the image of herself that she did, and also some of the history of regional Mexican dress.

If you’re a fan of Frida, this is truly a book you won’t want to miss. Highly recommended.

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up is a beautiful and deeply moving work that brings readers closer to Frida Kahlo not only as an artist, but as a person. Richly illustrated with photographs of Kahlo, her artwork, and her personal possessions, the book feels intimate, almost like stepping into her private world. It succeeds as more than an exhibition catalogue; it is a key to understanding how Kahlo consciously constructed her identity through clothing, adornment, and art.

Following Kahlo’s death in 1954, many of her personal belongings were sealed away and left undisturbed. When the locked room was finally opened in 2004, thousands of artifacts were revealed, including photographs, letters, drawings, medicines, jewelry, and clothing such as blouses, skirts, shawls, and orthopedic corsets. This book draws extensively on those rediscovered objects, pairing them with photographs of Kahlo actually wearing the items that appear in its pages. The result is a powerful sense of continuity between the woman, her possessions, her home, and her art. Close-ups of fabrics, detailed images of embroidery and stitching, and photographs of necklaces and jewelry, along with their cultural and historical origins, emphasize how carefully Kahlo curated her appearance.

Traditional Mexican dress is a recurring and central theme, influencing her clothing, jewelry, makeup, and hair, and reinforcing her connection to cultural identity and self-expression. The book does not shy away from Kahlo’s disability and physical pain. Her outfits are shown not only as aesthetic choices but also as tools, used to conceal the damage to her legs and body while asserting strength, individuality, and control. Family photographs, images of Kahlo as a young woman, and portraits that have since become iconic all contribute to a layered and human portrayal of her life.

Interspersed throughout the visual material are a series of essays that are academic yet accessible, offering thoughtful context without overwhelming the reader. Together, the images and texts illuminate how Kahlo lived, how she shaped her public image, how she influenced others, and how inseparable her art was from her personal experience. Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up is ultimately a powerful tribute to an icon, one that celebrates her creativity, resilience, and enduring influence through the tangible remnants of her extraordinary life.

[Lisa Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accompaniment to the V and A Museum, London 2018 exhibit: “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving,” this brilliant and beautiful coffee table book presents a view of artist Frida Kahlo who uses fashion to not only bewitch us but distract us from noticing her terrible physical disability. Ironically, her paintings reveal the mental, physical, and emotional torture her fantastic appearance belies.

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite and interesting read, dissecting the appearance of Frida Kahlo and her self presentation. I felt like it focused too heavily on other people and not as much on Kahlo herself as I would've liked and it didn't delve as deeply into her art and her depiction of herself in her art as I thought it should've but that's my personal opinion. Still fascinating.

[Emily Thaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3.5 stars. The photos and layout are really great, and I love the attention to detail and the theme of the book. However, some of it seemed kind of random, the ending seemed rushed and I wasn’t sure how I felt about some parts of the book being opinionated and some parts solely factual.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lavishly illustrated companion book to the V&A exhibit contains essays on Kahlo’s fashion, jewelry, makeup, and life. It will interest fashion historians as well as those interested in Frida Kahlo.

[Dianne Trautmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book I read about Frida shows me something new about her. This book examines her clothes, makeup and jewelry in relation to her construction of her public persona, her coping with her disabilities and her artwork. A great read, it is the book that accompanied the exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2018.

[Harriet Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this and would read a second volume if there was one. This analyses her art from from the perspective of her clothing, makeup and style. The quality of the book and photos within is amazing. Really recommend.

[Nadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Really interesting, with wonderful images and photographs. A great collectible

[LA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice book that not only discusses her life, but also her artwork. A good combination of the two topics.

[Mmfniteowl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pictures were great and it was interesting how she choose her clothing. Anyone with a slight interest in her should pick up this book.

[Rach Denholm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning and exotic.
Loved the different chapters by different authors, and the photography. Lots of information media to me.

[Ann]

Lovely book based on exhibition at the V&A in London. Great articles and photos.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at her life & art.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book and I learned a lot from it, but the full color pages showing the art and belongings of Frida Kahlo from the exhibition it was written to accompany was the best part.

[Virginia Palencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent essays on Frida’s life and style. Here they contend that her dress make up and hair were other forms of artistic expression for her. Gorgeous photographs of her art, and her clothing.