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Edith Head's Hollywood
Winner of eight Oscars for costume design, the author describes some of the hundreds of productions she worked on and gives her personal impressions of the actors and actresses for whom she created costumes.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 29, 2018
Edith Head is a legend in the Hollywood film community. As the doyenne of the costume department of Paramount Pictures, and later designing for Universal Studios, she's credited with outfitting the stars of myriad motion pictures over the course of her fifty-year professional career, and accrued a record eight Academy Awards for doing so. Among her more celebrated assignments were dressing Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, Ingrid Bergman in Notorious, Bette Davis in All About Eve, Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun, Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and, one of my favorites, Grace Kelly in Rear Window. (She was, in fact, Hitchcock's favorite designer and worked on the lion's share of his films.)
At the time of Edith's death in Los Angeles, at the age of eighty-three, she was in the midst of working on her autobiography. A number of interviews had been recorded by journalist Norma Lee Browning, though the project did not go forward with her. Instead, Dutton's senior editor chose Paddy Calistro, a fashion writer, to complete what would come to be called "a career biography." While it contains long passages of Head's verbatim recollection, the chronological structure, supplemental interviews and cultural perspective are largely Calistro's own. The sheer volume of Head's sartorial output would make this a daunting enterprise under ideal conditions, and it pains me to report there wasn't a whisper of hope for those here. Calistro, as it turns out, is not all that fond of Edith Head and, guess what? It shows.
To be fair, Ms. Head is another one of those reclusive artistic personalities whose penchant for personal privacy, evasion and misdirection makes her a difficult subject to get to know; harder still to get a firm emotional fix upon. She seems, at least to me, to be very much like Patricia Highsmith in this regard - earth-shaker by day, fringe-dweller by night. And like Patricia Highsmith, she's going to have a great deal of trouble finding the right biographer. You just can't escape the fact that people like this require a higher level of compassionate commitment, even if all (you tell yourself) you plan to handle is the professional side of the life. Newsflash: In individuals of this particular psychological stripe there is no such distinction.
The quoted passages in Edith's own voice are downright intriguing (and solely what my rating is based upon). She seems by turns petty, pragmatic, cynical, dynamic, and desperate for control. And how fascinating is that? As a woman who clothed her first film star in 1924, who carved a place for herself - and kept it - in a male-dominated industry throughout the course of two World Wars, the Sexual Revolution, the struggle for equal rights and so much more? I don't care how hard that shell is to crack, the story's going to be worth it. Hopefully I'll be around these parts when it finally gets told.
At the time of Edith's death in Los Angeles, at the age of eighty-three, she was in the midst of working on her autobiography. A number of interviews had been recorded by journalist Norma Lee Browning, though the project did not go forward with her. Instead, Dutton's senior editor chose Paddy Calistro, a fashion writer, to complete what would come to be called "a career biography." While it contains long passages of Head's verbatim recollection, the chronological structure, supplemental interviews and cultural perspective are largely Calistro's own. The sheer volume of Head's sartorial output would make this a daunting enterprise under ideal conditions, and it pains me to report there wasn't a whisper of hope for those here. Calistro, as it turns out, is not all that fond of Edith Head and, guess what? It shows.
To be fair, Ms. Head is another one of those reclusive artistic personalities whose penchant for personal privacy, evasion and misdirection makes her a difficult subject to get to know; harder still to get a firm emotional fix upon. She seems, at least to me, to be very much like Patricia Highsmith in this regard - earth-shaker by day, fringe-dweller by night. And like Patricia Highsmith, she's going to have a great deal of trouble finding the right biographer. You just can't escape the fact that people like this require a higher level of compassionate commitment, even if all (you tell yourself) you plan to handle is the professional side of the life. Newsflash: In individuals of this particular psychological stripe there is no such distinction.
The quoted passages in Edith's own voice are downright intriguing (and solely what my rating is based upon). She seems by turns petty, pragmatic, cynical, dynamic, and desperate for control. And how fascinating is that? As a woman who clothed her first film star in 1924, who carved a place for herself - and kept it - in a male-dominated industry throughout the course of two World Wars, the Sexual Revolution, the struggle for equal rights and so much more? I don't care how hard that shell is to crack, the story's going to be worth it. Hopefully I'll be around these parts when it finally gets told.
July 9, 2012
Written after Edith Head died using her tape recorded memoirs, it's a fascinating look at how Head worked her way up from the bottom to become one of the most famous costume designers in Hollywood, dressing literally every star from the 1920s to the 1960s. Edith was always careful to speak well of the stars she dressed, so there isn't much salacious gossip, but it's fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes work of the costume department, and the politics of the studio.
February 1, 2017
This book was very enlightening!! Edith Head was a brilliant designer and really understood the role of clothes in movies. She understood how the actor, camera, lighting, etc all worked together.
There are soo many big names of Hollywood elite in this book.
If you are interested in clothing, this is a book for you. If you are interested in movies, this book is for you. If you are interested in actors, this book is for you.
Enjoy!!
There are soo many big names of Hollywood elite in this book.
If you are interested in clothing, this is a book for you. If you are interested in movies, this book is for you. If you are interested in actors, this book is for you.
Enjoy!!
March 21, 2023
The author sums this book up beautifully.
"Was she talented? Yes, but was she a great designer? No. Will she continue to be the most famous designer in Hollywood history? Yes"
"Was she talented? Yes, but was she a great designer? No. Will she continue to be the most famous designer in Hollywood history? Yes"
January 17, 2016
I really liked reading about the lady in this book, and how she became a top fashion designer for film stars in the twenties through the eighties. She won 8 Academy Awards for her designs, more than any other woman. She was nominated 35 times. Still designing, she passed away at age 84.
I remember as a young girl watching the Academy Awards and seeing her win many awards for her beautiful designs worn by film stars in that golden era and always dreamed I would become a fashion designer like she was. My attempts never went beyond designing and making lovely clothes for my daughter and her dolls, which brought me just as much enjoyment. I still watch award shows to see the beautiful gowns, and designs for the movies today, and wonder what Ms. Head would design for them if she were still here.
Edith Head's Hollywood was an interesting history of her life and work and I would recommend it to those interested in the fashions of that era as well as how she became a top designer with no previous experience.
I remember as a young girl watching the Academy Awards and seeing her win many awards for her beautiful designs worn by film stars in that golden era and always dreamed I would become a fashion designer like she was. My attempts never went beyond designing and making lovely clothes for my daughter and her dolls, which brought me just as much enjoyment. I still watch award shows to see the beautiful gowns, and designs for the movies today, and wonder what Ms. Head would design for them if she were still here.
Edith Head's Hollywood was an interesting history of her life and work and I would recommend it to those interested in the fashions of that era as well as how she became a top designer with no previous experience.
January 3, 2012
Fun, interesting, and full of great Hollywood stories. I agree with Paddy Calistro's comment that Edith Head wasn't so much a designer as a great politician, career woman, and a very very hard worker. Not nearly as groundbreaking as her contemporaries, but Head knew how to costume roles well and make people feel comfortable. A worthwhile (and very fast) read.
October 8, 2019
This was fun reading.. ..perfect title too. Edith was working on this autobiography until she died and it was completed by Paddy Calistro. The combination of Edith’s words and Paddy’s fill in worked well for me.
I was surprised how Edith found her way into the business. She needed a job and there was an opening for a sketch artist position she wasn’t even trained for. She did have chutzpah walking into that interview with a friend’s borrowed designs. Both she and her friends thought it was funny.
I was impressed at her loyalty to her early mentors. Staying in the background, she made the most of her opportunities, kept a low profile and managed her way to the top. She admits that many thought she looked plain....but as she explains...the women she was dressing were the stars not she. As she said she pleased her bosses. I think her instincts were correct.
I forgot that she was on Art Linkletter’s show House Party or on talk shows. It further enhanced her reputation as the go to woman for “how to dress to look your best” advice. Interesting to know she turned down opportunities to design for retail. She knew her talent was designing for one character in mind and not have to deal with public whims. She knew her talents.
The descriptions of how gowns were designed were fascinating for me. The expense involved to achieve sheerness and so many other effects involved so many details...never to be seen again. I also had no idea that most actors had or chose to test their wardrobe for physical movements as they related to their character. I had no idea of the effort needed in such personal costume production.
Edith did design personal wardrobes for some of her stars. What an incredible luxury.....I did love those publicity photos of yesteryear! The stars of those times knew how to maintain their glamourous images.
As times changed...so did the movies and fashion....and no real need for a studio designer. The job became a shopper at retail stores. Another attitude change for wardrobe.....while working on the film Airport....she noted a time when people dressed for travel, now she had to design for clothes that traveled well. She didn’t care for the way people dressed....so informally ... but she did enjoy designing the airlines uniforms....which she said one airline adopted.
All in all....I do have new a appreciation for the costume designer.....especially the old time eras. I’ll be checking YouTube for Edith Head interviews...and looking for the 5minute film short “Million Dollar Wardrobe”, which was to promote Lana Turner’s wardrobe for Love Has Many Faces 1965.
I was surprised how Edith found her way into the business. She needed a job and there was an opening for a sketch artist position she wasn’t even trained for. She did have chutzpah walking into that interview with a friend’s borrowed designs. Both she and her friends thought it was funny.
I was impressed at her loyalty to her early mentors. Staying in the background, she made the most of her opportunities, kept a low profile and managed her way to the top. She admits that many thought she looked plain....but as she explains...the women she was dressing were the stars not she. As she said she pleased her bosses. I think her instincts were correct.
I forgot that she was on Art Linkletter’s show House Party or on talk shows. It further enhanced her reputation as the go to woman for “how to dress to look your best” advice. Interesting to know she turned down opportunities to design for retail. She knew her talent was designing for one character in mind and not have to deal with public whims. She knew her talents.
The descriptions of how gowns were designed were fascinating for me. The expense involved to achieve sheerness and so many other effects involved so many details...never to be seen again. I also had no idea that most actors had or chose to test their wardrobe for physical movements as they related to their character. I had no idea of the effort needed in such personal costume production.
Edith did design personal wardrobes for some of her stars. What an incredible luxury.....I did love those publicity photos of yesteryear! The stars of those times knew how to maintain their glamourous images.
As times changed...so did the movies and fashion....and no real need for a studio designer. The job became a shopper at retail stores. Another attitude change for wardrobe.....while working on the film Airport....she noted a time when people dressed for travel, now she had to design for clothes that traveled well. She didn’t care for the way people dressed....so informally ... but she did enjoy designing the airlines uniforms....which she said one airline adopted.
All in all....I do have new a appreciation for the costume designer.....especially the old time eras. I’ll be checking YouTube for Edith Head interviews...and looking for the 5minute film short “Million Dollar Wardrobe”, which was to promote Lana Turner’s wardrobe for Love Has Many Faces 1965.
June 28, 2015
I picked up this book expecting a lot of Hollywood dish, and in that regard I was a little disappointed. I also wanted new details on costumes from my favorite old movies, and there I was delighted. (The hat Redford wore as Sundance was specially chosen to balance his very square jaw, Bette Davis' famous red dress in Jezebel was really brown because brown photographed better in B&W ... you get the idea.)
But I came away thinking Edith was more fascinating as a marketer than as a designer. When it came to promoting her own career, she was driven and creative. With print, radio and daytime TV interviews, and her own line of home-sew patterns, and having her salon a stop on the Universal studio tour, she made sure her name was known to the movie going public. She lobbied hard to make sure the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added a costume category, and then won Oscar after Oscar (and wasn't always scrupulous about sharing the credit).
The is serious 21st century thinking from a woman born in the late 1890s. I came away wishing Edith could have lived long enough for social media. Imagine her Instagram posts from backstage at the Oscars!
But I came away thinking Edith was more fascinating as a marketer than as a designer. When it came to promoting her own career, she was driven and creative. With print, radio and daytime TV interviews, and her own line of home-sew patterns, and having her salon a stop on the Universal studio tour, she made sure her name was known to the movie going public. She lobbied hard to make sure the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added a costume category, and then won Oscar after Oscar (and wasn't always scrupulous about sharing the credit).
The is serious 21st century thinking from a woman born in the late 1890s. I came away wishing Edith could have lived long enough for social media. Imagine her Instagram posts from backstage at the Oscars!
March 23, 2021
This was a very well written book. Much was taken from Edith Head's own words before she passed. The author added to this with details and accounts from interviews and history. There is also one aspect of this biography that I very much like. SPOILER ALERT: That is the ending. I enjoy Hollywood biographies, at least until the last chapter when the life story goes to the decline and lingering death of the subject. Depressing and ends on a sour note. But, in this book, we are spared that. At the very beginning of the book there is a brief mention of her passing and that is it. The end of the book is on a positive point.
January 3, 2024
men in classic cinema provided their own wardrobe....what??????????
June 6, 2016
An interesting portrait written postumusly from tapes Edith Head created during her life with an eye to writing her memoirs. I felt having an author put the book together from tapes allowed an outsider to comment on some of the controversy that has followed Head's career.
If you are interested in costume or clothing design you will find this interesting. If you are looking for hollywood gossip look elsewhere.
Personally I enjoyed it and want to sit down and watch the movies she described costuming. I am interested to see the clothing she describes on film.
If you are interested in costume or clothing design you will find this interesting. If you are looking for hollywood gossip look elsewhere.
Personally I enjoyed it and want to sit down and watch the movies she described costuming. I am interested to see the clothing she describes on film.
January 12, 2016
Edith Head was and remains an institution in Hollywood. A costume designer who worked her way up from a sketch artist to head designer at Paramount Films her career was nothing short of amazing.
This book is a wonderful balance of her words and those of her biographer - it highlights the discrepancies between her views and belief in herself and criticisms levelled against her.
This book is a wonderful balance of her words and those of her biographer - it highlights the discrepancies between her views and belief in herself and criticisms levelled against her.
July 19, 2013
Great book about old Hollywood. Fashion, people and life. Lots of details. Great for the sewer in you.
September 7, 2016
An incredibly interesting of the history of one of the major designer icons who dressed Hollywood screen stars during the 1940's.
April 26, 2015
This is a fun, informative book for lovers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, costume design, movie stars or Edith herself. Lots of great pictures too.
September 10, 2015
Very interesting read.
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December 11, 2015Biog H4324h 2008
January 13, 2016
definitely good, with all the edith head verbatim writing.
November 19, 2020
If you love the movies, anecdotes about Hollywood legends, fashion and costume design, you'll enjoy this book of reminisces by Edith Head, the renowned costume designer, with commentary on Head's life by Paddy Calistro.
Edith Head's career stretched over nearly six decades, from the 1920s into the 1970s. She participated in the costume design of hundreds of films, and was nominated for thirty-five Oscars, winning eight over the years. She worked with actors from Mae West, to Bette Davis (who wrote the forward to this book), Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and others too numerous to mention. She was closely associated with Alfred Hitchcock and other premier directors.
This book was published in 1983, after her death in 1981 at the age of eighty-three. It includes multiple pages of photos of some of her most memorable costumes, along with sketches of some of her ideas.
I highly recommend it for all film buffs and those who want to escape to the glamorous world of mid-twentieth century Hollywood.
Edith Head's career stretched over nearly six decades, from the 1920s into the 1970s. She participated in the costume design of hundreds of films, and was nominated for thirty-five Oscars, winning eight over the years. She worked with actors from Mae West, to Bette Davis (who wrote the forward to this book), Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and others too numerous to mention. She was closely associated with Alfred Hitchcock and other premier directors.
This book was published in 1983, after her death in 1981 at the age of eighty-three. It includes multiple pages of photos of some of her most memorable costumes, along with sketches of some of her ideas.
I highly recommend it for all film buffs and those who want to escape to the glamorous world of mid-twentieth century Hollywood.
May 12, 2021
I have been intrigued by Edith Head for a while, and this was a good overview of her career. I love the included pictures. I'm definitely not an old Hollywood scholar, so there were names I didn't entirely know and had to look up. I was hoping it would narrow down which Head movies for me to watch and it didn't really. Oh well.
Side note: There are some comments in this book about the size of different women that may be triggering for others. It's not necessarily surprising considering the fashion world, but readers may want to be aware. I don't remember any super racist stuff, but they do talk about using "ethnic" inspiration.
Side note: There are some comments in this book about the size of different women that may be triggering for others. It's not necessarily surprising considering the fashion world, but readers may want to be aware. I don't remember any super racist stuff, but they do talk about using "ethnic" inspiration.
July 7, 2020
Edith Head is such an icon of Old Hollywood. She had a remarkable eye for what worked well for people and how to dress them. It’s a shame she was so private. She’s such a mystery. This book was fascinating, and it was so interesting to learn her take on some of the stars of the silver screen and the Golden era of Hollywood.
November 29, 2020
Great account of Edith Head's life and career, Paddy Calistro's writing is interspersed with Edith's own recollections of her days as a designer. Fascinating stories, details of her methods as an artist, and a bit of hilarious gossip.
December 25, 2019
Grit and determination more than gift and inspiration created Edith Head's career as Hollywood's foremost costume designer.
January 31, 2020
I think Edith would have enjoyed the homage to her character in The Incredibles, darling.
December 31, 2020
I enjoyed reading a book about the great Edith Head, what a career and life!
March 10, 2022
One of my favourite books on Old Hollywood.
I'm endlessly fascinated by Edith Head's life and career and this book covered pretty much everything from her early days at Paramount to the early 80s.
I'm endlessly fascinated by Edith Head's life and career and this book covered pretty much everything from her early days at Paramount to the early 80s.
May 25, 2024
This book contains more text than I had expected. The photographs were naturally in black and white. Unfortunately, the sketches were as well.
July 29, 2016
Edith Head's Hollywood wasn't the best book. I thought that this book wasn't very descriptive with her life and all of the little details. I thought that it was missing something big, like iy didn't describe her life all the way. I was very bored during most parts and it wasn't very appealing to me. I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in fashion and designs and stuff like that.
Edith Head was a world famous costume designer for all of the big movies during the early-mid 1900's. She was apparently the best and the most renound costume designer. If you met her, it was like a very big deal back then. Edith dressed most famous stars for example Elvis Presley, and Audrey Hepburn. Some of her most famous movies were The Jungle Princess, The Sting, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. She honestly had a very interesting lifestyle. I would have to say, I would very much love to live her life if I was alive back in the 1900's.
Edith Head was a world famous costume designer for all of the big movies during the early-mid 1900's. She was apparently the best and the most renound costume designer. If you met her, it was like a very big deal back then. Edith dressed most famous stars for example Elvis Presley, and Audrey Hepburn. Some of her most famous movies were The Jungle Princess, The Sting, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. She honestly had a very interesting lifestyle. I would have to say, I would very much love to live her life if I was alive back in the 1900's.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews