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Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow
“One of the most original and influential people of the twentieth century to me and many others.” —Alexander McQueen
With a career spanning thirty years in fashion, as an influential voice at Vogue , Tatler , and The Sunday Times Magazine —as well as a legacy as one of the industry’s kingmakers for discovering Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen, Sophie Dahl, and Hussein Chalayan—Isabella Blow had been a pillar of couture culture until her suicide in 2007 left the fashion world mourning one of its finest friends and patrons. Blow by Blow is a captivating journey through Issie’s life, a one-of-a-kind look at her unforgettable impact on the fashion world, and a moving exploration of her inspiring and ultimately tragic tale.
With a career spanning thirty years in fashion, as an influential voice at Vogue , Tatler , and The Sunday Times Magazine —as well as a legacy as one of the industry’s kingmakers for discovering Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen, Sophie Dahl, and Hussein Chalayan—Isabella Blow had been a pillar of couture culture until her suicide in 2007 left the fashion world mourning one of its finest friends and patrons. Blow by Blow is a captivating journey through Issie’s life, a one-of-a-kind look at her unforgettable impact on the fashion world, and a moving exploration of her inspiring and ultimately tragic tale.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
December 2, 2012
3 stars for the too-brief story of Isabella Blow: talented, outlandish and infuriating. 1 star for the terrible writing by her widower Detmar Blow aided by family friend Tom Sykes, neither of whom can seem to make a chapter last more than two pages. The result is a frustrating glimpse into the life of a true upper class eccentric, which often reads more like a list of events than an insightful biography. It's an uneven mess, with plenty of space given over to family history and lineage, and lots of inadvertently hilarious snobbery (one of Issie's ancestors from her mother's 'hidden' side is damned by 'having a bar in their front room' :::clutches pearls:::).
Written not so long after Blow's suicide, the book is sprinkled with accusations of old family grievances and blame that is hard to distinguish as Issie's feelings on matters or the author's. There's something quite unpleasant in how the chapters towards the end - where Blow makes ghastly suicide attempt after suicide attempt and where, for once, you can feel Detmar's emotional exhaustion - are the few that really pulse with a kind of tragic, urgent energy. That said, for much of the text it's hard to be overly sympathetic to characters who plead exhaustion from the hectic life of the art & fashion world and then jet off to stay in castles, manor houses and palazzos belonging to friends and relations.
Also, given as how Issie's story is so closely tied to fashion, and how her ultimate grievance was that she never felt she got the credit - or financial rewards - she deserved for her contributions to the industry, I would have appreciated more photos of the 'fabulous' photo-spreads that Issie populated with her friends and family (nepotism, what?) over the years. Ditto, her beloved Hilles house that meant so much to her.
Ultimately, this biography frustrates more than it intrigues, and I'd love to see Issie's story handled by more dispassionate hands.
Written not so long after Blow's suicide, the book is sprinkled with accusations of old family grievances and blame that is hard to distinguish as Issie's feelings on matters or the author's. There's something quite unpleasant in how the chapters towards the end - where Blow makes ghastly suicide attempt after suicide attempt and where, for once, you can feel Detmar's emotional exhaustion - are the few that really pulse with a kind of tragic, urgent energy. That said, for much of the text it's hard to be overly sympathetic to characters who plead exhaustion from the hectic life of the art & fashion world and then jet off to stay in castles, manor houses and palazzos belonging to friends and relations.
Also, given as how Issie's story is so closely tied to fashion, and how her ultimate grievance was that she never felt she got the credit - or financial rewards - she deserved for her contributions to the industry, I would have appreciated more photos of the 'fabulous' photo-spreads that Issie populated with her friends and family (nepotism, what?) over the years. Ditto, her beloved Hilles house that meant so much to her.
Ultimately, this biography frustrates more than it intrigues, and I'd love to see Issie's story handled by more dispassionate hands.
February 3, 2011
What I thought I would read in this biography was how Isabella Blow made a name for herself in the world of fashion and helped launch the careers of people such as Sophie Dahl, Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy. What I found was her husband Detmar using her as an excuse to write about himself. To complain about how unfair life had been to him, how poor he was and "name drop". Issie the apparent love of his life tells him "it's over" but then he opens the door of his gallery to Princess Rosario of Bulgaria and her husband Prince Kyril. Let's hope that made up for it. His matter of fact style of writing left me feeling disturbed because I had been a voyeur into the lives of two very troubled souls.
October 5, 2023
A more sensitive account of the ups and downs of being Isabella Blow than the other biography I read recently (Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion).
Written by her husband, the background stories were less shocking (since I had just read most of them) and the personal details much more convincing. Towards the end, there is mention of a psychiatrist who later treated Alexander McQueen . . . I'm sure the doctor does not advertise those connections on his resume.
Isabella Blow was, in some ways, a genius, and thus also partly inexplicable and unknowable. This is why, I suppose, she continues to fascinate.
Written by her husband, the background stories were less shocking (since I had just read most of them) and the personal details much more convincing. Towards the end, there is mention of a psychiatrist who later treated Alexander McQueen . . . I'm sure the doctor does not advertise those connections on his resume.
Isabella Blow was, in some ways, a genius, and thus also partly inexplicable and unknowable. This is why, I suppose, she continues to fascinate.
April 9, 2016
I don't know where to begin. I can't help wondering why and how this book was "written," not to mention that just trying to decipher meaning and sense out of it is made far more complicated by having to slog through typographical and grammatical errors. Has HarperCollins Publishers laid off their proofreaders? I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they have.
I don't know anything about Detmar Blow that I didn't learn in the pages or on the back flap of this book. I don't know anything about Tom Sykes either, who apparently "co-wrote" this book with Detmar Blow, except that he has a sister named Plum who has written a few vacuous books of fiction and gets articles published in magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue.
I'm sure a simple Google search would yield a good deal more information about all of these real-life characters, but I've got to go put my laundry in the dryer.
Throughout the book are printed sentences with the subjective pronoun used as an object (as on page 222: "... she was kicking Issie and I out of Hilles"; on page 229: "Dr. Wolfson told Issie and I that her depression was very, very serious..."). Maybe I just don't know this, but is this common in Brit speak? Every time I came across one of those lines (and it seemed to be every few pages), I found myself reading it as "so-and-so told I that..." just to reinforce that it was indeed grammatically incorrect, but hey what do I know? Blow/Sykes are the ones with a published book, and HarperCollins is the one who published it.
And that's just one of the technical details. There are numerous others (misspellings, missing punctuation, etc.), but the actual content itself was almost more disturbing (and not in a good way). It seemed at times that some sentences were just thrown together for the sole purpose of being able to drop names and places as blatantly as possible, like on page 176, for instance, where it says, "... David Thomas, originally a plumber's assistant from a village in Gloucestershire, who went to Hollywood and found fame working with Angelina Jolie and Mariah Carey."
There are so many random sentences, especially as the book wears on (and on and on) that seem to have no purpose or place whatsoever in the larger (apparent) context of the chapter, such as this one on page 208:
"At the end of our sojourn in Iceland, Issie flew back to Paris and I carried on to JFK. In New York, I stayed with Issie's cousin Aeneas, who lived at 260 West Broadway in Tribeca. Aeneas pointed out the Twin Towers, not far downtown.
"A friend of mine, the artist Jim Lambie, was also in New York.
"After the Twin Towers went down on 9/11, I discovered that Jim had been artist in residence in the North Tower on the 90th floor. A friend told me not to worry, as he never went there."
{yawn}
The fact that five readers gave this book 4 or 5 stars on Amazon.com surely must mean that at least four of them are personal friends of one of the authors.
Ultimately, I finished this book no better informed, no more moved, and even less inclined to learn more than when I started it. Even the photographs included in the book leave the reader entirely unsatisfied. The real tragedy here is that the subject of the book comes off ultimately as nothing more than an insecure and superficial woman whose sole aim in life was to get as much attention and money as possible using her privilege, status, and connection, grew up with a sense of entitlement that never panned out, and ultimately gave up because she could no longer tolerate her own reflection in the mirror or the empty but beautiful and well-dressed characters surrounding her. Besides, when Anna Wintour comes off looking compassionate, you know something is amiss.
I don't know anything about Detmar Blow that I didn't learn in the pages or on the back flap of this book. I don't know anything about Tom Sykes either, who apparently "co-wrote" this book with Detmar Blow, except that he has a sister named Plum who has written a few vacuous books of fiction and gets articles published in magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue.
I'm sure a simple Google search would yield a good deal more information about all of these real-life characters, but I've got to go put my laundry in the dryer.
Throughout the book are printed sentences with the subjective pronoun used as an object (as on page 222: "... she was kicking Issie and I out of Hilles"; on page 229: "Dr. Wolfson told Issie and I that her depression was very, very serious..."). Maybe I just don't know this, but is this common in Brit speak? Every time I came across one of those lines (and it seemed to be every few pages), I found myself reading it as "so-and-so told I that..." just to reinforce that it was indeed grammatically incorrect, but hey what do I know? Blow/Sykes are the ones with a published book, and HarperCollins is the one who published it.
And that's just one of the technical details. There are numerous others (misspellings, missing punctuation, etc.), but the actual content itself was almost more disturbing (and not in a good way). It seemed at times that some sentences were just thrown together for the sole purpose of being able to drop names and places as blatantly as possible, like on page 176, for instance, where it says, "... David Thomas, originally a plumber's assistant from a village in Gloucestershire, who went to Hollywood and found fame working with Angelina Jolie and Mariah Carey."
There are so many random sentences, especially as the book wears on (and on and on) that seem to have no purpose or place whatsoever in the larger (apparent) context of the chapter, such as this one on page 208:
"At the end of our sojourn in Iceland, Issie flew back to Paris and I carried on to JFK. In New York, I stayed with Issie's cousin Aeneas, who lived at 260 West Broadway in Tribeca. Aeneas pointed out the Twin Towers, not far downtown.
"A friend of mine, the artist Jim Lambie, was also in New York.
"After the Twin Towers went down on 9/11, I discovered that Jim had been artist in residence in the North Tower on the 90th floor. A friend told me not to worry, as he never went there."
{yawn}
The fact that five readers gave this book 4 or 5 stars on Amazon.com surely must mean that at least four of them are personal friends of one of the authors.
Ultimately, I finished this book no better informed, no more moved, and even less inclined to learn more than when I started it. Even the photographs included in the book leave the reader entirely unsatisfied. The real tragedy here is that the subject of the book comes off ultimately as nothing more than an insecure and superficial woman whose sole aim in life was to get as much attention and money as possible using her privilege, status, and connection, grew up with a sense of entitlement that never panned out, and ultimately gave up because she could no longer tolerate her own reflection in the mirror or the empty but beautiful and well-dressed characters surrounding her. Besides, when Anna Wintour comes off looking compassionate, you know something is amiss.
September 1, 2014
Fashion icon Isabella Blow (1958-2007) was known for taking her creative vision to the top of the world wide fashion industry, while generously promoting/endorsing the work of other artists/designers. Isabella's (IB) husband of over 18 years Detmar Blow has authored "Blow by Blow" a stunning and thoughtful memorial tribute to his beloved late wife. Family photos are generously included.
IB was born into the British aristocratic Delves Broughton legacy, dating back historically over 600 years. Jock Delves Broughton, IB grandfather squandered, gambled, poorly invested away much of the family wealth, and was divorced by his wife Vera. He promptly remarried divorcee Diana Caldwell, and moved with her to Happy Valley, Kenya. The time they spent in Kenya is chronicled in the book "White Mischief" (2014) by James Fox. Jock ended his life by suicide in 1942.
IB miserly father Evelyn Broughton and her mother Helen would divorce, following the drowning death of her 3 year old brother. IB would be haunted by this tragedy throughout her life. Evelyn would leave the majority of the family wealth to his second wife, betraying his daughters by leaving only a pittance for them in his will.
IB was the first woman in her family to work for a living. In 1982 she was living in NYC and hired as an assistant by Anna Wintour of Vogue, she also worked in the UK at the Tatler. Usually IB worked as a fashion editor/consultant, and was known for discovering Stella Tennant, Sophia Dahl, hat designer Philip Treacy, and fashion designer Alexander McQueen. It was interesting to note that IB photos, creations, were advertised world wide. In her fashion shows she was allowed expense accounts, and often used her own money to express her creative vision. Frequently she was broke, seldom realizing any significant profits or income for herself. This never stopped IB, she continued working. "Issie used the exhibition to gloss over and hide deeper problems in her life": according to Detmar.
Detmar Blow was enchanted with Issie, her hat creation, noticing her at his sisters lavish wedding. He and IB became engaged only 16 days after meeting, and married at Gloucester Cathedral in 1989. IB used much of her own money restoring the run down and neglected Blow estate of Hilles. This became a grand party scene of celebrities, wealthy elite, both Treacy and McQueen lived there at one time. IB desperately wanted to have a child, even with multiple painful IVF treatments she was unable to conceive. Realizing what a grand place the Hilles had become, the family matriarch wanted control over it. IB and Detmar moved out after living there for over 14 years.
Leaving the Hilles would trigger a profound mood shift and downward spiral from which IB never fully recovered. The last few years of IB life was a flurry and flight of shows, various creative pursuits, travel abroad included India and Kuwait. IB behavior was so erratic and irrational she needed to be hospitalized. Extensive hospital admissions were paid for by employers, McQueen, and her stepmother. Often IB would declare: "I just want to die". ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) or shock, helped at first, therapy with various medications were used. IB received a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness.
Her symptoms worsened, as Detmar did whatever he could to mentally and emotionally support his wife. After multiple suicide attempts IB drank poison and died May 7, 2007 at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. IB had prepared herself for this final act, she was finally at peace.
Dedicated to DS, RHS, and A. Ramirez (1978-2014) ~ RIP ~
IB was born into the British aristocratic Delves Broughton legacy, dating back historically over 600 years. Jock Delves Broughton, IB grandfather squandered, gambled, poorly invested away much of the family wealth, and was divorced by his wife Vera. He promptly remarried divorcee Diana Caldwell, and moved with her to Happy Valley, Kenya. The time they spent in Kenya is chronicled in the book "White Mischief" (2014) by James Fox. Jock ended his life by suicide in 1942.
IB miserly father Evelyn Broughton and her mother Helen would divorce, following the drowning death of her 3 year old brother. IB would be haunted by this tragedy throughout her life. Evelyn would leave the majority of the family wealth to his second wife, betraying his daughters by leaving only a pittance for them in his will.
IB was the first woman in her family to work for a living. In 1982 she was living in NYC and hired as an assistant by Anna Wintour of Vogue, she also worked in the UK at the Tatler. Usually IB worked as a fashion editor/consultant, and was known for discovering Stella Tennant, Sophia Dahl, hat designer Philip Treacy, and fashion designer Alexander McQueen. It was interesting to note that IB photos, creations, were advertised world wide. In her fashion shows she was allowed expense accounts, and often used her own money to express her creative vision. Frequently she was broke, seldom realizing any significant profits or income for herself. This never stopped IB, she continued working. "Issie used the exhibition to gloss over and hide deeper problems in her life": according to Detmar.
Detmar Blow was enchanted with Issie, her hat creation, noticing her at his sisters lavish wedding. He and IB became engaged only 16 days after meeting, and married at Gloucester Cathedral in 1989. IB used much of her own money restoring the run down and neglected Blow estate of Hilles. This became a grand party scene of celebrities, wealthy elite, both Treacy and McQueen lived there at one time. IB desperately wanted to have a child, even with multiple painful IVF treatments she was unable to conceive. Realizing what a grand place the Hilles had become, the family matriarch wanted control over it. IB and Detmar moved out after living there for over 14 years.
Leaving the Hilles would trigger a profound mood shift and downward spiral from which IB never fully recovered. The last few years of IB life was a flurry and flight of shows, various creative pursuits, travel abroad included India and Kuwait. IB behavior was so erratic and irrational she needed to be hospitalized. Extensive hospital admissions were paid for by employers, McQueen, and her stepmother. Often IB would declare: "I just want to die". ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) or shock, helped at first, therapy with various medications were used. IB received a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness.
Her symptoms worsened, as Detmar did whatever he could to mentally and emotionally support his wife. After multiple suicide attempts IB drank poison and died May 7, 2007 at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. IB had prepared herself for this final act, she was finally at peace.
Dedicated to DS, RHS, and A. Ramirez (1978-2014) ~ RIP ~
April 11, 2011
I have always been impressed with the unique style of Isabella Blow and this book has contributed in some way to a greater understanding on my part of this larger than life yet vulnerable character. Written (possibly subjectively) by her husband Detmar after her tragic death, this book traces the life of Isabella from a childhood lived between privilege and tragic events and documents aspects of her career progress as well as her mental instability and ultimate demise and untimely suicide via ingesting weedkiller. Husband Blow paints his wife Blow (hence the title ‘Blow by Blow’ – a clever one!) as something of a creative genius blighted by constant anguish throughout her life. Whilst the first sixty per cent or so of the book is utterly inspiring and uplifting to those of a creative persuasion, the reader quickly feels Blow’s world falling apart during the last forty per cent or so and her husband’s narrative despair can easily be felt. All in all, the richness of Isabella’s creative and personal life is well-documented by her husband and after completion I, at least, feel curious to read more about the life and cultural contributions of this modern day artistic and creative genius. The book is beautifully presented and the cover photograph is an ethereally beautiful one that captures the essence of Blow feminine (all hat, eyes, lipstick and zany British femininity). As well as black and white and colour photographs ‘au centre’, the book is also interspersed with historical and narrative photographs and artefacts throughout. An inspiring read and I am now captivated to read more on Blow’s contributions to the media and arts worlds.
July 3, 2012
After a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art last year to see the late designer Alexander McQueen's exhibit, my interest was piqued about his relationship to style iconoclast Isabella Blow. This book, written by her husband, paints an intimate portrait of a woman plagued by manic depression throughout her life. That said, childhood events and the character of both parents may have sent the sanest child into a life coated by imagined inadequacies and fear. How Isabella made up for all this with her larger than life persona in her wild hats and costumes, bright lipstick and a tendency to flash her breasts is a great tale. The book is also peppered with an array of bold-faced names from Madonna to Elton John to Rupert Everett. Perhaps surprisingly, one of the finest portrayals is of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who gave Issie her first jobs as her assistant at Vogue. Blow's battle with depression of course reminded me of the artist Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones and others like her suffering from various forms of mental illness. Why do some make it through the darkness and others don't? I loved one particular passage of the author when he says something to the effect of 'like alcoholism or another addiction, at some point the person afflicted with depression has to want to get better.'
January 21, 2011
3 stars for interesting fashion tidbits. that said, Detmar Blow is one of the most insufferable people ever to walk the earth. I could not get behind all his selfish excuses. the whole story is so sordid. two damaged creatures floundering through the world desperately needing psychological help and intervention. i pity Isabella, but am disgusted by her actions at the same time. a truly sad story.
February 25, 2019
Interesting read about Isabella Blow, written by her husband. I am fascinated by women who live their lives fully, particularly ones who don't rely on beauty to do it. These stories don't always have happy endings, as is the case here, but the journey is often exciting, interesting and at times to be envied. Perhaps that is just the reader laying a romantic/nostalgic scrim over the facts of her life? Would I trade places with her? No.
That Isabella Blow had an eye for fashion and for talent is obvious. What place in fashion history will Blow have? She virtually discovered Philip Treacy and heavily promoted Alexander McQueen, both of whom have left their mark, but where does that leave Blow? Where does that leave all women who do invisible work? Having just come from reading a lot of Eve Babitz, I feel like there were similarities here. Two creative, talented women who could not get out of their own way.
Recommended for readers who like biographies of flawed but vibrant women.
That Isabella Blow had an eye for fashion and for talent is obvious. What place in fashion history will Blow have? She virtually discovered Philip Treacy and heavily promoted Alexander McQueen, both of whom have left their mark, but where does that leave Blow? Where does that leave all women who do invisible work? Having just come from reading a lot of Eve Babitz, I feel like there were similarities here. Two creative, talented women who could not get out of their own way.
Recommended for readers who like biographies of flawed but vibrant women.
December 17, 2025
Finishing this book was important to me because of her relationship to A. McQueen. However, the first chapters revealed so much more about this creative person and I joyously read on to discover her life and incredible journey. What a visionary. It saddens me she gave up hope for her future as well as with her husband. She touched so many lives with creative design and vision. This is written very well and highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2025
*NOTES FOR SELF*
Firstly, I'm like how do I find my own Detmar? Going to scour the UCC library for my eligible, aristocratic, cultured, libra, wounded historian. So much of my own psychological makeup I see played out in Isabella's life-she truly sounds like my biological mother. The fact that Detmar understands her so intrinsically gives me hope for mankind-the so far FAILINGS in all men to truly understand me has reclused me to Disney Villain status in my mind. I found it gut-wrenching how similar Issie's relationship with her Dad is to mine, she seems so influenced by him in ways, and so repelled in others. My father is often the mirror I see myself most accurately in, but also the reflection that disappoints me too. It seems one cannot overpower the genealogy of biological psychology-sigh.
-Her propensity for lying and embellishing the truth, especially in reflection, like her mother applying lipstick after her brother drowns, I completely understood. I find this in my own recollections of the past. From what is depicted from her life it seems that she always had an intense emotional world, and in her youth this was a fragile sensitivity/imagination that needed nurturing. She clearly didn't get this emotional bonding from either parents, leading to the intense psychological emotionality she suffers in adulthood. I wonder how this emotional neglect might have morphed her memory, where she tries to process her trauma of her childhood by applying those feelings to events to validate her experience. It doesn't seem intentional, more like a projection of her internal emotional reality onto objective memories with others. As Detmar points out, this first personal fabrication of the universal truth, is 'the foundation stones' of her 'personal myth', 'dark aesthetic' and 'her black fairy story'.
-Irrelevant to anyone but myself, iconic that Issie's problematic paternal grandparents were called Jock and Vera (mine were called Jack and Vera).
-One of my favourite things about Isabella is that her fashion made a statement. Not for beauty or sexuality, but these rich symbolic undertones-which to me-is the essence of true, powerful, transcendent fashion-statements that are truly meant to empower women. Today, in 2025, I feel like that concept has been lost a great deal. The echo of Lee's famous 'I want the women I dress to feel powerful' line has always motivated my dress code, and I'm certain this is how Isabella felt too. Though she doesn't always explain all her choices, I loved little moments throughout the book where you could sense her character and aesthetic development shining through her wardrobe choices.
For example, in her childhood- the farm labourer finds a string of black pearls wrapped around a branch in the woodland, which her grandfather had previously planted in an attempt to claim insurance money. The gothic, romantic, sleeping-beauty like imagery of the morbid pearls entangled in the branches-is so becoming of many of Isabella's fashion statements. It's like an elegant maiden who gets lost along the way, tangled and enmeshed in the wildness of humanity, the pearls are like a foreboding symbol of how her status and femininity were going to play out chaotically through her life-clinging to her lineage (the pearls) was never going to give her the structure and safety she desired. Who could fault her for that desire? A mentally precarious creative, with all the whims of a materialistic, hysterical woman. The end of the chapter really solidifies that ideal for me, Issie's grandfather 'left behind a tangled legacy' and as Issie would often jest, he also left '60 pairs of shoes'. Thematically, forever connected somewhat to her roots, she develops an obsession with shoes too-often uncomfortable ones. Her life was never to be a 'comfortable' life provided from her ancestors. She would inherit nothing other than their lore, so she made sure to get good value out of it too.
-I notice like myself, Isabella is almost fixated on her past, and her childhood, for her creative inspiration. When her and her sisters used to play on a medieval tower on the family land-reinnacting dramatic mythology. I used to do this type of stuff with my sisters too, but it seems to weigh much more significance on my imagination and character development as an adult than it does for my sisters. Psychologically, considering I'm autistic and borderline personality/BP, I wonder if there's any correlation. I assume it could also be trauma/attachment related? Maybe sisters were more securely attached to parents, had different personality types e.g. Issie could have been ENFJ.
-Her hyper-sexuality was so BPD coded. Outrageous behaviour that started in her teen years when she would dance 'semi-topless' at teen parties where her family were present. She resorts to this same hyper-sexual tendencies throughout her adulthood, with the same fixation on her boobs, when she craves attention, excitement or validation. We understand from the book that she isn't conventionally attractive, as a similar intense personality with this dark feminine magnetic energy, you do often understand and appreciate the attention you get for this, but you don't always feel attractive... hence maybe the performative sexuality to get this affirmation. There is definitely an element of taboo and rebellion to it too, to reject modesty is unnerving and assigns a certain element of feminist power.
-I also noted that she was perceived as precocious in youth, called upon to socialise with an older audience as a child. As an adult, contrastingly, she often sought out younger companions. Her age and maturity seems ethereal to me in this book. Moments where she's in mid-adulthood sound like she's only a child and vice versa. This paradoxical elusion around her age is something I see in a lot of neurodivergent people, by nature they often don't conform to societal standards of 'age appropriate' behaviour. Even at the end, she sounds like a little girl sat on the hospital bed, inevitably enroute to suicide. I'm not sure where this point leads to, but it means something to me. There's no evidence of Isabella being 'autistic', I'm just pointing out the similarity.
-One of the major 'blows' in her story is the relationship with her father. Detmar says 'sometimes they seemed like the best of friends, and he could be tender and loving, but at other times the relationship was unpleasantly formal. It was a confusing dichotomy'. This makes me think about her philistine grandfather, and how this might have trickled down to affect her father-daughter relationship. Isabella is the epitome of art and culture, perhaps her father plays out this dichotomous pull between endearment towards the creativity of Isabella, and also the rejection of her practicality and pragmatism aligned with his own father's philistism. Her father plays out his hostility towards Issie through financial means. It's an interesting angle. Then, due to this unhealthy dynamic, we see Isabella chaotically attach to men in her adulthood life, she is incredibly self-destructive in her relationship with Detmar and a lot of the times its related to almost child-like financial outbursts. It's almost as if she plays out this financially (and emotionally) unstable relationship with her father through retaliation, rather than trying to close or heal the father wound.
-The tragedy and hollowness of fatherhood when the male ego craves a paternal protege, is the oldest, most disappointing story in history. It really is such a sure sign of covert narcissism when a man is so preoccupied with his image and legacy, it's self-preoccupation masked as traditionalism and romanticism. There's a subtle nod to this flaw in Isabella's father at her wedding to Detmar. It was noticed that his hands were shaking when Evelyn gave his daughter's hands to Detmar. To the outside world of conformity and performance, this would be interpreted as an emotional gesture. Anyone with a father forever haunted by his lack of sons and burdens of daughters, with the additional preoccupation with his externally societal-perceived image, will resonate precisely with Detmar's interpretation of this gesture- 'Some thought the shakes were to do with supreme emotion' but 'in reality, he was nervous of losing his balance and falling'. It's not hard to decipher beyond the words here. Evelyns emotionality in life was never connected to his daughter, but his status and image-even at the tender milestone he wasn't going to be swayed.
-Isabella underwent electric shock therapy, want to find out more about that.
-Lee's betrayal, in the end he paid for some of her psychiatrist treatment. Maybe his tough love was that when he rose to fame and wealth, he felt Isabella should find her way too? Maybe in his eyes he saw her as fallen from grace (generational wealth) and should apply her own tools to climb back up the ladder. He probably saw in the end she needed support, once the frivolities of her nature had fallen away.
More I want to find:
Tatler: Under the Arche
1992 Vogue: Over the Hilles and far away
1998 Dior: John Galliano and his Italian muse 'Marchesa Casati'
Jeremy Scott circa 1997
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Firstly, I'm like how do I find my own Detmar? Going to scour the UCC library for my eligible, aristocratic, cultured, libra, wounded historian. So much of my own psychological makeup I see played out in Isabella's life-she truly sounds like my biological mother. The fact that Detmar understands her so intrinsically gives me hope for mankind-the so far FAILINGS in all men to truly understand me has reclused me to Disney Villain status in my mind. I found it gut-wrenching how similar Issie's relationship with her Dad is to mine, she seems so influenced by him in ways, and so repelled in others. My father is often the mirror I see myself most accurately in, but also the reflection that disappoints me too. It seems one cannot overpower the genealogy of biological psychology-sigh.
-Her propensity for lying and embellishing the truth, especially in reflection, like her mother applying lipstick after her brother drowns, I completely understood. I find this in my own recollections of the past. From what is depicted from her life it seems that she always had an intense emotional world, and in her youth this was a fragile sensitivity/imagination that needed nurturing. She clearly didn't get this emotional bonding from either parents, leading to the intense psychological emotionality she suffers in adulthood. I wonder how this emotional neglect might have morphed her memory, where she tries to process her trauma of her childhood by applying those feelings to events to validate her experience. It doesn't seem intentional, more like a projection of her internal emotional reality onto objective memories with others. As Detmar points out, this first personal fabrication of the universal truth, is 'the foundation stones' of her 'personal myth', 'dark aesthetic' and 'her black fairy story'.
-Irrelevant to anyone but myself, iconic that Issie's problematic paternal grandparents were called Jock and Vera (mine were called Jack and Vera).
-One of my favourite things about Isabella is that her fashion made a statement. Not for beauty or sexuality, but these rich symbolic undertones-which to me-is the essence of true, powerful, transcendent fashion-statements that are truly meant to empower women. Today, in 2025, I feel like that concept has been lost a great deal. The echo of Lee's famous 'I want the women I dress to feel powerful' line has always motivated my dress code, and I'm certain this is how Isabella felt too. Though she doesn't always explain all her choices, I loved little moments throughout the book where you could sense her character and aesthetic development shining through her wardrobe choices.
For example, in her childhood- the farm labourer finds a string of black pearls wrapped around a branch in the woodland, which her grandfather had previously planted in an attempt to claim insurance money. The gothic, romantic, sleeping-beauty like imagery of the morbid pearls entangled in the branches-is so becoming of many of Isabella's fashion statements. It's like an elegant maiden who gets lost along the way, tangled and enmeshed in the wildness of humanity, the pearls are like a foreboding symbol of how her status and femininity were going to play out chaotically through her life-clinging to her lineage (the pearls) was never going to give her the structure and safety she desired. Who could fault her for that desire? A mentally precarious creative, with all the whims of a materialistic, hysterical woman. The end of the chapter really solidifies that ideal for me, Issie's grandfather 'left behind a tangled legacy' and as Issie would often jest, he also left '60 pairs of shoes'. Thematically, forever connected somewhat to her roots, she develops an obsession with shoes too-often uncomfortable ones. Her life was never to be a 'comfortable' life provided from her ancestors. She would inherit nothing other than their lore, so she made sure to get good value out of it too.
-I notice like myself, Isabella is almost fixated on her past, and her childhood, for her creative inspiration. When her and her sisters used to play on a medieval tower on the family land-reinnacting dramatic mythology. I used to do this type of stuff with my sisters too, but it seems to weigh much more significance on my imagination and character development as an adult than it does for my sisters. Psychologically, considering I'm autistic and borderline personality/BP, I wonder if there's any correlation. I assume it could also be trauma/attachment related? Maybe sisters were more securely attached to parents, had different personality types e.g. Issie could have been ENFJ.
-Her hyper-sexuality was so BPD coded. Outrageous behaviour that started in her teen years when she would dance 'semi-topless' at teen parties where her family were present. She resorts to this same hyper-sexual tendencies throughout her adulthood, with the same fixation on her boobs, when she craves attention, excitement or validation. We understand from the book that she isn't conventionally attractive, as a similar intense personality with this dark feminine magnetic energy, you do often understand and appreciate the attention you get for this, but you don't always feel attractive... hence maybe the performative sexuality to get this affirmation. There is definitely an element of taboo and rebellion to it too, to reject modesty is unnerving and assigns a certain element of feminist power.
-I also noted that she was perceived as precocious in youth, called upon to socialise with an older audience as a child. As an adult, contrastingly, she often sought out younger companions. Her age and maturity seems ethereal to me in this book. Moments where she's in mid-adulthood sound like she's only a child and vice versa. This paradoxical elusion around her age is something I see in a lot of neurodivergent people, by nature they often don't conform to societal standards of 'age appropriate' behaviour. Even at the end, she sounds like a little girl sat on the hospital bed, inevitably enroute to suicide. I'm not sure where this point leads to, but it means something to me. There's no evidence of Isabella being 'autistic', I'm just pointing out the similarity.
-One of the major 'blows' in her story is the relationship with her father. Detmar says 'sometimes they seemed like the best of friends, and he could be tender and loving, but at other times the relationship was unpleasantly formal. It was a confusing dichotomy'. This makes me think about her philistine grandfather, and how this might have trickled down to affect her father-daughter relationship. Isabella is the epitome of art and culture, perhaps her father plays out this dichotomous pull between endearment towards the creativity of Isabella, and also the rejection of her practicality and pragmatism aligned with his own father's philistism. Her father plays out his hostility towards Issie through financial means. It's an interesting angle. Then, due to this unhealthy dynamic, we see Isabella chaotically attach to men in her adulthood life, she is incredibly self-destructive in her relationship with Detmar and a lot of the times its related to almost child-like financial outbursts. It's almost as if she plays out this financially (and emotionally) unstable relationship with her father through retaliation, rather than trying to close or heal the father wound.
-The tragedy and hollowness of fatherhood when the male ego craves a paternal protege, is the oldest, most disappointing story in history. It really is such a sure sign of covert narcissism when a man is so preoccupied with his image and legacy, it's self-preoccupation masked as traditionalism and romanticism. There's a subtle nod to this flaw in Isabella's father at her wedding to Detmar. It was noticed that his hands were shaking when Evelyn gave his daughter's hands to Detmar. To the outside world of conformity and performance, this would be interpreted as an emotional gesture. Anyone with a father forever haunted by his lack of sons and burdens of daughters, with the additional preoccupation with his externally societal-perceived image, will resonate precisely with Detmar's interpretation of this gesture- 'Some thought the shakes were to do with supreme emotion' but 'in reality, he was nervous of losing his balance and falling'. It's not hard to decipher beyond the words here. Evelyns emotionality in life was never connected to his daughter, but his status and image-even at the tender milestone he wasn't going to be swayed.
-Isabella underwent electric shock therapy, want to find out more about that.
-Lee's betrayal, in the end he paid for some of her psychiatrist treatment. Maybe his tough love was that when he rose to fame and wealth, he felt Isabella should find her way too? Maybe in his eyes he saw her as fallen from grace (generational wealth) and should apply her own tools to climb back up the ladder. He probably saw in the end she needed support, once the frivolities of her nature had fallen away.
More I want to find:
Tatler: Under the Arche
1992 Vogue: Over the Hilles and far away
1998 Dior: John Galliano and his Italian muse 'Marchesa Casati'
Jeremy Scott circa 1997
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October 23, 2025
*NOTES FOR SELF*
Firstly, I'm like how do I find my own Detmar? Going to scour the UCC library for my eligible, aristocratic, cultured, libra little wounded historian. So much of my own psychological makeup I see played out in Isabella's life-she truly sounds like my true mother. The fact that Detmar understands her so intrinsically gives me hope for mankind-the so far FAILINGS in all men to truly understand me has reclused me to Disney Villain status in my mind. I found it gut-wrenching how similar Issie's relationship with her Dad is so like mine, she seems so influenced by him in some ways, and so repelled in others. My father is often the mirror I see myself most accurately in, but also the reflection that disappoints me too. Sigh
-her propensity for lying and embellishing the truth, especially in reflection, like her mother applying lipstick after her brother drowns. I find this in my own recollections of the past. From what is depicted from her life it seems that she always had an intense emotional world, and in her youth this was more of a fragile sensitivity that needed nurturing. She clearly didn't get this emotional bonding from either parents, leading to the intense psychological emotionality she suffers from in adulthood. I wonder how this emotional neglect might have morphed her memory, where she tries to process her trauma of her childhood by applying those feelings to events to validate her experience. It doesn't seem intentional, more like a projection of her internal emotional reality onto objective memories with others. As Detmar points out, this first personal fabrication of the universal truth, is 'the foundation stones' of her 'personal myth', 'dark aesthetic' and 'her black fairy story'.
-Irrelevant to anyone but myself, iconic that Issie's problematic paternal grandparents were called Jock and Vera (mine were called Jack and Vera).
-One of my favourite things about Isabella is that her fashion made a statement. Not for beauty or sexuality, but these rich symbolic undertones-which to me-is the essence of true, powerful, transcendence of fashion that is truly meant to empower women. Today, in 2025, I feel like that concept has been lost a great deal. The echo of Lee's famous 'I want the women I dress to feel powerful' is motivating my dress code so much at the moment, and I'm certain this is how Isabella felt too. Though she doesn't always explain all her choices, I loved little moments throughout the book where you could sense her character and aesthetic development.
For example, in her childhood- the farm labourer finds a string of black pearls wrapped around a branch in the woodland, which her grandfather had previously planted in an attempt to claim insurance money. The gothic, romantic, sleeping-beauty like imagery of the morbid pearls entangled in the branches-is so becoming of many of Isabella's fashion statements. It's like an elegant maiden who gets lost along the way, tangled and enmeshed in the wildness of humanity, the pearls are like a foreboding symbol of how her status and femininity were going to play out chaotically through her life-clinging to her lineage (the pearls) was never going to give her the structure and safety she desired. Who could fault her for that desire? A mentally precarious creative, with all the whims of a materialistic, hysterical woman. The end of the chapter really solidifies that ideal for me, Issie's grandfather 'left behind a tangled legacy' and as Issie would often jest, he also left '60 pairs of shoes'. Thematically, forever connected somewhat to her roots, she develops an obsession with shoes too-often uncomfortable ones. Her life was never to be a 'comfortable' life provided from her ancestors. She would inherit nothing other than their lore, so she made sure to get good value out of it too.
-I notice like myself, Isabella is almost fixated on her past, and her childhood, for her creative inspiration. When her and her sisters used to play on a medieval tower on the family land-reinnacting dramatic mythology. I used to do this type of stuff with my sisters too, but it seems to weigh much more significance on my imagination and character development as an adult than it does for my sisters. Psychologically, considering I'm autistic and borderline personality/BP, I wonder if there's any correlation. I assume it could also be trauma/attachment related? Maybe sisters were more securely attached to parents, had different personality types e.g. Issie could have been ENFJ.
-Her hyper-sexuality was so BPD coded. Outrageous behaviour that started in her teen years when she would dance 'semi-topless' at teen parties where her family were present. She resorts to this same hyper-sexual tendencies throughout her adulthood, with the same fixation on her boobs, when she craves attention, excitement or validation. We understand from the book that she isn't conventionally attractive, as a similar intense personality with this dark feminine magnetic energy, you do often understand and appreciate the attention you get for this, but you don't always feel attractive... hence maybe the performative sexuality to get this affirmation. There is definitely an element of taboo and rebellion to it too, to reject modesty is unnerving and assigns a certain element of feminist power.
-I also noted that she was perceived as precocious in youth, called upon to socialise with an older audience as a child. As an adult, contrastingly, she often sought out younger companions. Her age and maturity seems ethereal to me in this book. Moments where she's in mid-adulthood sound like she's only a child and vice versa. This paradoxical elusion around her age is something I see in a lot of neurodivergent people, by nature they often don't conform to societal standards of 'age appropriate' behaviour. Even at the end, she sounds like a little girl sat on the hospital bed, inevitably enroute to suicide. I'm not sure where this point leads to, but it means something to me. There's no evidence of Isabella being 'autistic', I'm just pointing out the similarity.
-One of the major 'blows' in her story is the relationship with her father. Detmar says 'sometimes they seemed like the best of friends, and he could be tender and loving, but at other times the relationship was unpleasantly formal. It was a confusing dichotomy'. This makes me think about her philistine grandfather, and how this might have trickled down to affect her father-daughter relationship. Isabella is the epitome of art and culture, perhaps her father plays out this dichotomous pull between endearment towards the creativity of Isabella, and also the rejection of her practicality and pragmatism aligned with his own father's philistism. Her father plays out his hostility towards Issie through financial means. It's an interesting angle. Then, due to this unhealthy dynamic, we see Isabella chaotically attach to men in her adulthood life, she is incredibly self-destructive in her relationship with Detmar and a lot of the times its related to almost child-like financial outbursts. It's almost as if she plays out this financially (and emotionally) unstable relationship with her father through retaliation, rather than trying to close or heal the father wound.
-The tragedy and hollowness of fatherhood when the male ego craves a paternal protege, is the oldest, most disappointing story in history. It really is such a sure sign of covert narcissism when a man is so preoccupied with his image and legacy, it's self-preoccupation masked as traditionalism and romanticism. There's a subtle nod to this flaw in Isabella's father at her wedding to Detmar. It was noticed that his hands were shaking when Evelyn gave his daughter's hands to Detmar. To the outside world of conformity and performance, this would be interpreted as an emotional gesture. Anyone with a father forever haunted by his lack of sons and burdens of daughters, with the additional preoccupation with his externally societal-perceived image, will resonate precisely with Detmar's interpretation of this gesture- 'Some thought the shakes were to do with supreme emotion' but 'in reality, he was nervous of losing his balance and falling'. It's not hard to decipher beyond the words here. Evelyns emotionality in life was never connected to his daughter, but his status and image-even at the tender milestone he wasn't going to be swayed.
-Isabella underwent electric shock therapy, want to find out more about that.
-Lee's betrayal, in the end he paid for some of her psychiatrist treatment. Maybe his tough love was that when he rose to fame and wealth, he felt Isabella should find her way too? Maybe in his eyes he saw her as fallen from grace (generational wealth) and should apply her own tools to climb back up the ladder. He probably saw in the end she needed support, once the frivolities of her nature had fallen away.
More I want to find:
Tatler: Under the Arche
1992 Vogue: Over the Hilles and far away
1998 Dior: John Galliano and his Italian muse 'Marchesa Casati'
Jeremy Scott circa 1997
Firstly, I'm like how do I find my own Detmar? Going to scour the UCC library for my eligible, aristocratic, cultured, libra little wounded historian. So much of my own psychological makeup I see played out in Isabella's life-she truly sounds like my true mother. The fact that Detmar understands her so intrinsically gives me hope for mankind-the so far FAILINGS in all men to truly understand me has reclused me to Disney Villain status in my mind. I found it gut-wrenching how similar Issie's relationship with her Dad is so like mine, she seems so influenced by him in some ways, and so repelled in others. My father is often the mirror I see myself most accurately in, but also the reflection that disappoints me too. Sigh
-her propensity for lying and embellishing the truth, especially in reflection, like her mother applying lipstick after her brother drowns. I find this in my own recollections of the past. From what is depicted from her life it seems that she always had an intense emotional world, and in her youth this was more of a fragile sensitivity that needed nurturing. She clearly didn't get this emotional bonding from either parents, leading to the intense psychological emotionality she suffers from in adulthood. I wonder how this emotional neglect might have morphed her memory, where she tries to process her trauma of her childhood by applying those feelings to events to validate her experience. It doesn't seem intentional, more like a projection of her internal emotional reality onto objective memories with others. As Detmar points out, this first personal fabrication of the universal truth, is 'the foundation stones' of her 'personal myth', 'dark aesthetic' and 'her black fairy story'.
-Irrelevant to anyone but myself, iconic that Issie's problematic paternal grandparents were called Jock and Vera (mine were called Jack and Vera).
-One of my favourite things about Isabella is that her fashion made a statement. Not for beauty or sexuality, but these rich symbolic undertones-which to me-is the essence of true, powerful, transcendence of fashion that is truly meant to empower women. Today, in 2025, I feel like that concept has been lost a great deal. The echo of Lee's famous 'I want the women I dress to feel powerful' is motivating my dress code so much at the moment, and I'm certain this is how Isabella felt too. Though she doesn't always explain all her choices, I loved little moments throughout the book where you could sense her character and aesthetic development.
For example, in her childhood- the farm labourer finds a string of black pearls wrapped around a branch in the woodland, which her grandfather had previously planted in an attempt to claim insurance money. The gothic, romantic, sleeping-beauty like imagery of the morbid pearls entangled in the branches-is so becoming of many of Isabella's fashion statements. It's like an elegant maiden who gets lost along the way, tangled and enmeshed in the wildness of humanity, the pearls are like a foreboding symbol of how her status and femininity were going to play out chaotically through her life-clinging to her lineage (the pearls) was never going to give her the structure and safety she desired. Who could fault her for that desire? A mentally precarious creative, with all the whims of a materialistic, hysterical woman. The end of the chapter really solidifies that ideal for me, Issie's grandfather 'left behind a tangled legacy' and as Issie would often jest, he also left '60 pairs of shoes'. Thematically, forever connected somewhat to her roots, she develops an obsession with shoes too-often uncomfortable ones. Her life was never to be a 'comfortable' life provided from her ancestors. She would inherit nothing other than their lore, so she made sure to get good value out of it too.
-I notice like myself, Isabella is almost fixated on her past, and her childhood, for her creative inspiration. When her and her sisters used to play on a medieval tower on the family land-reinnacting dramatic mythology. I used to do this type of stuff with my sisters too, but it seems to weigh much more significance on my imagination and character development as an adult than it does for my sisters. Psychologically, considering I'm autistic and borderline personality/BP, I wonder if there's any correlation. I assume it could also be trauma/attachment related? Maybe sisters were more securely attached to parents, had different personality types e.g. Issie could have been ENFJ.
-Her hyper-sexuality was so BPD coded. Outrageous behaviour that started in her teen years when she would dance 'semi-topless' at teen parties where her family were present. She resorts to this same hyper-sexual tendencies throughout her adulthood, with the same fixation on her boobs, when she craves attention, excitement or validation. We understand from the book that she isn't conventionally attractive, as a similar intense personality with this dark feminine magnetic energy, you do often understand and appreciate the attention you get for this, but you don't always feel attractive... hence maybe the performative sexuality to get this affirmation. There is definitely an element of taboo and rebellion to it too, to reject modesty is unnerving and assigns a certain element of feminist power.
-I also noted that she was perceived as precocious in youth, called upon to socialise with an older audience as a child. As an adult, contrastingly, she often sought out younger companions. Her age and maturity seems ethereal to me in this book. Moments where she's in mid-adulthood sound like she's only a child and vice versa. This paradoxical elusion around her age is something I see in a lot of neurodivergent people, by nature they often don't conform to societal standards of 'age appropriate' behaviour. Even at the end, she sounds like a little girl sat on the hospital bed, inevitably enroute to suicide. I'm not sure where this point leads to, but it means something to me. There's no evidence of Isabella being 'autistic', I'm just pointing out the similarity.
-One of the major 'blows' in her story is the relationship with her father. Detmar says 'sometimes they seemed like the best of friends, and he could be tender and loving, but at other times the relationship was unpleasantly formal. It was a confusing dichotomy'. This makes me think about her philistine grandfather, and how this might have trickled down to affect her father-daughter relationship. Isabella is the epitome of art and culture, perhaps her father plays out this dichotomous pull between endearment towards the creativity of Isabella, and also the rejection of her practicality and pragmatism aligned with his own father's philistism. Her father plays out his hostility towards Issie through financial means. It's an interesting angle. Then, due to this unhealthy dynamic, we see Isabella chaotically attach to men in her adulthood life, she is incredibly self-destructive in her relationship with Detmar and a lot of the times its related to almost child-like financial outbursts. It's almost as if she plays out this financially (and emotionally) unstable relationship with her father through retaliation, rather than trying to close or heal the father wound.
-The tragedy and hollowness of fatherhood when the male ego craves a paternal protege, is the oldest, most disappointing story in history. It really is such a sure sign of covert narcissism when a man is so preoccupied with his image and legacy, it's self-preoccupation masked as traditionalism and romanticism. There's a subtle nod to this flaw in Isabella's father at her wedding to Detmar. It was noticed that his hands were shaking when Evelyn gave his daughter's hands to Detmar. To the outside world of conformity and performance, this would be interpreted as an emotional gesture. Anyone with a father forever haunted by his lack of sons and burdens of daughters, with the additional preoccupation with his externally societal-perceived image, will resonate precisely with Detmar's interpretation of this gesture- 'Some thought the shakes were to do with supreme emotion' but 'in reality, he was nervous of losing his balance and falling'. It's not hard to decipher beyond the words here. Evelyns emotionality in life was never connected to his daughter, but his status and image-even at the tender milestone he wasn't going to be swayed.
-Isabella underwent electric shock therapy, want to find out more about that.
-Lee's betrayal, in the end he paid for some of her psychiatrist treatment. Maybe his tough love was that when he rose to fame and wealth, he felt Isabella should find her way too? Maybe in his eyes he saw her as fallen from grace (generational wealth) and should apply her own tools to climb back up the ladder. He probably saw in the end she needed support, once the frivolities of her nature had fallen away.
More I want to find:
Tatler: Under the Arche
1992 Vogue: Over the Hilles and far away
1998 Dior: John Galliano and his Italian muse 'Marchesa Casati'
Jeremy Scott circa 1997
September 14, 2015
This is the first biography I've read on Isabella Blow & will probably not be the last. It is insightful in parts, coming as it does from such an intimate source: her husband of eighteen years. But is it the definitive biography on Isabella Blow? I hardly think so. While it provides a good overall perspective on Isabella's life & career, I would still rather read a more objective bio by a writer removed from his/her subject. (She was a fascinating character & one of the few originals in a puff-and-smoke industry not known for those rarest of commodities: authenticity & true talent.)
The unfortunate thing about the book - something that became a glaring & re-occurring flaw - is that it is peppered throughout with grammatical & a few spelling errors, giving the impression that it had been hastily written & not proof-read (even though the author acknowledges that he had begun to formulate the idea of writing the book soon after Isabella's death in 2007, taking two years to complete). That said, it is a quick & enjoyable read.
The unfortunate thing about the book - something that became a glaring & re-occurring flaw - is that it is peppered throughout with grammatical & a few spelling errors, giving the impression that it had been hastily written & not proof-read (even though the author acknowledges that he had begun to formulate the idea of writing the book soon after Isabella's death in 2007, taking two years to complete). That said, it is a quick & enjoyable read.
January 25, 2011
I liked the story more than the writing in this book. I feel terrible - since it was written by her husband - but it seemed so disjointed and clumsy. There were so many parts of her life that I would get caught up in - and then he'd end it all with a cumulative sentence, trying to wrap up something as serious as suicide with a noun and a verb.
On a positive note, a fast, easy read!
Oh - and I liked the pictures.
Yeah, I'm reaching here.
On a positive note, a fast, easy read!
Oh - and I liked the pictures.
Yeah, I'm reaching here.
August 11, 2017
My guilty reading pleasure are biographies of the well born who have fascinating and tragic lives. I generally feel a little worn out after finishing these stories full of rampant shallow ramblings and epic self destruction but I found this book, while having plenty of both elements, was a little more subtle and less brutal than usual. I actually enjoyed it and while I'm no real fan of the fashionable life was entertained and interested by a life and character that was played out in the media.
December 13, 2010
Sadly this book provided little if any insight into who Isabella Blow was. It reads like a laundry list of events in her life, but not much about her motivation, beliefs, or passion. For example: an unpaid expense for a shoot is discussed, but nothing about what the shoot was or why the ruin was needed in her eyes. She was amazing--so it is worth a look.
January 5, 2011
A touching, personal memoir by Blow's husband.
May 17, 2019
Book Court - Where I'm the Judge and Jury
CHARGE (What was the author trying to say?): To explore how depression and mental illness even affect the right and famous as shown in the life of Isabella Blow.
FACTS: This is the story of Isabella Blow, an English fashionista, as told by her husband. Though not a designer herself, Blow is credited with discovering many who went on to be great designers. From her aristocratic lineage she inherited a hunger for power, money, and status that would never be satisfied in her lifetime. She always battled a fear that she would be left homeless. Her career began as Anna Wintour’s assistant and moved through stints as a fashion editor and fashion director. Her story is marred by depression. The book contains behind-the-scenes fashion gossip, tempered by pain, confusion, and excess. Her husband as narrator, often comes across as an uninteresting bystander rather than a loving spouse. Isabella was a fashion icon, after icons had gone out of style. She was a tortured genius.
VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged, but at times disturbing.
CHARGE (What was the author trying to say?): To explore how depression and mental illness even affect the right and famous as shown in the life of Isabella Blow.
FACTS: This is the story of Isabella Blow, an English fashionista, as told by her husband. Though not a designer herself, Blow is credited with discovering many who went on to be great designers. From her aristocratic lineage she inherited a hunger for power, money, and status that would never be satisfied in her lifetime. She always battled a fear that she would be left homeless. Her career began as Anna Wintour’s assistant and moved through stints as a fashion editor and fashion director. Her story is marred by depression. The book contains behind-the-scenes fashion gossip, tempered by pain, confusion, and excess. Her husband as narrator, often comes across as an uninteresting bystander rather than a loving spouse. Isabella was a fashion icon, after icons had gone out of style. She was a tortured genius.
VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged, but at times disturbing.
February 28, 2026
One tortured soul writing about another tortured soul. With everything that Isabella has done with her life and the constant reminder of how she’s been overlooked, used & disregarded from her peers/industry/awards/colleagues, the book could’ve included more pictures and information of her work. By the end of the book the focus is more on Detmar’s feelings and how Isabella’s actions have impacted him, rather than Issie’s life going through her mental illness. There is mention of the work she is doing during this time but it is only mentioned and not explained. Many times in this book her work is merely glanced over with no detail of the behind the scenes of her many shoots. Nonetheless, it was an interesting read and Isabella is a person that is worth knowing and researching about. She represents true authenticity in the creative world. Her confidence truly inspires me.
March 13, 2023
This isn’t well written, but I didn’t mind that because I was more interested in the subject. However, the chapters are very brief and Detmar seems more concerned with name dropping than giving us a comprehensive look into Isabella’s talent and emotional states. The accounts of family lineage are very interesting, though.
July 5, 2025
I personally enjoy books written about real people. This is the true tragedy of how our personalities, our beliefs and mental health starts the moment we are born. Our parents shape us into what we will become, sometimes it leads us to a tragic end. This was true for Isse Blow even the love of her husband could not save her.
February 8, 2025
A fascinating story - I was, and will remain, a huge fan of Isabella Blow’s work. But the memoir is very poorly written, and unfortunately it’s impossible to ignore the nagging feeling throughout, that the rich are undoubtedly different…
January 6, 2018
What a loss
March 18, 2020
Wonderfully written,the story of a very beautiful person and emotional!
June 27, 2020
A beautiful tragedy
Such an amazing story of an amazing person. She touched so many people, including me, a country girl who she never met. I hope she is at peace.
Such an amazing story of an amazing person. She touched so many people, including me, a country girl who she never met. I hope she is at peace.
October 10, 2020
Very very interesting.
What a life Isabella Blow had,I hope she has found piece at last .Good wishes to her long suffering husband.
What a life Isabella Blow had,I hope she has found piece at last .Good wishes to her long suffering husband.
July 11, 2021
Insight into a fascinating life and lifestyle
Read
March 28, 2024i cried a lot
October 23, 2012
This biography, written by the subject's widower, tells of the ups and downs in the life of his fashionista wife, Isabella Delves Broughton Blow.
"Issie" at 5 years old witnessed her brother's drowning. Her need for parental love and support was met with a coldness implying blame. When her mother divorced her father, she left the household with handshakes for her children. Her father gave even less affection. I believe this sort of treatment was a major factor in producing Issie's self-absorption, exhibitionism, materialism and eventual suicide. I think of Princess Diana advising parents to "Hug your children."
Issie's father leaving his fortune to his second wife, and naming Isssie for less inheritance than her grandparents left their servants, should have been anticipated. Issie blew an earlier inheritance that seemed to be of some size. This profligacy I'm sure was noted, but never discussed by her penny-pinching father. I would guess that his will was due to his hating to think that all he had worked for would be piddled away. For Issie this was (understandably, since no explanation was given) a rejection that rocked her already fragile self worth.
Issie apparently bought into the system that was so harmful to her. She yearned to produce a male child (then, according to custom, he would inherit the family estate) and felt a failure when she couldn't. Her rank among the British aristocracy gave her a sense of entitlement for things that she could not afford. Appearances had to be kept, so she couldn't ask her successful protégés for a royalty or a position. Detmar defines a total cash bleed, but the purchase of jewelry, homes, decor and cars (a "new Bentley" gets a passing mention) blithely continues. Issie's life is empty and clothing, art work and baronial residences fill a void.
She seems to feel no world outside her bubble of fashion and her society of party oriented aristocrats and parvenus. It's a cruel bubble, especially for women as they age. As they dine and drink, Issie attempts to outparty and outdress them. Her celebrity image is important to her career, and probably vital to her. After several suicide attempts and yet another breakdown, at the hospital she advises the staff that she is famous... they can Google her.
Husband Detmar is grieving, but not fully analyzing what happened. His childhood had the same love deficit as his wife's. He loved the fun of Issie. Did Detmar need the fun because he couldn't have the love? Could the pressure to produce this fun, not just for him, but for everyone else as well have pushed her too far? Issie loved her jobs in the fashion world, but they carried with them the pressure to be more and more outrageous. Maybe she realized there were limits and couldn't face the world without "more".
This book is painful to read, and its photos of Issie painful to view. I hope Detmar can find happiness, he sounds like a good person, trapped in an unfeeling circle of family and so-called friends.
"Issie" at 5 years old witnessed her brother's drowning. Her need for parental love and support was met with a coldness implying blame. When her mother divorced her father, she left the household with handshakes for her children. Her father gave even less affection. I believe this sort of treatment was a major factor in producing Issie's self-absorption, exhibitionism, materialism and eventual suicide. I think of Princess Diana advising parents to "Hug your children."
Issie's father leaving his fortune to his second wife, and naming Isssie for less inheritance than her grandparents left their servants, should have been anticipated. Issie blew an earlier inheritance that seemed to be of some size. This profligacy I'm sure was noted, but never discussed by her penny-pinching father. I would guess that his will was due to his hating to think that all he had worked for would be piddled away. For Issie this was (understandably, since no explanation was given) a rejection that rocked her already fragile self worth.
Issie apparently bought into the system that was so harmful to her. She yearned to produce a male child (then, according to custom, he would inherit the family estate) and felt a failure when she couldn't. Her rank among the British aristocracy gave her a sense of entitlement for things that she could not afford. Appearances had to be kept, so she couldn't ask her successful protégés for a royalty or a position. Detmar defines a total cash bleed, but the purchase of jewelry, homes, decor and cars (a "new Bentley" gets a passing mention) blithely continues. Issie's life is empty and clothing, art work and baronial residences fill a void.
She seems to feel no world outside her bubble of fashion and her society of party oriented aristocrats and parvenus. It's a cruel bubble, especially for women as they age. As they dine and drink, Issie attempts to outparty and outdress them. Her celebrity image is important to her career, and probably vital to her. After several suicide attempts and yet another breakdown, at the hospital she advises the staff that she is famous... they can Google her.
Husband Detmar is grieving, but not fully analyzing what happened. His childhood had the same love deficit as his wife's. He loved the fun of Issie. Did Detmar need the fun because he couldn't have the love? Could the pressure to produce this fun, not just for him, but for everyone else as well have pushed her too far? Issie loved her jobs in the fashion world, but they carried with them the pressure to be more and more outrageous. Maybe she realized there were limits and couldn't face the world without "more".
This book is painful to read, and its photos of Issie painful to view. I hope Detmar can find happiness, he sounds like a good person, trapped in an unfeeling circle of family and so-called friends.
February 19, 2017
While it's not as lyrical perhaps as a book about this fashion icon could be, this is still an important read. Others have written of her with more grace but not with more love. The book isn't just a story of fashion in the 1990s and the power of a muse, it's also a story of crippling depression and loss. The short chapters and slightly jumbled timelines make it a bit of a chaotic read but the heart of it rings true.
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