Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!)

Arnold Scaasi

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781416575283
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439131381
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Fashion Design

A fascinating read of personal experiences from the famed fashion designer that showcases the lives and contributions of iconic women -- from Jackie Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor to Laura Bush to Princess Diana

Arnold Scaasi has been dressing legends for almost five decades. His enduring tenure as one of the world's premier fashion designers and tastemakers has afforded him vast stores of insider knowledge and firsthand perspectives on an array of illustrious personalities who -- in their disparate arenas of high-wattage celebrity and influence -- have defined our contemporary notions of female power and glamour. Here, for the first time, Scaasi invites readers into his glittering A-list realm as he recounts his intimate experiences and interactions with larger-than-life female icons who made their mark in spheres as varied as politics, Hollywood, the music industry, and high society.

Scaasi devotes each chapter to a specific woman or to a group of women, including "Broadway Girls," "New York Girls," and "Hollywood Girls." He shares dozens of behind-closed-doors anecdotes exploring what makes these women tick. In candid prose, he recalls what they said and how they acted, and most important, offers keen observations of who they really are underneath his creations. Using a privileged entrée into their private and public lives, Scaasi takes the measure of their impact on the world at large.

Here, readers will discover: Joan Crawford's fetish for cleanliness; the dazzling Barbra Streisand's famous Oscar night outfit and her obsession with perfection; Mamie Eisenhower's staunch refusal to wear a bra; the bountiful charms of Joan Sutherland, the opera legend; Mary Tyler Moore's and Sophia Loren's unique glamour; Rose Kennedy's prediction of a future woman president; Aretha Franklin's fear of flying; Scaasi's visits to the White House to his good friend and client Barbara Bush; his confrontations with Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe; and much more!

Scaasi dresses only women he genuinely likes, so his tales are never mean-spirited. Instead they spotlight the designer's surprising interactions and often poignant perceptions of Eleanor Roosevelt, Joan Rivers, Louise Nevelson, Natalie Wood, Hillary Clinton, and many others. The book is filled with photographs from the author's personal scrapbooks and fond recollections of some of the world's most beautiful, accomplished, and powerful women.

Women I Have Dressed (and Undressed!) is a trove of irresistible insider dish and a tender, humorous memoir of the most influential women of our time.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• BEGINNINGS
• JOAN CRAWFORD
• NEW YORK GIRLS
• BROADWAY GIRLS
• MAMIE EISENHOWER
• ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
• JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS
• SPECIAL DEBUTANTES
• BARBRA STREISAND
• THE MOTHER SUPERIOR
• JOAN SUTHERLAND
• ROSE KENNEDY
• CLAUDETTE COLBERT
• LOUISE NEVELSON
• ELIZABETH TAYLOR
• HOLLYWOOD GIRLS
• BARBARA BUSH
• JOAN RIVERS
• ROSEMARIE KANZLER
• PRINCESS DIANA
• LAURA BUSH
• HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• APPENDIX
• INDEX
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR