The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History

I loved this book and was very surprised by its depth, which went way beyond anything I expected when I ordered it. A simple recap of fashion's historic "Battle of Versailles" -- how it came to be, the challenges of putting it together and pulling it off, and the parties and chaos of the days leading up to it--would have been a great read unto itself. But thanks to Givhan's extraordinary knowledge of her subject matter and unmatched skill with a narrative, we quickly begin to understand that the event itself was but a tiny part of a much bigger story, which to my knowledge has never been told as meticulously as Givhan has told it.Essentially, the USA v France couture "battle" signaled the culmination of a series of events that led to radical and irreversible change in the world of fashion--and beyond. This change had cultural, stylistic, economic and, perhaps most unexpectedly, racial implications (which Givhan does a particularly deep and insightful dive on, particularly toward the end of the book). One of the great takeaways is that no one at the time really realized what this event would come to symbolize, most thinking of it as an especially clever but not especially significant affair, yet Givhan does the math here big time and in the process gives it and its key participants and organizers great and worthy due.And for all of the history and analysis that Givhan has managed to pack into this standard-sized book (her first, nonetheless!), it is an astonishingly breezy read. "The Battle of Versailles" is not just for fashion buffs. It's really for any reader who craves excellent nonfiction writing.

¡Gran libro!

I doubt if non-fashion readers will appreciated it that much, but for everyone in Fashion it is a terrific must read and tells a lot about the 70s and the challenge of equal rights for blacks and whites in couture- circles

Wow! The best and most interesting book on what is going on inside the fashion-business since "The Beautiful Fall"!

Conozco sobre el tema, gracias a la serie Halston. La descripción del libro, es muy escueta. Solo es una novela, incluye muy pocas fotos, y son en blanco y negro. Papel de mala calidad.