Carlyn Cerniglia BecciaFashion Rebels: Style Icons Who Changed the World through Fashion

I got this for both my mother and my stepmother. Even though they have TOTALLY different personalities, they both liked it.

The author chose style icons to highlight and even put bodies on the cover and throughout the book of women who were pencil-thin. She glorifies this whole industry that had caused so many women to look badly upon their bodies. Then makes it seem like you need to buy expensive Chanel clothes to fit it, but not everyone can afford these clothes. Many of these women known racists and heavy smokers and should not be glorified by any means. Considering them as role models is infantile. In fact, I would go as far as saying this book could be dangerous. What is she going to do another one describing how great the Nazis dressed? Shameful!

I’m so not a fashionista and yet I enjoyed this book for what it is. Middle-Grade girls who love history and fashion will love this book. The drawings and examples of how to achieve a certain “look” are fantastic. Starting with Cleopatra and ending with Lady Gaga almost every fashion trend is described and easy to visualize.Middle schoolers wanting to make their own costumes will have everything they need here. Style tips and tutorials are spread throughout the book. I now know that Katherine Hepburn was really into making sure everyone around her was hydrated- always ahead of the curve that one.The central message is that finding your own style is personal and that these women are not defined by their fashion choices.This book was nominated for the Cybils Awards, and I was sent a copy for this review.

For middle school girls trying to figure out who they are, how they fit in, and how they want to present themselves, FASHION REBELS shows them that style is a personal choice. Girls can all find someone to identify with in these pages, from sweet and quick-witted Dolley Madison (expert at defusing tempers with (oyster!) ice cream and kindness), to Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, and once-bullied YouTube sensation Bethany Mota. Artists especially will love and be inspired by the drawings.

it is AWESOME!