Emily SpivackWorn Stories

This is an excellent collection of sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always heartfelt reasons why and how our clothing can define us.

In this intriguing collection of short memoirs, Spivack interviews a number of people both famous and not. She has asked for a piece of clothing that evokes a piece of time for the owner. The resulting entries ensnare the mind with the everyday magic of an item. I do,however, suspect it is also her interpretation of the story in precise and elegant prose that further enhances these little worlds.I am captured by the uncanny spread of clothing and stories. Some are totemic such as first Converse sneakers, but others are prosaic such as a pencil skirt that stood for adulthood for its owner. Perhaps even more telling than the clothing we buy are those clothes we save through the years. I especially love the fact that some of these items are not lovely and will never be candidates for clothing lust or envy. This book is a lovely little peek into the role of our much maligned "stuff" that follows our travels by design or habit.

Arrived quickly and in great shape. It was exactly as described. Would buy from this seller again.

I accidentally hit the one touch order button on Amazon, and was going to cancel, but after I read the synopsis I decided this book might just be a keeper. I'm so glad I did. Some of the stories are funny, some are full of wisdom, and some will break your heart, but I enjoyed every single one. It's amazing how ordinary items of clothing can invoke so many memories and instantly transport us to another place and time. For me, the only thing that might have made it better, would have been a small thumbnail photo of each owner (or better yet, a picture of them wearing their item). I loved it!

LABYRINTH BOOKS tells it like it is. THEY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CONDITIONS OF THEIR BOOKS!!!! WHENEVER I SEE THEM OFFERING BOOKS FOR SALE I KNOW I WILL GET A VERY GOOD COPY!!!

I enjoyed it greatly. Glimpses into the lives of people through a garment with personal meaning to them. It had a few too many statements from people in the clothing industry, but I enjoyed it so much overall, I still give it five stars. I chose it as a book for our book club, and in addition to discussing it, we all brought a garment and told about it to the group. Oral history, people's stories in a nicely focussed way to get into each person's daily life, not the overall arc of a life.

Everything about this book is lovely, but not in the sense of a brand new dress or a flawlessly tailored suit. Here is a moving story from a Holocaust survivor. There is a deep reflection from a very funny man about the dress he sometimes wears on stage. I'm not much for coffee table books, but this is one I'll savor--picking it up and putting it down, staring at one image and reading one story at a time--for this collection deserves to be cherished as much as the footy pajamas I wore as a teen-ager on freezing-cold nights and still can't bring myself to throw out.

As an image consultant, I'm always helping people make their wardrobe smaller and more functional, but my favorite part is getting to know and be amazed by the stories each piece of clothe can hold. I even study psychology to understand how much further a simple piece can go besides just making someone more beautiful.Emily just reassured why i got into this business in the first place: to getting to know (and help) people and to learn the amazing particularities each one of us have.I'm in love with this book.

wonderful book

book is wonderful, with a lot of information, in excellent condition

Wonderful book. Amazing stories that I will read again and again. What a great idea for a book and an fantastic selection of writers. love it.