In a volume originally intended just for friends, the author reflects on her fortunes and misfortunes through the clothes she has worn, clothes that have expressed her hopes and dreams--from her Brownie uniform to her first maternity dress. Reprint.

The author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore presents “a whimsically illustrated memoir about [her] acerbic Jewish grandmother” (St. Petersburg Times). Ilene Beckerman’s first book “illuminates the experience of an entire generation of women,” wrote the New York Times Book Review in a full page of praise for Love, Loss, and What I Wore. It became a bestseller and inspired the hit Off-Broadway play by the same name. Now, Gingy returns with her fifth illustrated treasure, The Smartest Woman I Know—a tribute to the insightful woman who raised her. It’s been said there’s nobody as smart as an old woman. That’s Gingy’s grandmother, Ettie, though she had no more than a third-grade education. She dispensed unforgettable wisdom to Gingy and her sister, Tootsie, as well as to the customers at her and (her husband) Mr. Goldberg’s stationery and magazine store, where customers ranged from Irish nannies to Sara Delano Roosevelt to Marlene Dietrich. Clever about life and love, food and men, Ettie had advice for everyone, and it didn’t hurt that she got some of her best ideas from talking things over with God, out loud. Known for bringing wit and emotion to issues that concern women, depth and poignancy to subjects as seemingly trivial as clothes, beauty, and bridesmaids, Gingy now magically brings the irrepressible Ettie Goldberg to life. “With its compact format and bright colors, The Smartest Woman I Know by Ilene Beckerman looks deceptively cute, but it’s a deeply felt homage to the author’s 4-foot-10-inch grandmother Ettie.”—The Jewish Week “Ettie’s epigrams are packaged in a quick, amusing read, complete with quirky illustrations.”—Publishers Weekly

In a poignant memoir of the mother-daughter relationship, a woman who has seen three daughters marry shares her insights into the entire bittersweet process, from engagement rings to "here comes the bride." Reprint.

"During my life, I've spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars on my hair, my makeup, and my clothes, trying to look prettier because I grew up believing that pretty girls had happier lives." "I'd be a lot happier now if I had that time and that money back." Ilene Beckerman has lived long enough to have finally learned that there's more to happiness than finding the right hairdo and maintaining an ideal weight. This is never more clear than when she's invited to her fiftieth elementary-school reunion. "Of course I'd go to the reunion." Beckerman says. But delight soon turns to dismay: "I wondered who'd be there. How would they look? Would I look as good? What would I wear? Could I lose twenty pounds by June?" Her reunion presents the perfect occasion to illustrate the anxieties and doubts, the dreams and hard-earned triumphs, of women—from Queen Victoria to Britney Spears. Beckerman knows what really matters in life (besides good hair), and she imparts her wisdom in letters (unsent) to Madonna, Ava Gardner, Sofia Coppola, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, and others, and to her granddaughter Olivia. Frida Kahlo, Cinderella, Whistler's Mother, and Audrey Hepburn make appearances too. In this wise and wonderful book, she shares a lifetime of experience that reminds us that, ultimately, our mothers (and our grandmothers) were right: real beauty comes from within.

The bestselling, beloved writer of romantic comedies like You've Got Mail tells her own late-in-life love story in her "resplendent memoir," complete with a tragic second act and joyous resolution (Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone). Delia Ephron had struggled through several years of heartbreak. She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. Several months after Jerry’s death, she decided to make one small change in her life—she shut down his landline, which crashed her internet. She ended up in Verizon hell. She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate. Recently widowed himself, he reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before, set up by Nora. Delia did not remember him, but after several weeks of exchanging emails and sixties folk songs, he flew east to see her. They were crazy, utterly, in love. But this was not a rom-com: four months later she was diagnosed with AML, a fierce leukemia. In Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron enchants as she seesaws us between tears and laughter, navigating the suicidal lows of enduring cutting-edge treatment and the giddy highs of a second chance at love. With Peter and her close girlfriends by her side, with startling clarity, warmth, and honesty about facing death, Ephron invites us to join her team of warriors and become believers ourselves. A "Most Anticipated Book of 2022" by TIME, Bustle, Parade, Publishers Weekly, Boston.com A "Best Memoir of 2022" by Marie Claire A "Best Memoir of April" by Vanity Fair

The New York Times–bestselling volume of mini-memoirs exploring the personal histories we carry in treasured articles of clothing—now a Netflix docuseries. Everyone has a memoir in miniature in at least one piece of clothing. In Worn Stories, Emily Spivack has collected over sixty of these clothing-inspired narratives from cultural figures and talented storytellers. First-person accounts range from the everyday to the extraordinary, such as artist Marina Abramovic on the boots she wore to walk the Great Wall of China; musician Rosanne Cash on the purple shirt that belonged to her father; and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley on the Girl Scout sash that informed her business acumen. Other contributors include Greta Gerwig, Heidi Julavits, John Hodgman, Brandi Chastain, Marcus Samuelsson, Piper Kerman, Maira Kalman, Sasha Frere-Jones, Simon Doonan, Albert Maysles, Susan Orlean, Andy Spade, Paola Antonelli, David Carr, Andrew Kuo, and more. By turns funny, tragic, poignant, and celebratory, Worn Stories offers a revealing look at the clothes that protect us, serve as a uniform, assert our identity, or bring back the past—clothes that are encoded with the stories of our lives.

Social Psychology of Dress presents and explains the major theories and concepts that are important to understanding relationships between dress and human behavior. These concepts and theories are derived from such disciplines as sociology, psychology, anthropology, communication, and textiles and clothing. Information presented will provide summaries of empirical research, as well as examples from current events or popular culture. The book provides a broad-based and inclusive discussion of the social psychology of dress, including: - The study of dress and how to do it - Cultural topics such as cultural patterns including technology, cultural complexity, normative order, aesthetics, hygiene, ethnicity, ritual - Societal topics such as family, economy-occupation, social organizations and sports, fraternal organizations - Individual-focused theories on deviance, personality variables, self, values, body image and social cognition - Coverage of key theories related to dress and identity provide a strong theoretical foundation for further research Unique chapter features bring in industry application and current events. The end-of-chapter summaries, discussion questions and activities give students opportunities to study and research dress. Teaching resources including an instructor's guide, test bank and PowerPoint presentations with full-color versions of images from the textbook. Social Psychology of Dress STUDIO - Study smarter with self-quizzes featuring scored results and personalized study tips - Review concepts with flashcards of essential vocabulary - Download worksheets to complete chapter activities