Download or read book Bringing Home the Birkin written by Michael Tonello and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2008-04-22 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's hilarious, whirlwind account of his years spent globe-trotting in search of the holy grail of handbags: the Birkin For more than twenty years, the Hermès Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. Though the bag is often seen dangling from the arms of celebrities, there is a fabled waiting list of more than two years to buy one from Hermès, and the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing one of these coveted carryalls. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello . . . Michael's newfound career started with an impulsive move to Barcelona, a vanished job assignment, no work visa, and an Hermès scarf sold on eBay to generate some quick cash. But soon the resourceful Michael discovered the truth about the waiting list and figured out the secret to getting Hermès to part with one of these precious bags. Millions of dollars worth of Birkins later, Michael had become one of eBay's most successful entrepreneurs—and a Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women. With down-to-earth wit, Michael chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent, from eBay to Paris auction house and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs. Flirting with danger, Michael recounts the heady rush of hand delivering his first big score to famed songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in Paris; how he had to hire thugs to rescue a bag that one of his "shoppers" held for ransom; and the story of the Oscar-worthy performances that allowed him to snag "reserved" bags from other, less dogged Birkin seekers. Whether he's relating his wining and dining, buying and selling, dodging and weaving, laughing and crying, or schmoozing and stammering, Michael is a master raconteur who weaves together tales of hunting Birkins in the world's most posh locales, memories of meals that would make any gastronome salivate, anecdotes of obsessed collectors with insatiable desires, and sweetly intimate stories about his family, friends, and finding true love. The result is a memoir that is distinctive, fun, page-turning, and as addictive as its namesake.
Download or read book Primates of Park Avenue written by Wednesday Martin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Like an urban Dian Fossey, Wednesday Martin decodes the primate social behaviors of Upper East Side mothers in a brilliantly original and witty memoir about her adventures assimilating into that most secretive and elite tribe. After marrying a man from the Upper East Side and moving to the neighborhood, Wednesday Martin struggled to fit in. Drawing on her background in anthropology and primatology, she tried looking at her new world through that lens, and suddenly things fell into place. She understood the other mothers' snobbiness at school drop-off when she compared them to olive baboons. Her obsessional quest for a Hermes Birkin handbag made sense when she realized other females wielded them to establish dominance in their troop. And so she analyzed tribal migration patterns; display rituals; physical adornment, mutilation, and mating practices; extra-pair copulation; and more. Her conclusions are smart, thought-provoking, and hilariously unexpected. Every city has its Upper East Side, and in Wednesday's memoir, readers everywhere will recognize the strange cultural codes of powerful social hierarchies and the compelling desire to climb them. They will also see that Upper East Side mothers want the same things for their children that all mothers want--safety, happiness, and success--and not even sky-high penthouses and chauffeured SUVs can protect this ecologically released tribe from the universal experiences of anxiety and loss. When Wednesday's life turns upside down, she learns how deep the bonds of female friendship really are. Intelligent, funny, and heartfelt, Primates of Park Avenue lifts a veil on a secret, elite world within a world--the exotic, fascinating, and strangely familiar culture of privileged Manhattan motherhood"--
Download or read book Deluxe written by Dana Thomas and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-08-16 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “With Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, [Dana] Thomas—who has been the cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Paris for 12 years—has written a crisp, witty social history that’s as entertaining as it is informative.” —New York Times From the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don't want us to know. Deluxe is an uncompromising look behind the glossy façade that will enthrall anyone interested in fashion, finance, or culture.
Download or read book Jane Serge a Family Album written by Andrew Birkin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This album contains, in chronological order, 160 photographs taken between 1963 and 1979 by Andrew Birkin of his sister Jane Birken, Serge Gainsbourg, and their relatives."--Preliminary page.
Download or read book Retail Hell written by Freeman Hall and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-09-18 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Act I: "I think you left these behind," I said, handing them to her. This happens all the time when women try to return bags they've used. Tampons, lipstick, coins, Tic Tacs, and condoms are the top treasures found. "Greasy" let out a sigh as if I were the problem. "I really don't see what the problem is here. It's none of your business what I keep in my handbag." It is when my commission is at stake! I'm not your Designer Handbag Rental Service! My name is not BagBorrowOrSteal.com! This is a place Freeman Hall, a twenty-year veteran "on the floor," knows well. While delivering side-splitting stories alongside brutally cynical commentary, Freeman recounts his most shocking experiences in Retail Hell. From the time he was attacked by a customer's four-year-old, who grabbed onto his leg like a poodle and wouldn't let go, to the day he found the fitting room walls covered in s**t, Freeman has seen and heard (smelled and felt) it all! Horrifying and hilarious, this behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on at the Big Fancy Stores is rollicking, ready-to-wear wisdom for readers everywhere.
Download or read book The Secret of Chanel No 5 written by Tilar J. Mazzeo and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-09-06 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its rich golden hue, art deco–inspired bottle, and timeless, musky scent, Chanel No. 5 is the world’s bestselling perfume and arguably the most coveted luxury product of the twentieth century. In The Secret of Chanel No. 5, Tilar J. Mazzeo offers a fascinating account of No. 5’s creation, its rise to iconic status, and the legacy of its extraordinary success. Mazzeo delves deeply into the life of Coco Chanel, the brilliant, controversial, and steel-willed businesswoman at the heart of the fragrance. She walks the rose plantations and jasmine fields where the perfume’s life begins, and travels to 31 Rue Cambon, the center of the Chanel empire. A blend of evocative history and thoughtful research, here is a glittering account of where art and sensuality mingle with dazzling entrepreneurship and desire: Chanel No. 5.
Download or read book Bringing Home the Birkin written by Michael Tonello and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2008-07-08 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's hilarious, whirlwind account of his years spent globe-trotting in search of the holy grail of handbags: the Birkin For more than twenty years, the Hermès Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. Though the bag is often seen dangling from the arms of celebrities, there is a fabled waiting list of more than two years to buy one from Hermès, and the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing one of these coveted carryalls. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello . . . Michael's newfound career started with an impulsive move to Barcelona, a vanished job assignment, no work visa, and an Hermès scarf sold on eBay to generate some quick cash. But soon the resourceful Michael discovered the truth about the waiting list and figured out the secret to getting Hermès to part with one of these precious bags. Millions of dollars worth of Birkins later, Michael had become one of eBay's most successful entrepreneurs—and a Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women. With down-to-earth wit, Michael chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent, from eBay to Paris auction house and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs. Flirting with danger, Michael recounts the heady rush of hand delivering his first big score to famed songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in Paris; how he had to hire thugs to rescue a bag that one of his "shoppers" held for ransom; and the story of the Oscar-worthy performances that allowed him to snag "reserved" bags from other, less dogged Birkin seekers. Whether he's relating his wining and dining, buying and selling, dodging and weaving, laughing and crying, or schmoozing and stammering, Michael is a master raconteur who weaves together tales of hunting Birkins in the world's most posh locales, memories of meals that would make any gastronome salivate, anecdotes of obsessed collectors with insatiable desires, and sweetly intimate stories about his family, friends, and finding true love. The result is a memoir that is distinctive, fun, page-turning, and as addictive as its namesake.
Download or read book The Smell of Evil written by Charles Birkin and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These thirteen stories reveals Sir Charles Birkin at his diabolical best. He induces chills by describing the sufferings of ordinary, decent people who encounter inexplicable cruelty and evil in their everyday lives.
Download or read book Archive Photography Language Administrhb written by BIRKIN and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This alternative study of archive and photography sits firmly against the backdrop of the traditional archive. Although many types of image assemblages feature-public and private, formal and informal, physical and digital-they are all considered in relation to the highly regulated systems that operate within the institutional milieu. Cataloguing is presented as a radical form of knowledge production, and the catalogue as a critical tool for mapping image time. The unfamiliar and overlooked language of image description is considered as having a life, a worth and an aesthetic value of its own. Functioning at the intersection of text and image, this book combines media culture and techniques of the archive, as well as contemporary discourse on art and conceptual writing. There is a media-archaeological debate throughout as to how physical archive systems and material technologies connect with different archival models, including social media spaces and other image networks.
Download or read book Hour of the Wolf written by Paul Lipton and published by . This book was released on 2013-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No day is ever wasted that can be lived consciously and to the full.2 a.m. The hour of the wolf. You wake up filled with regrets, and haunted by dashed dreams, wondering what went wrong. For Paul Lipton, a successful lawyer in his sixties, his mind's howling in the darkness reminded him that time was slipping away. Perhaps partly because both his parents had died when they were young, and because he had already experienced his own serious health crisis, he wanted to be sure to live each day to the fullest. He decided he would start viewing each day afresh and in the now asa do-over, each night dying and each morning being reborn. His philosophy was to say, “I am me today,†and ask, "How do I choose to live in the now?†His solution to these sleepless nights became an adventure, and an experiment in ageless living.To silence the howls of the wolf, Lipton took off in the footsteps of hisfictional hero, Larry Darrell in W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge. His journey took him first to the Himalayas. He then continued his external and internal travels that included crossing the ice fields of Mont Blanc, a shamanic retreat at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and motorcycle adventures across Florida's AlligatorAlley, the Rocky Mountains, and the back roads of North Carolina. In the process, he discovered he was not a prisoner of the past. Hischanged perspective had given him a new lease on life.
Download or read book Bags Purses written by Ida Tomshinsky and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2016-03-19 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bags and Purses: The Story of Chic and Practicality, is the seventh book in the popular HISTORY OF FASHION ACCESSORIES series. This is the story about handbag, an accessory that is carried and that is worn over the shoulders. Modern day workbags are like jobs, they come with benefits, qualifications, and compensations.
Download or read book Brands and Branding written by Stephen Brown and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2016-08-17 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lecturers/Instructors - Request a free digital inspection copy here A fun and humorous introductory book, written in Stephen Brown's entertaining and highly distinctive style, that introduces curious readers to the key components of brands and helps them to begin to make sense of them - what they are, what they do, why and how - using plenty of examples and references drawn from a wide range brands such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Gucci, Nike, Nintendo, Starbucks, Swatch and The Worst Hotel in the World. With 3,000 branding books published each year, why would you (or your students) want to read Brands & Branding? Here are seven reasons why: It’s introductory, aimed at undergraduate students or postgrads without a bachelor degree in business and assumes nothing more than readers’ awareness of high profile brands such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Chanel It’s indicative, focusing on the basics and thus being a more reliable revision aid than Lucozade It’s immersive, taking readers on a journey and, working on the assumption that they have smartphones or tablet computers to hand, the print text links to images, articles and academic publications to give emphasis and context where appropriate. It’s inclusive, considering articles and reports but also blogs, novels, newspapers, reviews, social media and other sources It’s irreverent – branding is not always a deadly serious business! It’s intimate, Stephen speaks to you directly and together you will pick your way through the sometimes weird and unfailingly wonderful world of brands and branding using examples rather than abstract ideas to illustrate points. It’s inspirational, celebrating the curious and successful stories of brands from Cillit Bang to Cacharel Suitable for first and second year marketing or advertising students, and for those new to or interested in branding and who are keen to know more.
Download or read book Wardrobe Crisis written by Clare Press and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who makes your clothes? This used to be an easy question to answer it was the seamstress next door, or the tailor on the high street—or you made them yourself. Today, we rarely know the origins of the clothes hanging in our closets. The local shoemaker, dressmaker, and milliner are long gone, replaced a globalized fashion industry worth $1.5 trillion a year. In Wardrobe Crisis, fashion journalist Clare Press explores the history and ethics behind what we wear. Putting her insider status to good use, Press examines the entire fashion ecosystem, from sweatshops to haute couture, unearthing the roots of today’s buy-and-discard culture. She traces the origins of icons like Chanel, Dior, and Hermès; charts the rise and fall of the department store; and follows the thread that led us from Marie Antoinette to Carrie Bradshaw. Wardrobe Crisis is a witty and persuasive argument for a fashion revolution that will empower you to feel good about your wardrobe again.
Download or read book Marketing written by Paul Baines and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 792 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is it that excites and interests your students? Reading first hand what skills top marketers really look for in graduates? Debating the benefits of using shock and fear appeals in advertising? Determining how to use social networking sites to successfully market a product? Marketing, Second Edition, presents marketing examples and issues from exciting real-life situations. Packed full of case studies from international organizations including Innocent, Orange, HMV, and Oxfam, it enables students to see first hand what top marketers actually do and how they tackle the decisions they have to make. The text also discusses the theory that supports those skills vital to marketing success across all areas of society, from dealing with skeptical consumers, selling products to the government, and deciding which pricing approach to adopt to the ethical implications of marketing to children and the best ways to use social networking sites in marketing efforts. Employing a lively writing style, the authors encourage students to explore beyond classical marketing perspectives and provoke them into thinking critically about how they would approach marketing issues. Links to seminal papers throughout each chapter also present the opportunity to take this learning further.
Download or read book Bargain Fever written by Mark Ellwood and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost half of everything sold in America is listed at some kind of promotional price. People don't only want a deep discount, they expect it - and won't settle for anything less. In this playful, deeply researched book, journalist Mark Ellwood takes a trip into this new landscape. From the floor of upscale department store Sergdorf Goodman to the bustling aisles of a Turkish bazaar, from the outlet Disneyworld of rural Pennsylvania to a town in Florida that can claim to be couponing's spiritual capital, Ellwood shows how some people are, quite literally, born to be bargain junkies thanks to a quirk of their DNA. He also uncovers the dark side of discounting: the sales-driven sleights of hand that sellers employ to hoodwink unsuspecting buyers. Bargain Feveris a manual for thriving in this new era, when deal hunting has gone from being a sign of indigence to one of intelligence. There's never been a better time to be a buyer - at least if you know how the game works. 'This book is a bargain hunter's bible.' Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home the Birkin'Bargain Fever is just as fierce, funny, tenacious, and tantalizing as its author. I love this book.' Kelly Cutrone, founder, People's Revolution, and author of Normal Gets You Nowhere'A book after my own heart. Bargain Fever lifts the veils off the sales, ensuring even more that you'll never pay retail again.' Carmen Wong Ulrich, financial contributor, CBS This Morning, and author of Generation Debt'Highly informative and entertaining.' Booklist
Download or read book Tim Gunn s Fashion Bible written by Tim Gunn and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the beginning there was the fig leaf... and the toga. Crinolines and ruffs. Chain mailand corsets. What do these antiquated items have to do with the oh-so-twenty-first-century skinny jeans, graphic tee, and sexy pumps you slipped into this morning? Everything! Fashion begets fashion, and life—from economics to politics, weather to warfare, practicality to the utterly impractical—is reflected in the styles of any given era, evolving into the threads you buy and wear today. With the candidness, intelligence, and charm that made him a household name on Project Runway, Tim Gunn reveals the fascinating story behind each article of clothing dating back to ancient times, in a book that reads like a walking tour from museum to closet with Tim at your side. From Cleopatra’s crown to Helen of Troy’s sandals, from Queen Victoria’s corset to Madonna’s cone bra, Dynasty’s power suits to Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits, Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible takes you on a runway-ready journey through the highs and lows of fashion history. Drawing from his exhaustive knowledge and intensive research to offer cutting-edge insights into modern style, Tim explains how the 1960s ruined American underwear, how Beau Brummell created the look men have worn for more than a century, why cargo capri pants are a plague on our nation, and much more. He will make you see your wardrobe in a whole new way. Prepare to be inspired as you change your thinking about the past, present, and future of fashion!
Download or read book Poetics of Politics written by Sebastian M. Herrmann and published by Universitätsverlag Winter. This book was released on 2015-04-22 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume proposes the ‘poetics of politics’ as an analytic angle to interrogate contemporary cultural production in the United States. As recent scholarship has observed, American literature and culture around the turn of the millennium, while still deeply informed by the textual self-consciousness of postmodernism, are marked by a rekindled interest in matters of social concern. This revived interest in politics is frequently read as a ‘grand epochal transition.’ Sidestepping such a logic of periodization, this book points to the interplay between the textual and the political as a dynamic – always locally specific – that affords unique insights into the characteristics of the contemporary moment. The sixteen case studies in this book explore this interplay across a wide range of media, genres, and modes. Together, they make visible a broad cultural concern with negotiating social relevance and textual self-awareness that permeates and structures contemporary US (popular) culture.
