D.V.: The legendary Vogue and Harper's Bazaar editor's own dazzling memoir of high fashion, glamour, and society icons

Outrageous, colorful, and in no way 100% true, D.V. is an all around fun read! The vignettes of such larger than life characters such as Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Charles Revson (he always had a look in his eyes), Aly Khan, General de Gaulle, and the rather dizzying array of other 20th century personalities who are given the D.V. treatment are pure fun. The inimitable Mrs. V. addresses the reader as if the two of you are nestled in a comfy corner in her living room, and she's confiding her memoirs, mixed with the advice a favorite aunt would give. I loved the descriptions of Mrs. V's personal style, from the cheapness of prewar couture, to the Chinese red nail lacquer, to her introduction of the thong sandal to America. I adored it all; the flamboyance, the insouciant commentaries on American hypocrisy, the rather sly way she comments on her dismissal from Vogue. What a personality! I'm off to search for a lady's maid; some shoes whose soles are worthy of polishing, so I can cross my legs in confidence; and for some silk underclothes in greige. Oh, wait. You say that's not possible in this day and age? No doubt the divine Mrs. V. would find a suitable replacement, and with her trademark style. If only she was still around!

A quick read of everything wonderful about her

This book is like sitting in an exotic living room, lying on a divan with a drink, listening to the most fascinating life, by an opulent and fascinating woman. Not necessarily opulent money-wise, but opulent in taste, in observations, in living. What a treat!

Wow! It's like the documentary, pie, who cares about pie! She was upside down original.

DV is an autobiography about one of the most influential people of the 20th century. A woman who was born into more tha a little wealth, wearing haute couture as a youngster, from Coco Chanel, herself, while being regarded as an "ugly duckling" by her own mother. She grew up to become one of the world's most alluring women. Her sway over pop culture and fashion, her domineering lust for beauty and her great love for youth and diversity created a template that is unparalleled. She had made the definitive case for fashion, especially haute couture, as an art form. Her sense of rigor, discipline, style, beauty and fantasy are the stuff of which any true culture is made. The true testament of her unerring eye is that everyone she chose to discover are icons of their field, to this day. Every. Single. One. The book is a testament to her taste level. Were she male, scholarships, schools & awards would be executed in her name. However, because she's seen as an "eccentric" and being female, she is not viewed as a true American who has contributed to the taste and status of America, independent of Europe. As Patrick Swayze's character, Miss Vida Boheme, stated so eloquently in "To Wong Foo:Thanks For Evberything, Julie Newmar", buy it, read it, then, commit sections to memory. Snap!

It’s nice and quite enjoyable

You will either "get" this book, or you won't...with this one I do not see any middle ground. Each chapter of the book is a memoir on its own, each one very loosely structured, each one heavily studded with dropped names. You know at least some of the names that are dropped, in episodes ranging from finding back plasters for Jack Nicholson, to helping Charles Revson with his nail polish, to finding herself seated next to Josephine Baker (and her cheetah) in a Paris movie house. From that sampling alone you get a sense of the book. It is sort of like a series of evenings listening to a highly successful grandmother hold forth. The stories are fascinating, even as your conscious mind tells you that not all of them can be true. Vreeland is on to this fact, of course, and she drops the veil ever so slightly late in the book and much more fully on its last page. But by then you've either run screaming from the room, or you are so enchanted that you don't care about something as trivial as truth. Fair warning to anyone looking for much about Vreeland's years at Vogue: she has little to say about them. There are a couple of stories, mainly about her making impossible demands that her staff seemingly found ways to fulfill. But of the magazine, she says flatly, "They fired me", and that in Mme. Vreeland's world seems to be that. Like all good party guests, she knows when to make an exit, and the book is short...you will probably finish it in one or two readings. You have to like this sort of thing, but if you do, this is as good as it gets. Highly recommended.

If you ever heard Diana Vreeland speak, you can hear her voice telling you all her stories like you were a close friend. She has lived 100 lifetimes; she knew kings and queens, partied with rock stars, posed for famous artists, lived and traveled around the globe. She was so passionate, so excited to learn things, such a lover of life. She’s very inspiring, I was sad when it ended.

Cette dame s'extasie sur tout. Au début c'est rafraîchissant, mais au fil des pages tout ce rose bubble gum vous donne l'impression d'évoluer chez les bisounours. Ce manque de retenue n'est pas à son honneur : elle apparaît comme idiote. Très peu de pages sur son métier contrairement à ce qu'annonce l'éditeur.

great fun to read and a dive back into a different century of fashion and society. My book of the Year 2026 ...and it's just February!

This book is an excellent option if you want to increase your knowledge about the fashion world. Diana Vreeland was such an important character you should know more about. I decided to buy this book after watching "the eye has to travel". I think Diana Vreeland is one of the most powerful, sensitive and pasionate woman i've ever read about.

After reading this book,I am influenced by her. It is so nice to know the person who first ruled the fashion world.

This book written in Diana Vreeland's words shows what a talented, unique person she was - and funny too. Loved the book!