I really, really enjoyed this book. The author is a journalist with a deep background in fashion, so she seemed to use all her access to get behind-the-scenes at couture shops, fashion shows, famous designers houses and the sweatshops they employ in third world countries- whether those designers will ever invite her again after reading this book is another story!
Thomas follows the birth of luxury- small family shops using the best skills & materials to create personalized, special items that will last many lifetimes- to how many of the top fashion designer brands now use mass warehouses to create overpriced items with bad materials that fall apart quickly. She delves into how businesses bought out houses, and made labels more important than real quality in society. She covers a lot of ground, I learned a ton, and it was a very fun read.I didn't feel like there was any fat in the book that needed to be cut out, and I'm hoping Thomas will write another book in the future.
More than a little long-winded. It could easily be 100 pages less, but very eye opening. That LV purse you paid $700 for could very easily have been made in china for $50-70, sent to Europe where there are no disclosure laws for where a product is made, had a handle put on it and BAM! the tag now says "Made in Italy" I think Ill be saving my money from now on.
