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Author Cunningham, William J., author.

Title Fashion climbing / Bill Cunningham ; preface by Hilton Als.

Publication Info. New York : Penguin Press, 2018.

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Avon Free Public Library - Adult Department  92 CUNNINGHAM    Check Shelf
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Biographies  92 BIOGRAPHY CUNNINGHAM    Check Shelf
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  B CUNNINGHAM, BILL    Check Shelf
 Canton Public Library - Adult Department  BIO CUNNINGHAM    Check Shelf
 Cheshire Public Library - Adult Department Lower Level  BIOGRAPHY CUNNINGHAM    Check Shelf
 East Hartford, Raymond Library - Adult Department  B CUNNINGHAM BILL C    Check Shelf
 Mansfield, Main Library - Adult Nonfiction  746.9209 CUNNINGHAM    Check Shelf
 Middletown, Russell Library - Adult Biography  B-CUNNINGHAM CUN    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  746.92092 CUN    Check Shelf
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  B CUNNINGHAM, W.    Check Shelf

Description xii, 237 pages ; 22 cm
Contents The doors of paradise -- Becoming William J. -- My first shop -- A helmet covered in flowers -- The luxury of freedom -- Nona and Sophie -- The Southampton shop -- Fashion punch -- The top of the ladder -- On society -- On taste -- Laura Johnson's philosophy.
Summary The iconic "New York Times" photographer presents a sophisticated, visual account of his early education in New York City's high-fashion circles. For Bill Cunningham, New York City was the land of freedom, glamour, and, above all, style. Growing up in a lace-curtain Irish suburb of Boston, secretly trying on his sister's dresses and spending his evenings after school in the city's chicest boutiques, Bill dreamed of a life dedicated to fashion. But his desires were a source of shame for his family, and after dropping out of Harvard, he had to fight them tooth-and-nail to pursue his love. When he arrived in New York, he reveled in people-watching. He spent his nights at opera openings and gate-crashing extravagant balls, where he would take note of the styles, new and old, watching how the gowns moved, how the jewels hung, how the hair laid on each head. This was his education, and the birth of the democratic and exuberant taste that he came to be famous for as a photographer for The New York Times. After two style mavens took Bill under their wing, his creativity thrived and he made a name for himself as a designer. Taking on the alias William J.--because designing under his family's name would have been a disgrace to his parents--Bill became one of the era's most outlandish and celebrated hat designers, catering to movie stars, heiresses, and artists alike. Bill's mission was to bring happiness to the world by making women an inspiration to themselves and everyone who saw them. These were halcyon days when fashion was all he ate and drank. When he was broke and hungry he'd stroll past the store windows on Fifth Avenue and feed himself on beautiful things. Fashion Climbing is the story of a young man striving to be the person he was born to be: a true original. But although he was one of the city's most recognized and treasured figures, Bill was also one of its most guarded. Written with his infectious joy and one-of-a-kind voice, this memoir was polished, neatly typewritten, and safely stored away in his lifetime. He held off on sharing it--and himself--until his passing. Between these covers, is an education in style, an effervescent tale of a bohemian world as it once was, and a final gift to the readers of one of New York's great characters.
Subject Cunningham, Bill, 1929-2016
Cunningham, William J. (OCoLC)fst00026407
Fashion designers -- United States -- Biography.
Portrait photographers -- United States -- Biography.
Millinery -- United States -- History.
Fashion designers. (OCoLC)fst00921628
Millinery. (OCoLC)fst01021825
Portrait photographers. (OCoLC)fst01072258
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Genre/Form Autobiographies.
Autobiographies. (OCoLC)fst01919894
Biography. (OCoLC)fst01423686
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
Nonfiction.
Autobiographies.
Other Form: Online version: Cunningham, William J., author. Fashion climbing New York : Penguin Press, 2018 9780525558712 (DLC) 2018025887
ISBN 9780525558705 (hardcover)
0525558705 (hardcover)
9780525558712 (e-book)
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