Book details 100 dresses that made a difference
Some dresses you remember: Michelle Obama's inaugural gown, Coco Chanel's little black dress, Cher's Oscar getups. They make an impression on the collective culture beyond a fleeting trend.InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein counts down his favorites in a new book, "100 Unforgettable Dresses" (Harper Design, $35)."Dresses are important for different reasons," he says. "They hit us emotionally, psychologically or affect how we perceive beauty."A great dress also can jump-start a career, he says. Obama's white, one-shouldered gown for the inaugural balls made Jason Wu a household name overnight, but stars as diverse as Phyllis Diller and Elizabeth Hurley parlayed a splash of style into celebrity.
Hurley in Gianni Versace's safety-pin gown in 1994 for the premiere of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" "is the greatest example of the power of clothing.Improve Your Persona With The Backless Wedding Dress.Elizabeth Hurley was a pretty girl on Hugh Grant's arm who no one knew. The next day it was, 'Who's that girl?' "Modern A-listers Sarah Jessica Parker and Cate Blanchett join the late style icons Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy and Grace Kelly as women who successfully made fashion part of their identity, he says. They show a deep understanding of fashion without seeming burdened by it, he says.
Kennedy figured out how to use clothing as a political tool. With her appearance in France at Versailles in 1961 in an ivory gown with floral beading all over the bodice by Hubert de Givenchy, she changed the world's perception of how a new generation of Americans might dress.Diller used her clothes as a warmup act. Kooky? Yes. Yet, it was a smart move, says Rubenstein, because the audience was smiling before she opened her mouth.Every dress in the book tells a story, and that's why, at 35,000 words, it's more for reference than the coffee table, Rubenstein says."Three-quarters of these have been stuck in my head my whole life." He says. "It's the culmination of how fashion has impacted the culture in my world."
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