Always Pack A Party Dress

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Always Pack A Party Dress
–And Other Lessons Learned From a (Half) Life in Fashion–

by Amanda Brooks

Forget the coffee table — once you have delved into Amanda Brook’s new book, Always Pack a Party Dress, you will want to keep it around to finish quickly and then begin again! Upon a casual skim at the book­store, one might be tempted to lump Always Pack a Party Dress in with the other stereo­typ­ical fashion books filled only with inspired pho­tographs — big mistake!

Amanda Brooks shown above In Paris, sporting Rag & Bone pants and Celine sunglasses

brooks quoteBrooks art­fully por­trays the highs and lows of her fashion journey — the book’s layout alone is worthy of praise! We learn where she came from, how it all started, and what is on her cur­rent agenda. Written in a style that com­bines memoir and how-​​to, Always Pack a Party Dress reflects on her days as the fashion director at Bar­neys New York. It also touches upon her pre­vious life and how it led her to land this dream job.

 

Having spent over 20 years in the fashion world, Brooks dis­cusses the evo­lu­tion of her per­sonal style, not only sharing her best moments, but also those she wishes she could forget — we all have some of those “what was I thinking!?” out­fits. Whether you are inter­ested in a career in fashion or not, this book is a must-​​read. It pro­vides an inside look into the life that, at some point, we all secretly dream of having.

How could you not take advice from someone whose room­mate at Brown was the daughter of Car­olina Her­rera? The same someone who dated Diane Von Furstenberg’s son before set­tling down with her cur­rent hus­band and having two chil­dren — sign me up please!

brooks roomIt is easy to get caught up in the fashion world and lose touch with your­self, but Brooks has been praised both for remaining true to her­self and for explaining how she was able to through her writing.

 

Col­lec­tive praise for Always Pack a Party Dress includes:

She doesn’t let them dic­tate who she is”- Garance Dore

Style that is as orig­inal as she is”- Tory Burch

Read to know how to live authen­ti­cally and well”- Amy Astely

On hiatus from attending galas and run­ning Barney’s, Brooks cur­rently resides at a family farm­house in the Eng­lish coun­try­side — talk about living abrooks landscape double life! She was “sit­ting at the kitchen table, dressed in jodh­purs and muddy boots, just in from a morning ride” when she began to write this book and embark on her “cre­ative sab­bat­ical.” Pep­pered with per­sonal anec­dotes and “side bars” that are full of witty prose, Amanda Brooks truly expresses an orig­inal view on all things fashion in her book, Always Pack a Party Dress.

Happy reading!

brooks black and white

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