Scan barcode
hksmith's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Occasionally it can feel tangential to Catherine's life but a fascinating biography of the lesser known Dior
angeladobre's review
3.0
https://booknation.ro/recenzie-miss-dior-o-poveste-despre-curaj-si-moda-din-vremea-razboiului-de-justine-picardie/
maedlaglasser's review
3.0
When a book it billed as being a biography of Catherine Dior you'd expect at least 75% of the content would be about her.
Felt more like a biography of Christian Dior and French female resistance fighters during ww2. While those two areas were well researched, Justine Picardie lacked providing real insight on who Catherine Dior was and her involvement in the war effort. It felt more like she slapped Dior's name on the cover to sell a book.
Felt more like a biography of Christian Dior and French female resistance fighters during ww2. While those two areas were well researched, Justine Picardie lacked providing real insight on who Catherine Dior was and her involvement in the war effort. It felt more like she slapped Dior's name on the cover to sell a book.
readingoverbreathing's review
2.0
"That is, perhaps, Dior's tragedy, as well as the source of his greatness: a prince of light who knew the power of darkness; the tender brother who could not forget his sister's suffering and sacrifice, even as he swathed her in floral silks and the scent of love."
To be honest, I really only picked this up because I got a free proof of it from a bookshop event I volunteered at. Yet I was still very much interested in it, as I find the history of designer fashion rather fascinating but really know very little about it.
But while this book was incredibly well-researched, I honestly didn't really enjoy it very much. Justine Picardie was just never really able to accomplish what she set out to do: write a biography of Catherine Dior. Her project seems to have had a promising start, but, unfortunately for her, there just doesn't appear to be enough material on Catherine herself to create a round enough portrait of her.
For most of the chapters on Catherine's imprisonment, for example, Picardie has to resort to relying on the accounts of other women who may have known Catherine, who may have endured similar circumstances. She throws around all kinds of random names and then expects the reader to keep track of who's who, focusing on other women's stories where she can't provide a narrative for Catherine. Again, clearly Picardie did an incredible amount of research here, and while these other women's stories are just as important, she may have been better off presenting them on their own merit rather than trying to use them to supplement Catherine's.
Even outside those chapters, Picardie is unable to focus exclusively on Catherine. She gives a great history of the early days of Dior, but it ends up mostly focused on Christian and the postwar cultural context of the time. She often goes pages without even mentioning Catherine's name.
I also wasn't too big of a fan of Picardie's melodramatic insertions of herself into this narrative. It was unnecessarily pensive, and I think the story would have been much stronger without it.
Again, this book was incredibly well-researched. But, unable to follow the main thread that Picardie presents with it, it ends up moving all over the place and lacks a real point. I can understand why Catherine Dior fascinated her; she was obviously an incredible and brave woman. But, unfortunately, there was just not enough material specifically about her to write a full biography like this. Not really sure I'd recommend.
klaske76's review
3.0
DNF, not what i expected and not in the style i was expecting. So I'll try again sometime, but not in the mood to finish right now
elliep22's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
I enjoyed this book so much. The descriptions of the scenery of the Dior family home, flowers, and fashion had me dreaming of travelling through France.
The book also went into detail about Catherine Dior's role in the French Resistance and the horrific circumstances she endured as well as others. It was interesting hearing about other women during the war and also post war in the rebuilding of France through fashion.
I have long been a fan of Dior and the details of the man were fascinating and I grew so much respect for his attention to details and romantic take on fashion.
The book also went into detail about Catherine Dior's role in the French Resistance and the horrific circumstances she endured as well as others. It was interesting hearing about other women during the war and also post war in the rebuilding of France through fashion.
I have long been a fan of Dior and the details of the man were fascinating and I grew so much respect for his attention to details and romantic take on fashion.