André Leon Talley (1948–2022)

So many amazing figures have passed recently, and this is my second memoir in just a month reading about their life. Andre Leon Talley loved fashion to a beautiful degree, and it was wonderfully fun to hear about all of his remembered outfits and the moments when he wore them. This is a story of a fascinating and complicated man who was surrounded by people of the same. There’s some interesting gossip based on broken relationships with luminaries such as Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour, but mostly it was about his experiences in the world of fashion and how it evolved from when he started in the 1970s all the way through when he finished the book in 2019.… (mere)

this is an alternately fun and gossipy and kind of sad memoir about Talley's life as a fashion journalist. He talks about his friends, his frenemies, his struggles with weight and loneliness, racism in the fashion industry and other topics. And he talks extensively about clothes and the changes in the magazine industry. If you read Ruth Reichl's recent Gourmet memoir some of it will be familiar as Vogue is also a Conde Nast publication. He spends a lot of time on his wonderful friends, his amazing friends, his generous, mercurial, moody and fabulous friends, and yet somehow he comes across as desperately lonely. You kind of just want to give him a big hug.… (mere)

I've consumed Vogue since I was in junior high, and was ecstatic when I found out about this new memoir from André Leon Talley. ALT is the genius behind what we recognize as modern-day American Vogue, and overcame many personal, familial, relational, and societal barriers to become who we now adore.

Some memoirs fall flat because the book is co-written by a professional writer. That is not the case in The Chiffon Trenches. ALT was an editor and contributor at Vogue and other prestigious publications, and his talents shine here where he is free to communicate his truth with his readers.

I can't help but think how fabulous it would be for Talley to write a picture book for children about his journey into the fashion world, especially for young Black and Brown boys to read.

PS The book cover and title are just brilliant.… (mere)