It's Still Spinach

Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Very Good+ in Very Good dj. (c.1954). First Edition. Hardcover. [light wear to extremities, a bit of age-toning to top edge of text block, one-time owner's name in black ink at top of front endpaper; the jacket shows some wear at edges and extremities, and the spine panel is faded to the point where the title is barely readable]. The iconoclastic clothing designer and social activist's follow-up to her landmark 1938 book "Fashion is Spinach." The earlier book was a sometimes caustic critique and exposé of the fashion industry, but this one is a bit more practical-minded, focusing on "how American men and women can have more satisfying lives by dressing to suit their individual personalities." Hawes, the subject of an excellent 1988 biography, "Radical by Design" by Bettina Berch, seems to have been rediscovered by modern designers, and her books have become increasingly scarce in recent years. She had a breezy prose style, and wrote perceptively and entertainingly about gender roles, her experiences as a union organizer, and other topics; alas, although she lived until 1971, this was her last published book. .