Beauty is in the hand of the mascara wand wielder
Your Beauty Mark – Dita Von Teese
Dey Street Books – 400 pp - $45
Grace & Style – Grace Helbig
Touchstone – 240 pp - $19.99
You want to read up on fashion and style? Try these two very different books on for size –
“Your Beauty Mark” is a lavish book by international burlesque star Dita Von Teese.
Before launching her career as a raven-tressed, red-lipsticked, clothing-shucking glamour girl, Von Teese was just another kid growing up in small-town Michigan. But what she wanted to look like and who she wanted to be required artifice. Citing Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and others as “brave shapeshifters” who created a lasting mystique, Von Teese encourages readers to play up their eccentricities and dare to be different.
“Your Beauty Mark” provides guidance on nutrition, exercise, skincare, hair styling, cosmetics and more. It includes perspectives from other fashion icons whom Von Teese admires. And it shares hundreds of images of the author in various states of her trademark undress – but never without being perfectly groomed and accessorized.
For an entirely different take on the topic, pick up “Grace & Style” by comedian Grace “I Was the Daughter of an Avon Lady” Helbig.
After dedicating her book to insecurity and fear – “two of my best friends and closest enemies,” Helbig praises fashion and style for offering some of the best comedy material around – then launches into a send-up of fashion do’s and don’t’s.
For what not to wear to work, Helbig provides very sound reasons for eschewing a cardboard box, a jetpack and live snakes.
On the other hand, she encourages you to take “street style” to a whole new level, dishing on what works best for everything from cul de sac style (“scream[s] suburban sophisticated”) to alley style (“rough around the edges in a culturally stylish way.”)
This book emphatically won’t turn you into a fashionista, but it will leave you with a smile, which is what Helbig – ever tongue-in-cheek – lists as her “Favorite Accessory… SIKE.”
Barbara Lloyd McMichael is our ground reporter in South King County, Wash., and author of the syndicated book review column “The Bookmonger.” Her PR for People® Book Review is written exclusively for The Connector.
Barbara McMichael
Barbara Lloyd McMichael is based in the Pacific Northwest and writes about books and culture. She writes a syndicated weekly book review column called “The Bookmonger” that focuses on Northwest books and authors. Her PR for People® Book Review is written exclusively for The Connector.