Shocking Life

Elsa Schiaparelli.

E. P. Dutton & Co. New York. 1954. First edition. Hardback, 8vo; black cloth-bound boards, with pink titles to cover and spine, shocking pink dust jacket. 255 pages. Frontispiece, 16 b&w and 3 colour hors-texte plates, tail-piece line drawings. English. 215 x 150mm. 0.55kg. . Near fine, in near fine dust jacket; light rubbing to folds, spine and rear panel of jacket, slight wear to forecorners and spine ends, very small area of loss at head of spine, not price-clipped; internally fresh and crisp; uncommon in near fine condition.

'Rome, Paris, New York, London, Moscow, Dublin, Hollywood, Bahia, royalty, politicians, artists, models, authors, film stars, social beauties, industrial magnates, land- and sea-scapes of sunshine and dreams - and her private family and friends - such is the kaleidoscope of her pages under the glittering searchlight of her incisive memory.'

With her own inimitable style, Elsa Schiaparelli provides an honest autobiography of her life and career. The book takes the reader into the heart of Schiaparelli's fashion house and introduces the many characters she lived amongst, including Lady Mendl, Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, the Duchess of Windsor, Picasso, Berard, Dali, Anita Loos, Katherine Hepburn, and many more. The striking dust jacket is emblazoned with Schiaparelli's trademark Shocking Pink.