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  • Clothes...and Other Things That Matter

  • A Beguiling and Revealing Memoir from the Ex-Editor of British Vogue
  • By: Alexandra Shulman
  • Narrated by: Alexandra Shulman
  • Length: 7 hrs
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (80 ratings)
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Clothes...and Other Things That Matter

By: Alexandra Shulman
Narrated by: Alexandra Shulman
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Summary

In Clothes...and Other Things That Matter, Alexandra Shulman delves into her own life to look at the emotions, ambitions, expectations and meanings behind the way we dress. 

From the bra to the bikini, the trench coat to trainers, the slip dress to the suit, she explores their meaning in women's lives and how our wardrobes intersect with the larger world - the career ladder, motherhood, romance, sexual identity, ambition, failure, body image and celebrity.

By turns funny, refreshingly self-deprecating and often very moving, this startlingly honest memoir from the ex-editor of British Vogue will encourage women of all ages to consider what their own clothes mean to them, the life they live in them and the stories they tell.

©2020 Alexandra Shulman (P)2020 Octopus Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"Clothes...and Other Things That Matter is a book not only about clothes but about the way we live our lives. From childhood onwards, the way we dress is a result of our personal history. In a mix of memoir, fashion history and social observation I am writing about the person our clothes allows us to be and sometimes the person they turn us into." (Alexandra Shulman)

"She has written about her clothes, and given us some scintillating reading...hugely engaging memoir." (Emily Bearn, The Spectator)

"I really loved this book - it's warm, thought-provoking and honest. In the end, I had to ration myself because I didn't want to finish. In these frankly strange times it was wonderful and comforting." (Victoria Hislop)

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What listeners say about Clothes...and Other Things That Matter

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved, as much as I used to love Vogue magazine!

I purchased Vogue magazine from being a teenager, I am now 63 years. I have not recently renewed my Vogue subscription. Since Alexandra Shulman left the magazine is no longer the interesting, stylish, and beautiful magazine it was. Loved this book on audible and fully intend to listen to it again. Well done Alexandra you are very much missed.

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4 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Fashion folk again

I have had a couple of exchanges on the phone with her when she was at the Tatler and she struck me as snobby and unexceptional (all snobs are unexceptional). I quite like the format - just not that interesting. She’s reads okay. I am interested in fashion - so always hoping to find something that engages. Even escaping to Alburugh in a Toast dressing gown says - MOR. Just because someone holds a ‘high’ position doesn’t mean they are unique. Just well connected and driven.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Joylessly compelling or compellingly joyless?

This was an honest account of a life's work in high fashion. I became accustomed to the monotone delivery and as a bottom feeding fashion upcycler found myself fascinated by the various sections. Running through the narrative one feels the relentless dark pressure that women feel in their quest for beauty and conformity. The world described here tells of the straitjacket that is haute couture. The burgeoning wardrobes of the rich that contain only a few comfortably wearable clothes, the sense that as a high profile fashion journalist one is always under scrutiny for every aspect of your physical self presented to the world, the search for the elusive perfect black trousers or white shirt. I feel that Alexandra Shulman made a wise decision to stick to her own perspective on the world of fashion , but one senses always the conformity that strangles joy in your own style on your own body . It seemed rather sad at the end of her editorship to be shoved aside so brutally but I found her account of that period one of the most insightful parts of this story which should be listened to by anyone who enjoys wearing clothes and the way they enhance our self images and joie de vivre. Clothes do matter.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable, interesting and informative

Having worked in fashion for the last 20 years and been a consistent Vogue subscriber I was drawn to this book. It is read brilliantly and honestly and Alexandra was so honest and entertaining!! Thoroughly enjoyable!!

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

I’ve read quite a few autobiographies of women in publishing - this is very creatively done, with a wonderful and fascinating focus on clothes, but giving enough autobiographical detail to satisfy our curiosity. Really recommend it! And it’s read beautifully :)

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A little gem

Super book ,read by the author so it seemed all the more intimate for that.
A subject close to many women’s heart ,the attachments to different items of clothing was charming.
Alexander Shulman first book was equally as good!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating

I so enjoyed listening to this book. Who would have thought that the Editor of British Vogue could ever be anything but totally confident and self assured in her clothes but she appears here to be touchingly and rather wonderfully very normal indeed. We share with her the influence of clothes since a toddler in a navy dress, through her teenage years to 2020 and her new life. She discusses dressing for pregnancy, wearing a bikini and pink holiday trousers with a candidness which is so refreshing when seen alongside her incredibly demanding job in the public eye.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful and interesting

Well narrated and provides interesting insight into Ms Shulman’s career and life as well as a new perspective on stuff we wear and why

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Engaging, honest, funny

Shulman tells her story beautifully. I found it interesting, human, and a fascinating insight into a world I don’t know at all but have always seen as glamorous in a slightly old fashioned way. I loved hearing about the author’s own relationship with clothes, and her obvious passion for her job. I found the section apart her decision to leave the magazine, and her subsequent replacement, quite moving. Despite having led a very different life to me, I found more than I expected to relate to!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Sublime

A fascinating view of AS"s life in clothing with intimate personal and historical detail. It has been an honour to be able to share in this deep yet unobsessive life of clothing.

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