Rating: 
Summary: A simple yet surprisingly poignant and moving story.
Review: Love, Loss and What I Wore is a very unique and moving little gem of a book. Basically it's the story of Ms. Beckermans life from young childhood to mature adulthood told through short yet extremely moving snippets of text and hand drawn pictures of the outfit she wore at critical junctures of her life.The book works because it is open, honest sympathetic yet ordinary enough to relate to. The drawings of outfits are one the whole simple and colorful and have an air of distracted affection about them. They relate and interact well with the text. But what sets them apart--and this is a critical element of why the book works so well--is they not only relate to the story but, in any reader, will evoke strong memories of time's and places out of our own lives. Rather than detracting from the book, this flood of memories in fact lend additional dramatic impact to the reading experience. I have given this as a gift to several women I know and it has been a huge hit with every single one of them. I keep a couple of copies on hand for those time I need a gift and am too short of time and/or ideas to get anything else. This habit has stood me in good stead for quite a while now! In the end, this stands as a classic case of synergy if ever I came across one. The story by itself would seem pathetically simplistic. The drawings by themselves are nothing to rave about. Taken together, something magical happens, and the result is a whole whose sum is far, far greater then the sum of its parts-a classic case of simple genius.
Rating:
Summary: just reread this and it remains one of my favorites
Review: Love, Loss, and What I Wore is one of my all-time favorites. I pull it out for a nice re-read every year, and keep it on the top shelf so the kids and dogs won't mangle it. We all lug around stuff that memorializes important episodes in our lives. Beckerman pays homage to that tendency by basing her memoir on the clothes she wore. Her approach is inventive and riveting. A minor point: I love the size and layout of the book. Almost square, it makes you feel as if you're sneaking a read into someone's diary.
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Summary: Simply Wonderful!
Review: So touching, so real...Gingy has shared her life simply and beautifully. A quick read, but it will stay with me forever - I am still smiling and feeling bittersweet.
Rating:
Summary: DRESS TO REMEMBER
Review: The book is charming and often touching. I don't believe numbers need to be assigned to these qualities.
Ilene Beckerman asks for the reader's clothing memories. Here's one:
Lili Fae, my granddaughter, celebrated her first birthday today. She wore the dress that I had hand-made for her mother, Anne, more than thirty years ago. The fabric is a flowered Liberty lawn I'd bought in London when I was pregnant with Anne's elder brother. (Back then we didn't know if our wombs harbored a boy or a girl.) The dress is gently faded and well worn. I photographed Lili in it, as I had photographed her mother in it. The photos aren't really necessary, the memories are so vivid.
-- Tobi Tobias
Rating:
Summary: touching!
Review: this book spelled out my feelings exactly! it was touching, real and very close to the bone. i couldn't recommend it more!
Rating: 
Summary: Cute & Very Entertaining - a good gift for female friends
Review: This book was given to me by a male book salesman. He didn't know anything about the book and it he viewed the book as just a token of thanks since I had purchased so many items from his showroom. I read the book on the way back to Dallas, (I was at a convention in Chicago). I thought it was a wonderful, tender book, perfect for any age. So, I gave the book to my mother (a woman exactly twice my age [I'm 33 - she's 66 yrs old]) and she thought it was very sweet. Books that make you feel good or make you reflect on the times in your life (good and bad) have been on my gift giving list. For 1998, I purchased 10 of these books to give to my closest friends and work associates. I think anyone who reads it will find it to be enjoyable reading. Perfect for any age from teenager to a lady of time.
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Summary: just reread this and it remains one of my favorites
Review: This little book has everything....lovely illustrations, a great story, and a completely original way of communicating to the reader. It is not really the kind of book you delve into but rather sample with little bites at a time. I love this authour because she has a completely original way of telling us about all the pain and love and loss in her life. It is one of those books that I keep handy on the shelf and bring out to the garden on my day off. Like really rich chocolate or a new summer dress, a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT LITTLE BOOK
Review: This little book has everything....lovely illustrations, a great story, and a completely original way of communicating to the reader. It is not really the kind of book you delve into but rather sample with little bites at a time. I love this authour because she has a completely original way of telling us about all the pain and love and loss in her life. It is one of those books that I keep handy on the shelf and bring out to the garden on my day off. Like really rich chocolate or a new summer dress, a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: Vindication for clothes horse!
Review: While I must admit the specific clothes in this book did not stir up memories, it did cause me to reminisce about some of my favorite clothes over the years. I loved the blunt, short prose - it was poetry for each outfit, giving us not only a sense of what she wore and when she wore it, but of how wearing each outfit shaped her into the woman she would become. Very clever, and well-illustrated. A book like no other.
Rating:
Summary: Vindication for clothes horse!
Review: While I must admit the specific clothes in this book did not stir up memories, it did cause me to reminisce about some of my favorite clothes over the years. I loved the blunt, short prose - it was poetry for each outfit, giving us not only a sense of what she wore and when she wore it, but of how wearing each outfit shaped her into the woman she would become. Very clever, and well-illustrated. A book like no other.
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