Diana Vreeland
"I was always fascinated by the absurdities and the luxuries and  the snobbism that the world of the fashion magazines showed....  But I lived in that world... because I was always of that  world at least in my imagination," legendary editor Vreeland  (1906-1989) once said, and for this sweeping, visual biography,  Dwight spoke with Vreeland's family, friends and colleagues to  offer a glimpse into the world of la mode. After breezing  through Vreeland's New York childhood, Dwight (Edith Wharton: An  Extraordinary Life) plunges into her ambitious adult life. She  married businessman Reed Vreeland, and with their two young  children, they moved to London, where they spent six years that  would "transform [Vreeland] from a postdebutante into a soign e  woman of the world." Vreeland started a lingerie business; made  frequent visits to her "spiritual home," Paris; and befriended  such designers as Patou, Schiaparelli and Chanel. Upon returning  stateside in 1935, Vreeland wrote an inventive column for  Harper's Bazaar, "Why Don't You?" and later became a top editor  there. Not classically beautiful, yet always fashionable and  immensely creative Vreeland photographed models in Frank Lloyd  Wright homes instead of in staged studios, as had been the  norm she lived an artistic, innovative life. She became Vogue's  editor-in-chief in 1963, and her penchant for flamboyant,  expensive stories that reflected aristocratic, international  glamour led to her abrupt firing in 1971. She rebounded,  however, serving as a consultant to the Metropolitan Museum's  Costume Institute before her death. Laden with enthralling  portraits of chic personalities from Greta Garbo and Jackie  Kennedy to Lauren Hutton and Yves St. Laurent, this celebration  of her life will please fashionistas young and old. Color & b&w;  photos. Agent, John Hawkins. (Nov. 1) Forecast: Vreeland's autobiography, D.V., is still in print  after 18 years, and her illustrated book, Allure, was reissued  by Bulfinch last month. Expect to see mentions of Dwight's book  in fashion magazines; it's a good companion to another  fashionable career woman's memoir, Mary Wells Lawrence's A Big  Life in Advertising (Forecasts, Apr. 8).Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.