Kenneth Jay Lane: Faking It
Unabashedly, Lane admits in his memoir to having borrowed the designs of Bulgari, Schlumberger, and David Webb, among other precious-jewelry creators, for his fashion-worthy fakes. But to own just a few Lane pieces is to live vicariously in the company of Barbara Bush, the late Jackie O., Madonna, Princess Di, and others, and, more important, to possess the cachet of style. As is to be expected, the breathless reporting in this autobiography (written with a cowriter) flits from one topic to the next, one name to another, as readers try to follow, in some sequence, the exact life of KJL after his graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design. Ultimately, though, most will surrender to admiring the photography of John Bigelow Taylor, enjoying the celebrity tales, and wondering what such a collection would bring at auction.Barbara Jacobs