Greta Garbo: The Mystery of Style
“Greta Garbo: The Mystery of Style approaches style in its broadest sense. This wonderfully executed and divinely composed book chronicles the life of one the most enduring and iconic legends of the 20th century.”
Greta Garbo: The Mystery of Style approaches style in its broadest sense. This wonderfully executed and divinely composed book chronicles the life of one the most enduring and iconic legends of the 20th century. The late Greta Garbo is examined delicately but without the reader feeling that he or she is being spared anything in the way of commentary.
The style that is primarily described in this book is Garbo’s on screen style, which was carefully executed, orchestrated and conceived of by Gilbert Adrian, her career long costume designer. With his genius and understanding of her and her innate sense of style he incorporated many of her style or fashion quirks into every film and costume that she appeared in. Magnificent visuals highlight where this happened.
As the reader and observer, you cannot help but marvel at her astoundingly timeless and prescient attitudes when it came to her off screen sartorial choices. Unquestionably her life was all about her comfort and her ease and most of all, her amazing self-confidence and commanding presence. She was an inveterate collector of clothes; whether it be scarves—of which she had drawers—or hats—of which she had a full seasonal wardrobes, or her shoes from Ferragamo (she once famously ordered 70 pairs at one time) she was nothing if not effusive. And yet her true imprimatur on fashion was pants with either a simple turtleneck or shirt and of course, a trench coat. Keep in mind that this was 75 years ago and you start to understand that she was far more clairvoyant when it came to fashion than any one in fashion at that time.
While reading this book, and indeed this book must be read to get the full effect, you are rendered absolutely slack jawed and awed and by the luminous beauty of this woman. She was not only a beauty who represented her era but on the big screen, she is just as incredibly exquisite today as she was then. This was not a woman with an expiration date appended to her looks; Garbo has withstood the test of time and could grace any page of any magazine today—and in a far grander manner than 90% of the working film stars today.
Whether you are a fashion buff, a film buff, or just a lover of beauty, Greta Garbo: The Mystery of Style is a book that will hold onto your interest from cover to cover. If you are wondering about her famous “I want to be alone” shtick it is quite enlightening to find out that by all accounts, she was nothing like the snob she was portrayed as, in fact quite the opposite when it came to people she chose to spend her time with. This is a book that will beckon you back for at least a perusal of the photos and most probably for a full rereading.