Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes

This book is aptly named since it contains fragments of the author’s life and interaction with fabric and clothes. The author curates such objects for a museum and that provides an interesting look behind the scenes of clothing storage areas of museums. The book loses focus, however, with quick scene shifts between personal memories and her admiration and the love of material. Much of the book feels like a series of non-sequiturs which makes one struggle to follow. She is an excellent writer of descriptions and the narrative soars when she is presenting the reader with vintage clothing or fabric which transports her imagination. The author can set a scene quickly when, for example, she notes the filagree at the Palais Garnier, one is immediately transported there. That being said, it is a monumental task to frame all these pieces into a cohesive story and that is where the author is weakest. This reader is not well schooled in fashion and can easily understand how this book would be fascinating to those who work in that field or are more knowledgeable of it.