The Chiffon Trenches is a memoir by André Leon Talley. For those of you who may not know, Mr. Talley, is a bestselling author and former creative director of Vogue, and judge on America’s Next Top Model, most notably. In his 20 chapter memoir, Talley leads the reader through a roller coaster of emotions. You experience every emotion possible; sadness, confusion, happiness, proudness. It is a great story that many people should read. It’s inspiration and touching and brings light to important issues like race, weight, relationships, and of course, fashion.
His writing skills are impeccable and his keen eye for details make the story come to life. When he talks about a garment you can literally imagine it in your head because of how detailed he describes it. He gets very into his personal side being open and vulnerable with the reader. I think that he is immensely courages because not many people like to let others into their life, let alone reminisce about issues that can bring bad memories. He also speaks about his experience in the fashion world not only as a black man, but as a gay black man and the troubles he faced.
In one chapter he discussed the Met Gala and his two favorite looks ever and he said they were Beyoncé (2012) and Rihanna (2015).
The way he describes them and the reason why he liked these looks so much really made me tear up. His writing moved me because it showed he not only loved the fashion aspect he loved the way that the crowd reacted to the woman wearing them, the black woman wearing them. He was in the world of fashion where black woman and other woman of color aren’t represented as much, yet on one of the biggest night of fashion all eyes and attention are on the black woman. It made me tear up how proud and full of joy he felt experiencing this and seeing it firsthand. This was just one of many times I happened to cry when reading this book.
He speaks on racism that it had always been and still is an issue that is going on to this day. Racism he faced and saw over his long career in the field. He paved the way and gave many people hope as they saw their dreams more attainable because they saw someone that looked like them. He defied the norm in the fashion world of being super skinny to fit in; while not fully being a choice, he embraced it.
Not to mention the stories he tells about his famous current and former friends. Having personal stories that involved fashion icons like Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, just to name a few. He does not shy away at ALL when speaking about his interactions with not only “friends” but with colleagues. And… Oop. (Lol) These stories really help string and tell the story of his life and experience, even if they are only a glimpse.
He also gives great lessons. One of them was to know your value and to not sell yourself short. You should know your worth and stick to it. Another one was to always be proud of where you come from. He grew up in Durham, South Carolina, always having pride of his southern routes it can be seen in his style of looking polished and as he says “Sunday’s Best.” He states “There is no sunny day, yet there is sunshine in my life.” I really loved this quote because yes you can be living through the hardest things in life, but you still can try to find the joy and the sunshine in your life. It gives the reader hope.
But the most important thing I learned was to love. Love everything and anything. Love the clothes you wear. Love the career you choose. Love your family. Love your friends. And most importantly love yourself. For his final quote in his book he states “It gives me unbridled joy to love. I always wanted to love.” I think more people should be like this. We are living in a world where people seem to not care or love one another, when the opposite should happen. While as cliché as it may sound, love can change the world.
Hopefully after reading this brief synopsis of the book you are more interested and inclined to read it. I just touched the most highest and tallest point of the iceberg when talking about the book. While I highlighted some of the stuff, well I only highlighted SOME OF THE STUFF. I didn’t go fully in depth because then I’d be ruining this great book. I highly suggest it to everyone.
This book also helped me realize I should start living my life according to my own rules and being unapologetically myself. Living by someone else’s rules will only get you so far and overall you’ll be happy that you are in charge.
Below is the link for a copy of the book on Amazon ! (Personally, I like reading books in hardcover or paperback format rather then e-books because I find it better.lol)
J’s Journal 