Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
Description
Discover the true story of how a shy miner’s daughter became one of the most legendary costume designers in Hollywood in this inspiring nonfiction picture book biography.
As a child in the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, Edith Head had few friends and spent most of her time dressing up her toys and pets and even wild animals using fabric scraps. She always knew she wanted to move somewhere full of people and excitement. She set her sights on Hollywood and talked her way into a job sketching costumes for a movie studio.
Did she know how to draw or sew costumes? No. But that didn’t stop her!
Edith taught herself and tirelessly worked her way up until she was dressing some of the biggest stars of the day, from Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly to Ginger Rogers. She became the first woman to head a major Hollywood movie studio costume department and went on to win eight Academy Awards for best costume design—and she defined the style of an era.
Praise for Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
"[Edith] Head’s own path to working in the movies wasn’t direct or smooth, but Harvey highlights the determination, self-confidence, and talent that got her there (and earned her multiple Academy Awards for costume design). Pattern, texture, and design are key in Toledano’s mixed-media artwork... and the charming, childlike quality of the illustrations will appeal greatly to young readers. Together, the art and storytelling capture Head’s belief in the transformative magic of costumes, which will certainly strike a chord with dress-up enthusiasts."
— Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"Film costume designer Edith Head (1897–1981) takes center stage in this celebratory narrative of her path to becoming an Academy Award winner... with starry-eyed prose, the result is a glamorous life story with a Hollywood ending."
— Publishers Weekly