Love, Loss, and What I Wore

So touching, so real...Gingy has shared her life simply and beautifully. A quick read, but it will stay with me forever - I am still smiling and feeling bittersweet.

Love, Loss and What I Wore is a very unique and moving little gem of a book. Basically it's the story of Ms. Beckermans life from young childhood to mature adulthood told through short yet extremely moving snippets of text and hand drawn pictures of the outfit she wore at critical junctures of her life.

The book works because it is open, honest sympathetic yet ordinary enough to relate to.

The drawings of outfits are one the whole simple and colorful and have an air of distracted affection about them. They relate and interact well with the text. But what sets them apart--and this is a critical element of why the book works so well--is they not only relate to the story but, in any reader, will evoke strong memories of time's and places out of our own lives. Rather than detracting from the book, this flood of memories in fact lend additional dramatic impact to the reading experience.

I have given this as a gift to several women I know and it has been a huge hit with every single one of them. I keep a couple of copies on hand for those time I need a gift and am too short of time and/or ideas to get anything else. This habit has stood me in good stead for quite a while now!

In the end, this stands as a classic case of synergy if ever I came across one. The story by itself would seem pathetically simplistic. The drawings by themselves are nothing to rave about. Taken together, something magical happens, and the result is a whole whose sum is far, far greater then the sum of its parts-a classic case of simple genius.

I really love this book and have given it to my closest women friends. Like the author, I associate experiences with the clothes that I wore, and I found her stories and drawings both touching and amusing. It also triggers a lot of fond memories. Highly recommended!

I loved it. Ilene's wry illustrations and warm recollections really hit home with me. So much of our memories have an affiliation with an outfit...this is a celebration of being a woman.

Everybody knows that a song on the radio or a certain scent can evoke powerful memories. In a similar way, the author of this book discovered that reflecting on her fashion choices over the years often brought to mind people and events that had been important to her, and vice versa. Ms. Beckerman's story is by turns comical and poignant. Her line drawings are cannily evocative. This is a quick read that will leave an impression long afterward.