Beautiful People - Softcover

Doonan, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007269544 ISBN 13: 9780007269549

Publisher: Collins, 2008

Synopsis

A charming and funny memoir of escaping a bonkers family and following your dreams

Simon Doonan's childhood was a curious mix of small town boredom and bright light city dreams. Growing up in a working class area of Reading with the mad-cap Doonan clan - Mother Betty, Father Terry, blind Aunt Phyllis, grandmother Narg and Grandfather D.C. - he yearned to get out and find the Beautiful People whom he imagined lived fabulous lives of glitz and glamour.

This is the charming and funny story of how Simon eventually finds a way out and escapes to London with best friend Biddie Biddlecombe. Along the way they stumble upon punks, drunks, ladies of the night, the long arm of the law and all sorts of camps, vamps and outrageous scamps.

But does he ever find the Beautiful People? Or could they be the ones he left behind...?

About this title

Review:

‘Simon Doonan’s life is a tawdry and hilarious romp.’ Rupert Everett.

‘When I read this book I laughed and cried. For anyone who grew up in the fifties and sixties it feels like all our lives.’ Jon Plowman, Executive Producer, The Office, Ab Fab, Little Britain.

‘At last: a childhood memoir that’s about coming to terms with fabulousness rather than incest or binge drinking. Who knew that Simon could write about growing up in a corner of England with as much wit, charm, and dead-on smarts as he brings to his chronicles of the luxe life in Manhattan?’ Graydon Carter, Editor of Vanity Fair.

‘Beautiful People is wickedly funny. Simon Doonan has an ear and an eye for sublimely bizarre details that will make readers laugh out loud.’ Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and The City.

‘Simon is a male Lucille Ball.’ Donna Karen.

‘Did you ever look at someone and wonder how they got the way they are? 'Beautiful People totally answers the question in Doonan's case. Read it - and weep! His tale of clawing his way out of the suburban suffocation of Reading to the manicured marvels of Manhattan is hilarious.’
Hilary Alexander, The Daily Telegraph

“Beautiful People is the very best kind of memoir: a cheer memoir” - Susie Boyt, Financial Times.

About the Author:

Simon Doonan was born in Reading in 1952, before emigrating to America in the 1970's. Simon is a style commentator with over 30 years experience in the world of fashion. He is a regular guest on Vh1, America's Next Top Model Full Frontal Fashion and Sirius Satellite Radio. As Creative Director of Barneys New York, he is responsible for all aspects of Barneys' image. He is best known for his controversial window displays, which have been a trademark of Barneys since 1985, and for his provocative "Simon Says" column in the New York Observer. He is a contributor to Harper's Bazaar and the author of Confessions of a Window Dresser and Wacky Chicks. Wacky Chicks reached number 9 on the LA Times best sellers list. He lives in New York City with his partner, designer Jonathan Adler.

About this edition

• Publisher: Collins
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0007269544
• ISBN 13: 9780007269549
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320