Reading in Reykjavík

Originally published in July 2005, on my original 52 Books blog. This is a humorous tribute to that much maligned hairstyle, the mullet (ape drape, mud-flap, neck warmer, etc.). For someone who remembers when it was actually cool to sport one (yep, I was a teenager in the 80’s - I even had a mini-mullet for a couple of weeks until I realised it wasn't a good look for me and had it chopped off), this was a great discovery. The book manages to be both affectionate and mocking, and I had a good laugh at all the pictures of famous people that I once thought were incredibly cool and cutting-edge but now, in retrospect, just had really bad hairstyles and a lousy dress sense. Rating: A funny book for both admirers and enemies of the mullet. 4 stars.

Originally published in January and February 2005, in 2 parts. Book 50 in my first 52 books challenge. Editor: Natalie Rothstein Text: Madeleine Ginsburg, Avir Hart, Valerie D. Mendes, et al. Photographs: Philip Barnard Year published: 1984 Pages: 176 Genre: History of clothing styles Where got: Public library I was planning to read a Danish book titled Krop og klær: Klædedragtens kunsthistorie (In English: Body and clothing: The art history of dress) for this week’s review, but leafing through it I realised I could never finish it in one week AND enjoy it, because it’s been a while since I’ve read anything more complicated than craft magazines in Danish, and there is a fair amount of technical vocabulary in it that requires the use of a dictionary. I did want to read something about textiles, and picked up this overview of dress history as seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Dress Collection. It is published by the museum and contains a large number of photograp...