Leonard StanleyAdrian: A Lifetime of Movie Glamour, Art and High Fashion

I absolutely love this book! Packed with photos, printed on gorgeous paper with interesting and completely wonderful commentary. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in adding to their Hollywood book collection.

This book is a treasure trove of beautiful imagery and sketches. Is a beautiful book, well researched and written. I've admire Mark Viera for a long time, he has many great books and this another one that doesn't disappoint! Adrian was a genius, he was truly an amazing artist, and you can't help but to appreciate his artistry this book reminds you of that. I can't say enough of this book, I'm so in love with every detail of it.. you need this in your life! Even my toddler daughter was just enamoured of the beauty of this book, she was going through the pages and asking who was he and as she said "I like it mommy", it has that wow factor!!

Wonderful coffee table book about the extrodinarily talented designer Adrian. Loaded w/fabulous pics and info.I just wish the pics were all in color.

On this eve of MLK Day, "I have a dream…." are words to live by and aspire to but I also just put my fingers to paper and carefully paged through a "dream of a book!"On the opposite side of the country from the bustling streets of Montgomery, Alabama, the Hollywood "Walk of Fame” is paved with the stars of many Hollywood actresses who were touched by the genius of Adrian Adolph Greenburg.While recently paging through the Rizzoli book "Adrian, A Lifetime of Movie Glamour, Art and High Fashion" by Leonard Stanley, my glamour nerve was touched by sheer excellence."We may have all come from different ships but the striving for perfection bears witness to all."Adrian paved the "sidewalk of dreams" through his unique sense of high fashion and creative perfection but the author, Leonard Stanley, oh so artistically and masterfully built his book, page by page in honor and recognition of one of Hollywood’s greatest arbiters of taste.The rhythm and flow of the images and words are a grand waltz through the stylish “Golden Age of Hollywood" with iconic actresses such as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland and Katherine Hepburn leading the count of one two three, one two three…..“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”Adrian made history, these leading Hollywood actresses also made history wearing Adrian's glamorous couture and Leonard Stanley most elegantly wrote and assembled the proper history book of Adrian’s high style and incomparable taste.If being transported to another era through the “Adrian” book inspires and imbues the world today in the grand style and grace of that “Golden Era" and no matter the impact of the gesture, I can’t wait for the tape of that movie to begin to roll once again….Bring on those Classics and Adrian was one of the greatest Hollywood Classics of them all!

Beautiful coffee table book. If you love old movies and beautiful costumes, you'll enjoy this big book.

This is a gorgeous book that celebrates the life of Adrian, the great costume designer who worked at MGM in the 20s and 30s and then retired to open his own salon in the 40s. As a child, he showed an apt ability at art and he first wanted to be a painter of animals. Later he developed an interest in the theater and a trip to Paris resulted in him being hired by Irving Berlin to design costumes for his "Music Box Revue of 1922". This led to him working on Broadway and it was there that his sketches were noticed by Natasha Rambova (later Valentino's wife). She took him to Hollywood and he became enormously successful there, finally landing himself on the MGM roster.The book is divided in chapters that illustrate his work with Greta Garbo (and his comments about her are rather illuminating), the Valentinos, Cecil B. DeMille and his wife Janet Gaynor. Later chapters showcase his homes, salon and paintings.The book is a fast read (large, minimal text) but it is the photographs (both color and black and white) that is the star attraction. The photos are from the collection of Leonard Stanley who admits he was obsessed with Adrian and amassed a vast collection of his work. This is a beautifully produced book.

This is a beautiful, well-crafted book. To those reviewers, who complained there were mostly black and white pictures, and few in color, miss the point. The pictures are mostly from stills or publicity shots from black and white movies. The costumes were designed for black and white cinématography. To show them in color, and there may be few color photos available, would not show them as they were meant to be designed or seen.

Gave this to a friend as a birthday gift, and it was very well received. It was just the right thing for someone with a background in film and an interest in fashion.

great review of life, beautiful pictures , well made

What a stunning book! While it's nice to know about a designers early and later life, their career is what everyone buys the book for. This book gives just enough information on beginnings and endings and devotes the major portion to Adrian's costume and fashion career. Personal accounts transport you back to Hollywood and this book is well worth a purchase.

A huge book in every way, full of photos of Adrian’s stunning designs on the most beautiful Hollywood stars. Also many pictures of his amazing original drawings and lots of information on his life and observations of the legendary stars he dressed. A must have for any fashion or old Hollywood fan.