Annalisa Barbieri — Dear Annie: A No-Nonsense Guide To Getting Dressed

Faber & Faber 1998 Paperback, 259pp. Where can you buy the clothes you really want, and exactly how should you wear and look after them? Victorians had it easy: hundreds of books on shopping, cleaning and 'hygiene' filled their shelves. But today we are just left to get on with it, while facing problems never dreamt of by Mrs Beeton. How to get chewing gum out of clothes; where to buy the pendant worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic; whether vegetarians can wear silk with a conscience; where to buy a mastectomy bra, size ten shoes for women, or clothes for short men; how to fold and fasten a sari; and where to get a Prada bag cleaned. Annalisa Barbieri's dear annie column in the Independent on Sunday answered these and a thousand other questions. This book based on the column makes essential and highly entertaining reading. Drawing on extensive research, her solutions feature a wealth of detail, addresses, phone numbers and prices. (ISBN: 9780571196289). Very Good.