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Odd premise works for 'Autobiography of a Wardrobe'
(by Sara Porter - May 28, 2008)
Imagine pitching this idea to a publisher: “I want to write my memoirs, but I want to tell it from a unique perspective. Not from my family members’; that’s been done. Not from my pets’ either; that’s also been done. Certainly not from my perspective; that’s way over done. Instead, I want to tell my life story from the point of view of my wardrobe.”
The laughter would probably never stop ringing in your ears. But that’s exactly what Elizabeth Kendall did in her book Autobiography of a Wardrobe.
Yes, Kendall’s book is shaped by a weird concept. I suppose there has never been a book before or since that is told from the perspective of clothing, but Kendall embues the book with such warmth, character and a sense of fun that readers can easily embrace the odd concept and enjoy themselves.
The Wardrobe in question observes its owner, “B.” (who may be a stand-in for Kendall), beginning with B.’s girlhood in an affluent home in the 1950s, where life is filled with little-girl pinafores, saddle shoes and the green gowns used to play Cinderella. The Wardrobe’s reminiscences take in B.’s awkward adolescence through the 1960s — during which B. and the Wardrobe make some very bad lifestyle and clothing choices — and into the 1970s, in which B.’s wardrobe finally finds its own distinct personality. Kendall captures these changes with wit, clever description and the personalities she gives her two lead characters.
We aren’t given much description of the characters — except, of course, their clothing. The details and opinions are revealed by the Wardrobe’s words, and they not only reveal B.’s fashion choices but a lot about her life. Upon seeing a Marimekko print dress for the first time, the Wardrobe describes its bright vivid colors: “Colors from a child’s paint box! Colors from the tropics! Nor were these new colors sitting static on the dresses but instead were pulsating in bands next to each other or undulating in prints of amoebic blobs or exploding into huge flowers.” The Marimekko comes to represent the ’60s free style that B. longs to join.
B. and the Wardrobe are two very distinct characters when they are with each other. The Wardrobe is almost maternal and looks upon its owner with both warmth and, occasionally, derision. The Wardrobe also seems to have some pre-cognitive abilities in that it knows when B.’s decisions are going to fail or succeed. Usually, the more impersonal B.’s clothes are, the worse her situation becomes. While working at Glamour magazine, B. buys a pair of expensive, ridiculous Ellen Terry pants. The Wardrobe calmly foresees the going-nowhere job, the catty co-workers and the physical illnesses that B. must eventually deal with.
Through all her changes, B. seems very much a child, energetically and sometimes naively plunging into one thing and then another as she explores her interests, jobs and clothing. The Wardrobe wryly observes its mistress going from one ’60s-era fascination to another — from communes to therapy to modern dance — all the while trying on clothes like bell-bottoms and Appalachian jackets that do not fit.
B. and the Wardrobe come to terms in the ’70s as B. begins to develop a new life writing articles and books about dancing and fashion. The Wardrobe becomes more comfortable with many of B.’s clothing choices, aware that B.’s style is fashionable yet comfortable, free and relaxed. B. and the Wardrobe become better and stronger characters as they find out who they really are.
While one could argue that this book’s constant reference to clothing makes it vain and materialistic, Autobiography of a Wardrobe doesn’t concern itself with trends and fashion styles, considering them to be nothing more than reasons to conform. (B. and The Wardrobe even refuse to shop at places like The Gap). Instead the book is about a woman who struggles over the years to discover her identity; she is aware of the fact that her clothing, which describes itself as “her second skin,” is trying to find itself along with her. In this case, clothes not only made the woman, but wrote the book about her as well.
Elizabeth Kendall will read from and sign Autobiography of a Wardrobe at 7 p.m. May 28 at Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave. For more information call 367-6731.
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