Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks That Shook the World

While there is no shortage of books written about the Beatles, a surprising few emphasize their contributions to fashion. That’s what this latest work by Kelly (Ballerina: Sex, Scandal, and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection) does. Spanning from their earliest emergence and rise to superstardom, past the band’s breakup, and beyond to their ongoing influence on today’s designers, the book’s research is comprehensive and thorough. Beatles aficionados will already be familiar with the career details she recounts, but by overlaying them with the art of dress, she adds value to the canon. The author traces the evolution of the band as a cultural juggernaut, as well as each member’s personal development, influence, and legacy through the lens of clothing and style. Readers with an interest in mid-20th-century fashion will find much to relish, such as tailoring techniques, materials specifications, and retail trends. Plentiful photographs lend visual documentation to the topic, and an index supports the book’s use as a research resource.