Diane von Furstenberg once called Diana Vreeland a "beacon of fashion for the twentieth century." Now, in this definitive biography by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, is the story of the iconic fashion editor as you've never seen her before. From her career at the helms of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue , to her reign as consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vreeland had an enormous impact on the fashion world and left a legacy so enduring that must-have style guides still quote her often wild and always relevant fashion pronouncements. With access to Vreeland's personal material and photographs, critically acclaimed biographer Amanda Mackenzie Stuart has written the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at Diana Vreeland and her world—a jet-setting social scene that included Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Lauren Bacall, Penelope Tree, Lauren Hutton, Andy Warhol, Mick and Bianca Jagger, and the Kennedys. Filled with gorgeous color photographs of her work, Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland is an elegant and fascinating account of one of the most revered tastemakers of the 20th century. Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2012 : In several ways, Empress of Fashion is much like the woman it covers. Like Diana Vreeland (1903–1989)--the imperious, transformative editor of Vogue magazine, then the creator of the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum--British journalist Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s biography lasts a long time. And while it isn’t always traditionally well formed, it is far deeper, smarter, and more important than it first appears. Who was Diana Vreeland? An arbiter of beauty who, by just about everyone’s admission, was not beautiful; a working woman before it was fashionable; a fiercely independent soul with an overriding, lifelong, bourgeois concern about money. And while Mackenzie Stuart might tread a tiny bit too heavily into the Freudian--Vreeland constantly tried to prove herself to her neglectful and often nasty mother, even years after the older woman's death--her deep research into everything from Vreeland’s childhood diaries to her social life (shimmying at Studio 54 in her 80s!) makes this bio, which has the approval of Vreeland’s estate, nothing short of--as Mrs. Vreeland herself might say--“divine.” -- Sara Nelson Stuart’s sympathetic biography has for its subject a fascinating figure whose life spanned almost the entire twentieth century, of which the author takes dizzying, delightful advantage—pre-Depression New York society life, between-the-world-wars Europe, and American dynamism of wartime and beyond—and thus provides a sturdy backdrop for the story of a legendary personage. Stuart reveals how Vreeland’s youthful struggles with acceptance from her mother, peers, and herself formed the Diana who, with a tendency to exaggerate and a flair for the exotic, irrevocably altered fashion journalism. Steadfast and headstrong, the delightfully quotable—to varying degrees of comprehension—Vreeland made leaping creative strides at Harper’s Bazaar only to often remake them at the more circulated but more conservative Vogue years later. The bright cast of photographers, models, and celebrities who filled Vreeland’s world adorn this cohesive, well-researched volume. The author acknowledges Lisa Immordino Vreeland, director of the 2012 documentary The Eye Has to Travel for her shared research. Readers will find the film and biography an exquisite pairing. --Annie Bostrom “Meticulously researched...Stuart digs deep into how Vreeland created herself...and catches the breathlessness of the editor who had a profound influence on magazines 80 years after beginning her career.” - Boston Globe “An intelligent account of the life and accomplishments of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief, Diana Vreeland…A richly detailed and well-researched biography of a fashion icon” - Kirkus Reviews “A tasty and erudite study of a complicated woman and her turbulent and colorful cultural life and times…Fashion icon Diana Vreeland and her psyche and cultural milieu are superbly deconstructed by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart.” - Publishers Weekly “A sympathetic biography…a cohesive, well-researched volume…Vreeland is a fascinating figure whose life spanned almost the entire twentieth century, of which the author takes dizzying, delightful advantage.” - Booklist “A juicy, fascinating biography...” - People “a rare and welcomed view of her private life which was so often overlooked in favor of the glossy and more obvious parts of her life, including all the glamour and bon mots she was so free with… Would I recommend EMPRESS OF FASHION? . . . hell yes!” - New York Journal of Books “Stuart does more than celebrate and bear witness. She seeks to explain, to parse, and to ultimately decipher the woman behind the strokes of red rouge and dyed-black hair… Stuart paints a nuanced portrait of a strange and tantalizing