Searching for Beauty: The Life of Millicent Rogers, the American Heiress Who Taught the World About Style

As a notable jurist once said, "saying the same thing twice gives it no more weight." I found this book dull, repetitive and overwritten. I had to force myself to finish it. It was essentially a gossipy People magazine tribute elongated into a book overwrought by trivial details. How many times was it necessary to hear that to each house she rented, she brought her own sheets? More interesting to me would have been an explanation of how an estate worth an estimated 400 million dwindled down to $117,000 in thirty years. Clothing--even couture, just wasn't that expensive . . . And her children, what of her influence on their lives and character? And Millicent's brother, who was disowned in favor of Millicent's first-born son--what of him? Did she even feel guilty?The book, and Millicent had the potential of being interesting--one only knows authors have done significantly more with substantially less, but instead Millicent Rogers, for all the author's adulation, came across as superficial and one-dimensional. Passages were repetitive, and letters were recited at length which failed to support the point the author was trying to make. The prose was largely incoherent, and I found myself rereading paragraphs because the narrative didn't match the point it appeared the author was trying to make. Inexplicably, Millicent Rogers was portrayed as flightly on one page, while just the opposite was said the next. Rather than demonstrating aspects of her character, it was as if the author could not make up her mind as to what she thought of Ms. Rogers, with the result that instead of portraying a nuanced view of a complex woman, the book was unbalanced and incoherent and with it ones' impression of Ms. Rogers.Finally, according to the author, if there was anything to admire, it was Rogers sense of style. Indeed, she was regularly featured in Vogue, Bazaar and other publications and was as much an arbiter of taste and style as a collector. Yet not a single picture was provided. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and since the writing didn't offer much, the book would have benefited greatly had she done so. Not much of redeeming value here.

Well written biography of a woman who lived too short a life and died at age 50.. She found her peace in Taos, NM after a hectic life in New York and Europe, where she befriended and worked with famous designers. She was beautiful and was always beautifully attired. She had the best fashion sense and was considered the woman who set fashion trends in the US and abroad. She appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and was constantly written about and photographed.Unfortunately, she was not a good mother to her sons. She had married three times without success. She also had many lovers including Clark Gable and other Hollywood stars.Her childhood bout of rheumatic fever eventually resulted in her early death in Taos where she is buried.As one who has visited Taos on several occasions, I can picture her holding court there with the Taos Indians and famous artists and writers

Delighted to have this book on my favorite fashion icon.

I'm from New Mexico so I really enjoyed the book and felt it was well written and kept my interest. I have no clue why the reviews aren't good but to each his or her own. I recommend it. It's a good read!

I've been fascinated by Millicent Rogers since I first saw her clothes and jewelry in an exhibit at the Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York many years ago. I've also visited her museum near Taos. She is one of those women like Georgia O'Keefe and Mable Dodge Luhan who came to northern New Mexico and found a new life--always a fascinating story. But there was so much, so many phases, of her life that was new to me. A creative, innovative woman who found her outlet in fashion and design. She had an knack for picking the places and the men who were at the cultural center of any give time. Highly recommended for fashion buffs, people interested in social history, and anyone receptive to a woman's quest.

Love that Millicent ever since I visited her gallery in Taos. Yes, born with silver spoon but a good person and kind, from what I have read. Searching for beauty and love and a life with nature as a priority. Loved her many Dachshunds. I love them too. Sad about her early death, but old age may have not been her ticket. She would have been beautiful then too. Wish there ws MORE pictures but found some on Amazon. Thank you dear writer.

I had never heard of Millicent Rogers until this book showed up as a recommendation for me by Amazon. She led a very interesting life and seemed to truly find herself before passing at an early age. I enjoyed the book very much.

Although this work becomes "meatier" when it turns to tracing Millicent Rogers' interest in and influence on fashion and design, much of this biography is thin and reads like a patched-together college-level research project. Who uses Wikipedia as a source in a legitimate work? And the editing is so poor, it made me cringe at the confusing pronoun references, unnecessary tense shifts, and incorrect use of quotes, etc. Odd analogies abound, such as when the author compares Millicent's father's scheming attempts to end her first marriage to "George Steinbrenner's buying and selling a baseball player." Some word choices are just wrong, such as when Burns describes Millicent's first husband's weak financial prospects, saying, "He did meddle in the antique business" meaning, I'm pretty sure, that he "dabbled" in the antique business. Paragraphs are frequently over-long and cover so much ground, it's hard to find the point. All this, and the lack of photographs in the Kindle version, make this a very disappointing purchase.

Great story about an American original!

un libro ben scritto e affascinante ! una vita breve ma molto intensa ! un personaggio storico del tutto a me sconosciuto---

J'ai passé 35 dans la mode principalement inspiré par des personnages particuliers comme Millicent Rogers.