Lady Gaga: Extreme Style

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta learned piano at four, was writing her own song by age eleven, was a regular at open mic nights on the club circuit by the time she was fourteen and once had a boyfriend "who told me I'd never succeed, never be nominated for a Grammy, never have a hit song and that he hoped I'd fail". Well there's now at least one ex with a serious amount of egg on his face since most of the world knows who Stefani grew up to be...Lady Gaga's shock approach to 'her art' is not new; She herself admits to getting her inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Grace Jones, and plenty of [mainly] singers have employed similar tactics in the past; From Christina Aguilera's Dirrty days and even a teenaged Dannii Minogue flirted with it, to MIA and Nicki Minaj. Heck, even the likes of Jodie Marsh and Jordan have been doing it for years.But however many people have done it before her, no-one has the dedication or creative genius of Lady Gaga; For her this 'high concept performance art' has become her life and everything has a meaning. Ready to take a peek into her world?Since the book is only 144 pages long and there is a photo on almost every page the book is admittedly not the most detailed, but it sill manages to sandwich in every aspect to Lady Gaga's image - both as a whole and individually.Before we get to the good stuff, author Lizzy Goodman begins the book with a short introduction on who she is, a brief look at her pre-album deal shows with DJ Starlight [they went by the catchy name of 'Lady Gaga and the Starlight revue'] and all the way up to her 'Monster Ball Tour' [it started in November 2009 and is going until May 2011].But what will make people pick up this book is undoubtedly for the author's sensible interpretations of Lady Gaga's famous outfits for her professional and personal life; We get to learn why Lady Gaga likes to shock, exaggerate, mutate and scare with her outfits and performances "creating a really interesting bridge between the desirable and the grotesque".There are also little information boxes spread throughout the book which contain little tidbits of information or interview quotes from Lady Gaga and various designers, which gives the book a little diversity and keeps things interesting.The introduction to Lady Gaga is short and most fans won't learn anything new, but I personally didn't know that she was in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study [a division of New York university] where she dedicated her time to studying various 'shock' artists. I also didn't know that she had signed a record deal with Def Jam, but was dropped before releasing anything through them.The author doesn't just focus on the finalized result and comment on the range of influences the outfit is drawing from and the meaning behind them - she also pays attention to the parts-that-make-up-a-whole, ranging from Gaga's teacup, why many of her outfits include masks, to the explanation to why she almost-always dons sunglasses [her favourite and most worn pair are Versace 676]. There are chapters solely dedicated to her footwear, the Disco stick, head-wear, makeup, body accessories, her hair and the various piano designs she has used for her shows.At the end of the book there is a section entitled 'Get the look' which lists designers and cosmetic manufacturers that Lady Gaga has been known to use, which many fans will be interested in.Lizzy Goodman's use of wit and bluntness in her writing really appeals to me and I'll end the review which my favourite quote from Lizzy's text; Burlesque uses striptease as a form of storytelling. It's not just girls in pasties, it's girls in pasties with something to say! But seriously, the idea that you can deliver a complex narrative using pyro and t!ts was a revelation for Lady Gaga...

Not that bad fan of Lady Gaga

bought this book as a birthday present, it was is good condition when it arrived, delivery wasn't too long after ordering. There are some interesting photos in this book.