Buy new:
$12.29
FREE delivery: May 7 - 8 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
List Price: $15.99 Details

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $3.70 (23%)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery May 7 - 8 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 5 - 6
Usually ships within 2 to 3 days
$$12.29 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$12.29
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
FREE delivery May 3 - 9. Details
Or fastest delivery April 29 - May 1. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Joseph Abboud
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Threads: My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion Paperback – Illustrated, August 30, 2005

by Joseph Abboud (Author), Ellen Stern (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$12.29","priceAmount":12.29,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"29","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"6y7iWrnp2oMMUMgRAIpjtJ3d8oMB33ifdhS%2FX5sxP4mUzJuv6Hj0GG83qGOytPfeQBsmvYU5awxD4cwrm2LSSrJOxsisvsbvy9fvG33DgG1K542NlZEQS0uGFNEmLsaP00ElXFeXBGw%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.96","priceAmount":7.96,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"96","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"6y7iWrnp2oMMUMgRAIpjtJ3d8oMB33ifMa54pBw%2FDqj5HfLvGUd4xalUN5wdHCQogntLAh3%2FUOdiUn0lS8eOpnBBJAQ89mM6dSoEJ4A8Hd1rlMQ85Mc5WYhLjpD3HyFzZWaJcUQCrxmyIldOvw5lMMooWD5RTCZB2gNJkP04eEM%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Designers are great white sharks, and we roam the waters ourselves. We often pretend to like and admire each other, but sometimes we don't even bother to fake it. The fashion industry is as hardworking, incestuous, and political as any other, and it's virtually impossible, given the size of designers' egos, to sincerely wish someone else well, because behind every false tribute is 'It should have been me.'

So writes Joseph Abboud, who fell in love with style at five. There in the dark of the movie house, he wasn't just some Lebanese kid with a babysitter. He was the hero, in tweeds and pocket squares. That's where he learned that clothes represented a better life—a life he wanted, and would grab, for himself. From his blue-collar childhood in Boston's South End to his spread-collar success as one of America's top designers, he has forged a remarkable path through the unglamorous business of making people look glamorous.

He transformed American menswear by replacing the traditional stiff-shouldered silhouette with a grown-up European sensuality. He was the first designer to win the coveted CFDA award as Best Menswear Designer two years in a row and the first designer to throw out the opening pitch at Fenway Park. He's been jilted by Naomi Campbell (who didn't show up on the runway for his first women's fashion show) and questioned by the FBI (who did show up in his office right after September 11 because he fit the profile). He's soared and sunk more than a few times—and lived to tell the tales.

Threads is his off-the-record take on fashion, from the inside out. With breezy irreverence, he looks at guys and taste, divas and deviousness, fabric and texture, and all those ties. He takes us to the luxe bastion of Louis Boston, where he came of age and learned the trade, and to the seductive domain of Polo Ralph Lauren, where he became associate director of menswear design. He reveals the mystique of department-store politics, what's what at the sample sale, and who copies whom. He explains the process of making great clothes, from conception and sketch to manufacturing and marketing.

Whether he's traveling by daredevil horse, plunging plane, Paris Métro, or cross-country limo, Abboud is an illuminating guide to a complex world.

Previous page
  1. Part of series
    My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion
  2. Print length
    272 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Perennial
  5. Publication date
    August 30, 2005
  6. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.61 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0060535350
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0060535353
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Abboud introduced his first mens-wear collection in 1987. He won the Cutty Sark Award for Most Promising Menswear Designer in 1988 and the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Menswear Designer of the Year Award in 1989 and 1990. His clothing collections and home-furnishings products are sold throughout the world. He lives in Westchester, New York, with his wife and two daughters.



Ellen Stern has been a writer and editor at GQ, New York magazine, and the New York Daily News. Her books include Best Bets, Once Upon a Telephone, Sister Sets, and Gracie Mansion.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial (August 30, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060535350
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060535353
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.61 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Joseph Abboud

Joseph Abboud

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
19 global ratings
Great Book!
5 Stars
Great Book!
Became interested after seeing an interview of Joseph Abboud on YouTube. Glad I read this book to get more details of his life and career journey. Contains many insights to the fashion and clothing industry that an outsider like me would be oblivious to.Sad to hear that handshake deals don’t always lead to the desired outcomes. In that sense it’s a cautionary tale.I admire Mr. Abboud’s style. Also appreciate the advice he gives in the book here and there regarding what choices men can make to look good.Very easy to read—conversational style. Highly recommend!
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Stan57
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
Became interested after seeing an interview of Joseph Abboud on YouTube. Glad I read this book to get more details of his life and career journey. Contains many insights to the fashion and clothing industry that an outsider like me would be oblivious to.

Sad to hear that handshake deals don’t always lead to the desired outcomes. In that sense it’s a cautionary tale.

I admire Mr. Abboud’s style. Also appreciate the advice he gives in the book here and there regarding what choices men can make to look good.

Very easy to read—conversational style. Highly recommend!
Customer image
Stan57
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
Became interested after seeing an interview of Joseph Abboud on YouTube. Glad I read this book to get more details of his life and career journey. Contains many insights to the fashion and clothing industry that an outsider like me would be oblivious to.

Sad to hear that handshake deals don’t always lead to the desired outcomes. In that sense it’s a cautionary tale.

I admire Mr. Abboud’s style. Also appreciate the advice he gives in the book here and there regarding what choices men can make to look good.

Very easy to read—conversational style. Highly recommend!
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Meri
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Condition and Price
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2013
Verified Purchase
I ordered this book for my father in law. He was so happy with the book and condition it was in. The mail time took a little while, but what I paid was worth the wait. I would recommend this seller to any buyer. Thank you so much for a great purchase. Not only did you make the receiver happy, but myself because I was able to make my father in law happy.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JJ Spina
4.0 out of 5 stars The clothing profit/profite
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2004
Sometimes Clothing DOES make the man...and...Abboud is a terrific guy. His ties are wonderful. His attitudes about growing up in the fashion biz are insightful and his gift of gab is as good as his gift for garb.

The fact that he likes baseball and bails of multi-colored wool is a bonus.
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
K. ansari
3.0 out of 5 stars fashion fashion fashion
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2009
its a decent book with some insightful ideas but overall nothing really over the top when it comes to fashion however for the basics not bad at all
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
cyndi
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this for a class at the Ai of Shaumburg
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great story of rags to riches.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
GRAM E
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
Love the man, love the book!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Indian Prairie Public Library
5.0 out of 5 stars Author tells all
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2010
Abboud presents a fashion designer's personal story of life in the rag trade. Abboud redefined menswear by bringing a European look to American clothing. Born in Boston, his desire for affluence was influenced by observing how others dressed. His rise in fashion was a rocky road, and in Threads he tells all.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
T. Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, meandering read
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2005
I chose to purchase Joseph's book because I very much like his clothing and find that he has a different, down-to-earth approach to the "fashion world". The book itself is partly a book on men's fashion and partly an autobiography. Ultimately, it is a pleasant and quick read, but I would not characterize it knock-me-off-my-seat insightful or as having any real intention or focus.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report