B&w illus and photos throughout, 32 pages in full color. A provocative time capsule of contemporary womanhood, this collection is highly recommended. The prose is spliced with striking visuals, such as photos of actress Zosia Mamet (Girls) imitating 50 poses from fashion magazine covers, and many passages yield deeper revelations: “What I Spent” uses a diary-style record of clothing and toiletry purchases to examine the effect that physical difference, such as scoliosis, has on self-presentation and confidence. Though the book satisfies voyeuristic pleasures, on a basic level, it also inspires meaningful questions by virtue of its structure contributions are well-organized in short sections (participants like Lena Dunham and Cindy Sherman are granted longer entries) with surprising juxtapositions-for example, rapid-fire answers to the editors’ survey questions about shopping sit comfortably next to an essay on the political and personal implications of wearing a head scarf. Her most recent book, Women in Clothes, was a collaboration with Sheila Heti and Heidi Julavits. Women in Clothes By: Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton, and others Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Karen Sepulveda, Keisha Zollar, and others Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins Unabridged Overall 4 out of 5 stars 12. Reminiscent of women’s collaborative book projects from the 1970s, women (and a few men) are quoted in survey responses, essays, artworks, and recorded snippets of conversation. Leanne Shapton is an artist, author and publisher and recipient of the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography.

Thoughtfully crafted and visually entertaining, this collection, edited by Heti (How Should A Person Be?), Julavits (The Vanishers), and Shapton (Swimming Studies), uses personal reflections from 642 contributors to examine women’s relationship with clothes in a deceptively lighthearted and irreverent tone.

Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti