Book Highlights Apparel Adventures
Former apparel manufacturer Sue Pekarsky Gary is getting ready to release her second self-published book, “Cover Yourself: Adventures in the Rag Trade from Start-Ups to Stars” (Garmento Speak Publications, $14.95). It’s a collection of personal experiences by 45 apparel industry sources whose professions range from fashion illustrator to space unit designer.
“Cover Yourself” takes a lighthearted approach to the apparel industry with personal stories about starting a new business, marketing strategies, personal likes and dislikes, and the industry’s attitudes toward technical advances.
“It’s also people-oriented,” said Gary. “It allows the reader access to what goes on in the industry at every level and in every arena. I wanted to give as broad a picture as possible of people in the garment industry, accessories and related businesses, as well as those whose clothing is part of their image packaging.”
The book includes one-on-one interviews with both veteran and budding industry sources. One section of the book explains how Home Couture owner Marcie Vesel Bronkar introduced new couture-quality woven fabrics into her interior design business after studying 16th- and 17th-century decorative arts at the Musee de Arts Decotifs of the Louvre in Paris. Another section features interviews with members of a rock group to find out what inspires each when he picks out his own wardrobe. Still another section covers the struggles of a newly immigrated Asian patternmaker.
The 127-page softback book features an introduction and brief synopsis preceding each story, a helpful glossary and industry contact guide.
Three years ago, Gary documented her manufacturing experiences with co-author and business partner Connie Ulasewicz in “Made in America: The Business of Apparel and Sewn Product Manufacturing” (Garmento Speak Publications, $29.95), a how-to guide for budding manufacturers. The softcover book is going into its third edition this month. Garmento Speak is a Sebastopol, Calif.-based publishing company that specializes in apparel industry literature, consultation and apparel manufacturing seminars.
The books are available at International Fashion Publications in the California Mart, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. —Claudia Figueroa
