Agins, Teri 1953-

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AGINS, Teri 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born December 7, 1953. Education: Wellesley College, B.A. (English, political science); University of Missouri, M.A. (journalism).

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Office—Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd St., 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

Journalist. Fairchild Publications, New York, NY, member of staff, beginning 1977; Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, reporter, 1984-88, fashion reporter, 1988—. Lecturer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Atrium Award, University of Georgia College of Journalism/Atlanta Apparel Mart, 1990, 1996; Front Page Award, Newswomen's Club of New York, 1991, 2002; Missouri Lifestyle Journalism award, 1996.

WRITINGS:

The End of Fashion: The Mass Marketing of the Clothing Business, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1999, revised edition published as The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever, Quill (New York, NY), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS:

Wall Street Journal fashion reporter Teri Agins hit a nerve in the fashion business with her exposé of the industry, The End of Fashion: The Mass Marketing of the Clothing Business. Approaching her subject from a business, rather than a design, perspective, Agins traces the history of fashion through the twentieth century, exploring the influence of major retailers and designers and showing how cultural trends helped change clothing styles. She also reveals the increasing dominance of corporate interests, which have emphasized brands in marketing fashion even as styles have become relatively homogeneous.

Reviewers have admired Agins' point of view and praised The End of Fashion as a perceptive and informative account of a business often shrouded in myth. "Agins … has taken a long, hard look at style in the '90s and come back with a compelling report on why big business has forever altered what we wear," wrote a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, who welcomed the book as a "penetrating dispatch from the rag trade." Booklist reviewer Barbara Jacobs appreciated the book's "gossipy details" and insider view of corporate wheeling and dealing, though she added that its stories failed to cohere. In Newsweek, Veronica Chambers hailed The End of Fashion as a "dishy" new book and an "entertaining ride," and commended Agins' "gift for bringing the fashion industry to life." Although Penelope Green, in a review of the book for the New York Times Book Review, complained that Agins' detached approach to her material causes the author to avoid drawing conclusions, the critic also stated that The End of Fashion should "be mandatory reading for people who think they might like to be clothing designers."