The Best of Flair

This highly sought-after volume detailing one of the most influential magazines of the twentieth century is now back in print at a newly affordable price. In 1950, Fleur Cowles established what would become one of the most important and talked about magazines ever created. Critically lauded for its sharp mix of clothes, literature, art, travel, decor, theater, and humor, Flair made publishing history with its combination of eclectic editorial content and lavish production quality. Recalled as "the first magazine that became an art form," The Best of Flair is a compilation of the magazine’s best content as chosen by the woman who created it. Along with its distinctive production values, Flair also features interviews and contributions from some of the most noted artists and celebrities of the past fifty years, including Lucian Freud, Jean Cocteau, Tallulah Bankhead, Saul Steinberg, Salvador Dalí, Simone de Beauvoir, Walker Evans, James Michener, Ogden Nash, Gypsy Rose Lee, Clare Boothe Luce, George Bernard Shaw, John O’Hara, Margaret Mead, and Tennessee Williams. Now, more than ten years after this book was first published by Rizzoli, and more than fifty years after the magazine ceased publication, this facsimile edition offers the same ingenious bookmaking of its predecessor, including multiple gatefolds with die-cuts, booklets, and accordion folder leaflets.

Fleur Cowles (1908–2009) was an American artist, editor, and writer best known for her pioneering and influential work at Flair. Dominick Dunne (1925–2009) was an American writer and investigative journalist best known for his contributions to Vanity Fair magazine as well as his true crime novels.