Heart on My Sleeve: Stories from a Life Well Worn shares incredible interview experiences with music and fashion industry elite
This book could be called ‘Close Encounters of the Jeanne Beker Kind.’ In her “Well Worn” life, Jeanne Beker, former host of Fashion Television, and co-host of CityTv’s The New Music has interviewed rock stars, Hollywood celebrities and some of the top fashion designers and models in the world. In her new book, Heart on My Sleeve: Stories from a Life Well Worn, Jeanne talks about her interviews with celebrities like Paul McCartney, Madonna and Keith Richards. She shares her joy at being “dressed” by a few world-renowned fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld who headed the Chanel design atelier. Perhaps one of her most memorable segments was when she interviewed guitarist Andy Summers of The Police—in his hotel bathtub!
Music TV pioneer from Toronto
Jeanne Beker was the host of Fashion Television which aired for 27 years in more than 130 countries. She pioneered music television as the co-host of The New Music with JD Roberts, and was a founding member of MuchMusic. She also hosted TSC’s Style Matters. She holds honorary doctorates from Saint Mary’s University and OCAD University, is a member of the Order of Canada and received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. Beker lives in Toronto.
Beker invites us into her personal and professional life
Just as in her TV career Beker uncovered some of the secrets and passions of the celebrities she interviewed, as her book title suggests, she wears her heart on her sleeve as she talks openly about her family, her divorce, her relationships with friends and her career. Readers share her pain as well as her joy as Beker invites us into her personal and professional life.
Here “Wardrobe of Memories”
What is so clever about Beker’s book is that she shares her “Wardrobe of Memories” as she ties each chapter around an article of clothing or accessory that made an impact on her life. Like the time she wore a plaid Roots shirt to interview her hero Paul McCartney, and he showed up also wearing a plaid shirt under his suit jacket. Or the time when Beker, at age 17, wore a “Popping Pom-Pom” bikini to the 1969 Toronto Pop Festival and was called up on stage by Canadian music legend Ronnie Hawkins.
Paper Dolls inspired her love for fashion
Beker’s love of fashion began at an early age when she played with paper dolls from a magazine. Her talented mom would sew fashions for Beker’s ‘Mitzi’ doll, and then later would sew garments for Jeanne. But by the time Beker’s TV career began to take off in the 80’s, she had access to an array of designer fashions.
“What we wear not only serves to elevate and transform us but also triggers memories we hold dear.”
Says Beker in her book: “After a lifetime spent playing dress-up, I understand fashion’s power more than ever. The clothing and accessories we choose to wear are emblematic of who we are at key points in time. What we wear not only serves to elevate and transform us but also triggers memories we hold dear.”
A leather biker jacket, red booties, a special satchel, a Dior dress— these items and more bring Jeanne Beker’s story and iconic rise to stardom to life as we celebrate and are in awe of her life ‘well worn’. This book makes us think about the importance of what we wear and the image we are presenting. It also makes me think twice about discarding or donating a special item of clothing that was important to me. Now I wish I had kept those white Go-Go boots from the 60’s—just for the funny, yet cherished memories.
An intriguing and inspiring read. A recommended read at 9 out of 10.
Heart on My Sleeve: Stories from a Life Well Worn by Jeanne Beker (foreword by Linda Evangelista) is available in bookstores in early October. Copyright 2024 Jeanne Beker. Published by Simon & Schuster.
by Laurie Wallace-Lynch
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