The Textile Blog

Vogue cover model, face of the Swinging Sixties, and David Bailey’s muse, Penelope Tree was discovered aged 16 at Truman Capote’s legendary 1966 Black and White Ball and became one of the style icons of the decade, inspiring a generation of future models including Kate Moss.



Now 74, Penelope has written her first novel, Piece Of My Heart, an honest and strikingly moving exploration of what it takes to make it in the fashion industry, and a coming-of-age story peopled with larger than life characters from high society, fashion, music, and film.



This year’s Hideous Kinky, Penelope Tree’s autobiographical debut novel looks with brutal honesty at issues around eating disorders, drug addiction and unhealthy relationships, as well as the damaging and dizzying impact of sudden fame, and shares the inside scoop on ‘60s fashion and high society for the first time, including an intimate portrait inspired by her relationship with the photographer David Bailey, with whom she remains close to this day.



Fame. Money. Sex. Ari wants them all. And as the face of the 1960s they are hers for the taking. But how much is she willing to sacrifice to get them?

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