WOMEN I HAVE DRESSED (AND UNDRESSED!)

For five decades, Scaasi has created clothes for rich and famous women from Joan Crawford to Joan Rivers. Now he dishes on some of his famed clientele, from their measurements to their quirks. How else would we learn Mamie Eisenhower refused to wear a bra? Especially entertaining is his account of how a Jewish boy from Montreal (Scaasi is Isaacs spelled backward) came to design new habits for an order of nuns. Mostly, though, the book is a name-dropping romp through high society. Scaasi rubbed elbows with Jackie Kennedy, but demolished Kim Novak's ego by insisting her neck wouldn't accommodate a particular collar. Scaasi basks in the reflected glory of his celebrity customers and revels in fabrics, feathers and furs, sharing 66 photos and plenty of chitchat. Alas, his title is misleading: he devotes chapters to women, like Princess Diana, whom he has met but not dressed. Scaasi reserves special accolades for Barbara Bush, whom he garbs and adores, but that doesn't stop him from making cutting remarks about Laura Bush's inaugural gown. In fact, Scaasi can be viciously catty when critiquing other fashionistas. His memoir is, at heart, gossip for the celebrity-obsessed, with a caveat: it's mainly for those who worship a bygone era (e.g., Scaasi dressed Rose Kennedy, not Nicole Kidman). (Oct.)