Fun and Fashionable Reads

I love books. I love fashion. For some reason, it never occurred to me to read about fashion. Everything I know about fashion I've taken from the magazines I read, the websites I browse, and the shows I watch on TV. I've always thought about giving books on fashion to my friends. As matter of fact, I think I have. And it's amazing that it never occurred to me to pick one out for myself.

Since I am no authority on the subject, I searched other fashion blogs and here are their picks:

Little Black Book of Style

Written by Nina Garcia, fashion director of Elle Magazine and a judge on Project Runway, Coquette says of this book:

Nina Garcia, Fashion Director at Elle Magazine and of Project Runway fame has one of the best eyes for style in fashion biz. In her new book,
The Little Black Book of Style (browse inside the book here), she dishes style tips and fashion sense in a book that not only gives you style inspiration, but also a glimpse into Nina Garcia herself. I loved reading the personal story Garcia paints on growing up in Columbia, how her fashion sense developed, and her fashion culture shock of the "preppies" when she arrived at an all girls boarding school in Wellesley, MA while in her teens. I also loved the Q&A interviews with fashion designers, stylists and models, including a great Q&A with Heidi Klum on how to dress for pregnancy. The illustrations by Ruben Toledo and the graphic design style of the book just make it all the more lovely to read. Nina Garcia, who spots amazing new fashion talent all the time, tells us that it's all about personal individual style, not about being perfect. Here, here!


Stylist:The Interpreters of Fashion

Of this book, Fabsugar says:

In the past couple of years, celebrity stylists like Rachel Zoe have really been thrust into the limelight. But the position has been around since the '30s, and the job description typically covers much more than making sure an actress looks Fab on the red carpet.

Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion, $48, by Sarah Mower, examines the role of stylists in fashion — from overseeing a magazine's photo shoot to organizing a designer's runway show.

It spotlights 16 stylists, including Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld and Vogue creative director Grace Coddington, but omits celebrity stylists like Zoe and L'Wren Scott, who works with Nicole Kidman. Each featured stylist has their own chapter, filled with their iconic work as well as personal looks at their own lives and tastes.

Deluxe - How Luxury Lost Its Luster

The original review for this book can be found on the Bag Snob's website. The reviewer, Linda Grant, now has her own blog and has condensed her original review as follows:

There are few fashion books as interesting, informative and rigorous as this one. Thomas is the Paris fashion and culture correspondent for Newsweek, I met her when she was in London in September and found her a mine of information about how high end fashion works and when it is and when it is not worth shelling out for it. I subsequently recommended the book to the PR for a major British retail chain who was as riveted by it as I was. It's shocking to discover that a Marc Jacobs bag is being produced in the same factory, on the same machines and made by the same person as a department store on brand.

Apart from these, there are tons of books on fashion out there that are available. There are historical books on fashion houses, art books featuring works of fashion photographers, how-to books from fashion gurus. A plethora of books are available on the subject of fashion that I've never thought to read about before. Silly me. I think I'll start from the bottom of my list since it's the one I find most intriguing. Happy reading!