If you’re a true fashion paramour, a style inquisitor you are wont to read about style beyond the typical Vogues and Harper’s Bazaars. You want to really sink your teeth into critical thinking, true style commentary and the latest thoughts on all things a la mode.
As an avid collector (and reader) of fashion books, I have a few tried and true favorites that give unique perspectives on fashion and the history of clothing. Some are fun, cheeky guides, others collection of essays on all things style. All will make you think.
1. Cheap Date Guide to Style
Written by London shop owners Kira Jolliffe and Bay Garnett, Cheap Date is a cheeky, vintage loving, rock-n-roll guide to personal (and original) style. With interviews with the likes of Kelis and Chloe Sevigny it’s all about having fun with fashion.
2. Eccentric Glamour
What’s not to love about Simon Doonan? Any person who thinks you should exorcise the spirits from your vintage wares is all right with me. Over-the-top and divine, Eccentric Glamour is a must read for us ladies who like our style with a side of cooky.
Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You
3. The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever
Teri Agins is a legend in the fashion industry. A veteran fashion writer for the WSJ and NYT, Agins penned this 2000 tome of how marketing changed the luxury business and bought fashion to the mainstream.
The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever
4. The Meaning of Sunglasses
Hadley Freeman is a woman after my own heart. Funny, a bit sarcastic and philosophical about things like bowties and mittens. The Meaning of Sunglasses examines the A to Z of fashion with hilarious essays like “Animal Print: When Women Roar” or “Vanity, and the joys therof.”
The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable
5. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Another legend, Holly Brubach, writer for the NYT and The Atlantic, examines fashion on a more cultural level. Her collection of essays discuss the permanence of the Chanel suit to impact Gianni Versace.
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
6. The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping
This pocket guide is a real treasure. Need to know how to date a vintage dress? Or what fabrics are the best and how you should clean and treat them. For serious vintage collectors, this is a treat.
The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping
What style guides are lining your bookshelves?
I’ve just started building my “fashion library” and you’ve given me some more to add to the list!
The next step after Trinny and Susannah is ‘Wardrobe 101 – Creating our perfect core wardobe’ by Dijanna Mulhearn.