FASHION OR FICTION
I grew up loving to read. However, that love had to be put on the back burner in college because of the seemingly endless amount of reading I had to do for classes. Now that I am out of college and have an abundance of free time on my hands, I have been able to explore that passion once more. I like both fiction and nonfiction, but the genre I love the most is fashion (yes, fashion has its own category). I’ve compiled a list of my favorite fashion books for my fellow fashionphiles.
Grace by Grace Coddington
Grace Coddington, a woman I consider to be one of the most fascinating people in the fashion industry, recounts her life from her childhood in Anglesey, Wales all the way up to her job at Vogue in this memoir. If you enjoy this, I’d recommend watching The September Issue- a documentary following the creation of Vogue’s iconic September issue. Can you tell I am obsessed with her?
2. Gio_Graphy: Fun in the Wild World of Fashion by Giovanna Battaglia
Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, the creative director of Swarovski and the cover photo of today’s blog post, is one of my personal style icons. She somehow always manages to look playful and chic at the same time. Her spirited personality and style shine through in the fantastic advice and imagery of this book.
3. Accidental Icon by Iris Apfel
Iris Apfel, otherwise known as The Rare Bird of Fashion, shares her musings on fashion and life in between beautiful pictures, essays and mementos in this book. It truly is a feast for the eyes.
4. Fashion Climbing by Bill Cunningham
I once had the pleasure of seeing Bill Cunningham at a fashion show in New York. I was probably about 16 or 17 at the time, but I knew he was the best fashion documentarian of our time. He was a legend and I desperately wanted a photo with him. When I asked my boss if I could go over and say hello she said to me, “ I wouldn’t try it if I were you. He is very private and doesn’t like attention.” I did not go up to him that day, but what my boss said would later be supported by the documentary Bill Cunningham: New York. In the documentary, many of his friends and acquaintances talked about how much they loved Bill, but how none of them really knew anything about him. He was a private man and did not share much about himself during his life- until this book. This memoir offers a rare, if not the only, glimpse into the life of this legend.
5. Battle of Versailles by Robin Givhan
I have to admit that I am not quite done with this one. Based off of the first few pages, I would recommend reading it after Fashion Climbing. Bill does a great job of conveying through his own experience the lack of originality in American fashion compared to the great French fashion houses of the 50s and 60s. This would all change on the night of November 28th, 1973. The Battle of Versailles, an often overlooked night in the fashion industry, was the night that American and French designers competed head to head in support of the restoration of the Palace of Versailles. Robin Givhan delves into the details of this historic night in this (so far) entertaining, yet accurate book.
Cover Photo Courtesy of: Architectural Digest and Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert
