Looking over my holiday wishlist, I notice it’s made up of leather shoes and wool turtle necks: items I can get any time of the year. Yes, I am very glad I’m not asking for bedazzled tee shirts any more; however I am a mature young woman and should start holiday shopping like one. By this holiday season, you’ve stopped asking for Barbie dolls and are now wishing for that cashmere sweater or the new Stuart Weitzman boots. You get older and your tastes change; you ask for different things each year. This year, instead of spending your money on an overpriced scarf, think about investing in a book. It’ll never shrink in the wash or go out of style. If you want to work in the fashion industry, love looking at clothes, or just like reading in general, then these are the holiday gifts for you. Made up of designers, editors, and everything in between, these novels will introduce you into the daily lives of fashion’s most important individuals. Do yourself a favor: buy one of these books now and entertain yourself over winter break.
1. I’ll Drink to That: A Life in Style, with a Twist by Betty Halbreich $12.04
“Eighty-six-year-old Betty Halbreich is a true original who could have stepped straight out of Stephen Sondheim’s repertoire. She has spent nearly forty years as the legendary personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman, where she works with socialites, stars, and ordinary women off the street. She has helped many find their true selves through fashion, frank advice, and her own brand of wisdom. She is trusted by the most discriminating persons—including Hollywood’s top stylists—to tell them what looks best. But Halbreich’s personal transformation from cosseted young girl to fearless truth teller is the greatest makeover of her career.”
2. Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington $22.85
“Delightfully underscored by Grace’s pen-and-ink illustrations, Grace will introduce readers to the colorful designers, hairstylists, makeup artists, photographers, models, and celebrities with whom Grace has created her signature images. Grace reveals her private world with equal candor—the car accident that almost derailed her modeling career, her two marriages, the untimely death of her sister, Rosemary, her friendship with Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Liz Tilberis, and her thirty-year romance with Didier Malige. Finally, Grace describes her abiding relationship with Anna Wintour, and the evolving mastery by which she has come to define the height of fashion.”
3. Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the ’90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion by Maureen Callahan $19.50
“Veteran style and pop culture journalist Maureen Callahan takes you back to the 90s, to the moment when supermodel glamazons gave way to heroin chic, the alternative became the mainstream, and fashion became the cradle for the most exciting artistic and cultural innovations of the age. Packed with dishy stories of some of the most celebrated personalities of the day, Champagne Supernovas gives you the inside scoop from designers like Anna Sui and Isaac Mizrahi; scenesters like Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Sassy magazine’s Jane Pratt; plus a bevy of supermodels, stylists, editors, photographers, confidantes, club kids, and scenesters.”
4. The Style Mentors: Women Who Define the Art of Dressing Today by Elyssa Dimant $23.26
“In The Style Mentors, fashion authority Elyssa Dimant profiles more than 80 famous contemporary women with great style, offering fashion-conscious women role models for the here and now. Each of the book’s eight chapters addresses a signature look with proven fashion longevity—icon, maverick, bohemian, gamine, siren, minimalist, rocker, and classic—and demonstrates how to achieve it by analyzing the style of today’s trendsetters in those categories (Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Sofia Coppola, and Carine Roitfeld) as well as that of powerful icons such as Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Diana Vreeland.”
5. The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever by Teri Agins $12.32
“The time when “fashion” was defined by French designers whose clothes could be afforded only by elite has ended. Now designers take their cues from mainstream consumers and creativity is channeled more into mass-marketing clothes than into designing them. Indeed, one need look no further than the Gap to see proof of this. In The End of Fashion, Wall Street Journal, reporter Teri Agins astutely explores this seminal change, laying bare all aspects of the fashion industry from manufacturing, retailing, anmd licensing to image making and financing. Here as well are fascinating insider vignettes that show Donna Karan fighting with financiers,the rivalry between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and the commitment to haute conture that sent Isaac Mizrahi’s business spiraling.”
6. The Woman I Wanted to Be by Diane von Furstenberg $12.03
“In The Woman I Wanted to Be, “an intriguing page-turner filled with revelations” (More), von Furstenberg reflects on her extraordinary life—from her childhood in Brussels to her days as a young, jet-set princess, to creating the dress that came to symbolize independence and power for generations of women. With remarkable honesty and wisdom, von Furstenberg mines the rich territory of what it means to be a woman. She opens up about her family and career, overcoming cancer, building a global brand, and devoting herself to empowering other women. This “inspiring, compelling, deliciously detailed celebrity autobiography…is as much of a smashing success as the determined, savvy, well-intentioned woman who wrote it” (Chicago Tribune).”
7. #GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso $9.60
“Sophia Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. Flash forward ten years to today, and she’s the founder and executive chairman of Nasty Gal, a $250-million-plus fashion retailer with more than four hundred employees. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers #GIRLBOSS proves that being successful isn’t about where you went to college or how popular you were in high school.”
8. Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. by Leandra Medine $17.00
“Now, in her first book, the acclaimed blogger and fashion darling recounts her most significant memories through the lens of her sartorial choices. With her signature sass, blunt honesty, and some personal photos, Leandra shares details of the night she lost her virginity right down to the pair of white tube socks she forgot to take off, as well as when and why she realized her grandma’s vintage Hermès ostrich skin clutch could hold much more than just keys and a cell phone. Through it all, she proves you don’t need to compromise even your most repellent qualities to find your way into that big white dress (and an organza moto jacket). See? You can have your yeti and wear it, too.”
9. The Little Dictionary of Fashion: A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman by Christian Dior $14.86
“Christian Dior reveals the secrets of style in this charming handbook that no woman should be without. An indispensable guide that covers everything from what to wear to a wedding and how to tie a scarf to how to walk with grace, The Little Dictionary of Fashion is full of timeless tips. From afternoon frocks and accessories to traveling and tweed, Dior’s expertise ensures every girl will know the three fundamentals of fashion: simplicity, grooming, and good taste. Published for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Golden Age of Couture exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dior’s “New Look” and illustrated with delightful photographs and drawings, this handbag-sized classic is the perfect gift for style-conscious women.”
10. Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman by Sara James Mnookin $25.71
“With delightful remembrances from celebrities, designers, and highly regarded fashion insiders—from Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, and Vera Wang to Joan Rivers, Susan Lucci, and Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen—Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman also features a foreword by fashion writer Holly Brubach, as well as art and photography from major advertising campaigns and original vintage sketches created by Bergdorf at the collection presentations of designers such as Lanvin, Chanel, and Balenciaga. This is an essential book for anyone who loves fashion, the thrill of a sumptuous shopping experience, and wonderful stories told by and about the famous.”