Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty


Andrew Bolton - 2011
    Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty examines the full breadth of the designer’s career, from the start of his fledgling label to the triumphs of his own world-renowned London house. It features his most iconic and radical designs, revealing how McQueen adapted and combined the fundamentals of Savile Row tailoring, the specialized techniques of haute couture, and technological innovation to achieve his distinctive aesthetic. It also focuses on the highly sophisticated narrative structures underpinning his collections and extravagant runway presentations, with their echoes of avant-garde installation and performance art.Published to coincide with an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized by The Costume Institute, this stunning book includes a preface by Andrew Bolton; an introduction by Susannah Frankel; an interview by Tim Blanks with Sarah Burton, creative director of the house of Alexander McQueen; illuminating quotes from the designer himself; provocative and captivating new photography by renowned photographer Sølve Sundsbø; and a lenticular cover by Gary James McQueen.Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty celebrates the astounding creativity and originality of a designer who relentlessly questioned and confronted the requisites of fashion.

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits


Anne Berest - 2014
    The authors--Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas--unmarried but attached, with children--have been friends for years. Talented bohemian iconoclasts with careers in the worlds of music, film, fashion and publishing, they are untypically frank and outspoken as they debunk the myths about what it means to be a French woman today. Letting you in on their secrets and flaws, they also make fun of their complicated, often contradictory feelings and behavior. They admit to being snobs, a bit self-centered, unpredictable but not unreliable. Bossy and opinionated, they are also tender and romantic.You will be taken on a first date, to a party, to some favorite haunts in Paris, to the countryside, and to one of their dinners at home with recipes even you could do -- but to be out with them is to be in for some mischief and surprises. They will tell you how to be mysterious and sensual, look natural, make your boyfriend jealous, and how they feel about children, weddings and going to the gym. And they will share their address book in Paris for where to go: At the End of the Night, for A Birthday, for a Smart Date, for a A Hangover, for Vintage Finds and much more. How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are will make you laugh as you slip into their shoes to become bold and free and tap into your inner cool.

Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons From The World's Most Elegant Woman


Karen Karbo - 2009
    Delving into the long, extraordinary life of renowned French fashion designer Coco Chanel, Karen Karbo has written a new kind of book, exploring Chanel's philosophy on a range of universal themes - from style to passion, from money and success to femininity and living life on your own terms.For a live viewing of Chesley McLaren's illustrations you can visit The 4th Wall Gallery.Click here for more info.

Parisian Chic: A Style Guide


Inès de La Fressange - 2010
    Inès de la Fressange—France’s icon of chic—shares her personal tips for living with style and charm, gleaned from decades in the fashion industry. She offers specific pointers on how to dress like a Parisian, including how to mix affordable basics with high-fashion touches, and how to accessorize. Her step-by-step do’s and don’ts are accompanied by fashion photography, and the book is personalized with her charming drawings. Inès also shares how to bring Parisian chic into your home, and how to insert your signature style into any space—even the office. The ultrachic volume is wrapped with a three-quarter-height removable jacket and features offset aquarelle paper and a ribbon page marker. Complete with her favorite addresses for finding the ultimate fashion and decorating items, this is a must-have for any woman who wants to add a touch of Paris to her own style.

It


Alexa Chung - 2013
    Interspersed with pages from Alexa's notebooks and many a photo of a good night out, It appears in real cloth, with hand-crafted marbled endpages covered in polkadots, stripy head and tail bands, and luxiouriously creamy paper. Witty, charming and with a refreshingly down-to-earth attitude, It is a must-have for anyone who loves fashion, worries about growing up, or loves just about everything Alexa Chung.

Follow Me To: A Journey around the World Through the Eyes of Two Ordinary Travelers


Murad Osmann - 2014
    It is a story told through the eyes of two ordinary travelers who attempt to portray local lifestyles and narratives by means of photography. Since the project’s launch on Instagram, it has become a worldwide Internet sensation, emerging as a leading news feature and gathering millions of views on social media and the news sites that covered it. In each stunning image, photographer Murad Osmann is led to a new location by his girlfriend, Nataly Zakharova.These images remind us that in the hustle and bustle of daily life, we so often forget to stop and appreciate the things that surround us—the historical and architectural heritage left to us by our ancestors. Readers join Osmann from the point of view of the main character and are taken on a journey to different historical and cultural sites. The project aims to acquaint readers with different lifestyles. For Osmann and Zakharova, this theme seems infinite, as there are an endless number of places to visit on our planet. Paging through the book, readers will be invited to see something familiar to them from another point of view, via the lens of Osmann’s camera.Follow Zakharova and Osmann on a trip around the world, through such locations as Moscow, Madrid, Ibiza, Hong Kong, New York, and London.

Bright Lights Paris: Shop, Dine & Live...Parisian Style


Angie Niles - 2015
    After spending much of her life mining the secrets of La Parisienne, Angie has discovered there are as many ways to be Parisian as there are arrondissements. Find out what Saint Germain women wear, where Canal Saint Martin girls shop and hang out with their friends, the décor tricks of the artistic ladies in Montmartre, and how to cook and entertain—as if you just rolled out of bed and onto the cobblestone streets of Le Marais…Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs and original fashion illustrations, as well as fabulous tips from celebrities, fashion designers, bloggers, chefs, and more!

My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine


Kate Betts - 2015
    “Just go.” As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college—and not without trepidation—she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style, and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay.After a series of dues-paying jobs that seemed only to reinforce her outsider status, Kate’s hard work and willingness to take on any assignment paid off: Her writing and intrepid forays into la France Profonde—true France—caught the eye of John Fairchild, the mercurial fashion arbiter and publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, the industry’s bible. Kate’s earliest assignments—investigating the mineral water preferred by high society, chasing after a costumed band of wild boar hunters through the forests of Brittany—were a rough apprenticeship, but she was rewarded for her efforts and was initiated into the elite ranks of Mr. Fairchild’s trusted few who sat beside him in the front row and at private previews in the ateliers of the gods of French fashion. From a woozy yet mesmerizing Yves Saint Laurent and the mischievous and commanding Karl Lagerfeld to the riotous, brilliant young guns who were rewriting all the rules—Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang, John Galliano—Betts gives us a view of what it was like to be an American girl, learning about herself, falling in love, and finding her tribe.Kate Betts’s captivating memoir brings to life the enchantment of France—from the nightclubs of 1980s Paris where she learned to dance Le Rock, to the lavender fields of Provence and the grand spectacle of the Cour Carrée—and magically re-creates that moment in life when a young woman discovers who she’s meant to be.

The Little Dictionary of Fashion: A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman


Christian Dior - 1954
    Originally published: London: Cassell, 1954.

Chanel


Harold Koda - 2005
    While Chanel mythologized her glamorous life through relentless self-invention, the bare facts of her biography are no less worthy than her legend: born of a poor family in the provinces and raised in a convent, she was an entertainer and the mistress of men of impeccable social standing, and she began her career not as a dressmaker but as a milliner.Chanel's enduring influence is necessarily based on the long shadow cast over fashion by her maison couture. Chanel examines the history of the House of Chanel both thematically and chronologically, introducing ideas and elements of biography as they were expressed in her collections. Period examples are juxtaposed with the work of Karl Lagerfeld, who, beginning in 1983, just over ten years after Chanel's death, reinvented and revolutionized the House's identity. It is in Lagerfeld's masterful and often irreverent interpretations of Chanel's work, as well as his mixing of influences from high and low culture, that the historic importance of Chanel and the resonance of her image as the independent, elegant modern woman are both defined and reasserted for the contemporary world.

Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everyday Elegance


Jennifer L. Scott - 2015
    As uncivil behaviors like flip-flops at Broadway shows and digital oversharing proliferate, this timely book reminds us of the quiet power of behaving with dignity, kindness, and grace. Jennifer Scott’s Parisian mentor, Madame Chic, embodied poise, and not just with the good posture, stylish attire, and natural manners that made her extraordinarily elegant. She also demonstrated steady assuredness and graceful calm in everything she did—from interacting with her family and receiving guests at home to presenting herself in public. Jennifer L. Scott passes on the lessons she learned as well as some of her own hard-won wisdom, addressing topics such as proper attire at social events, good grooming, communication skills, hospitality and being a good guest, our interactions with neighbors and strangers, role models, self-discipline, and self-image.This charmingly illustrated, practical, and inspiring book, full of tips, lists, and ideas, is certain to start a new conversation about the timeless art of poise.

The Little Black Book of Style


Nina García - 2007
    Here, in one indispensible volume, are Nina’s ultimate rules of style to help you uncover your own signature look.

Places To Go, People To See


kate spade new york - 2014
    this new volume features vibrant photography, old-world glamour, a dash of charm and inspirational quotes, tips and words of wisdom that every kate spade new york girl should know. kate spade new york: places to go, people to see showcases chic destinations such as paris, new york city, the amalfi coast, marrakech, tokyo, and st moritz, along with ways to incorporate those things seen, heard and experienced into life back home. kate spade new york: places to go, people to see will have you booking a plane ticket the moment you finish turning the pages!

Love Style Life


Garance Doré - 2015
      Garance Doré, the voice and vision behind her eponymous blog, has captivated millions of readers worldwide with her fresh and appealing approach to style through storytelling. This gorgeously illustrated book takes readers on a unique narrative journey that blends Garance’s inimitable photography and illustrations with the candid, hard-won wisdom drawn from her life and her travels. Infused with her Left Bank sensibility, the eclecticism of her adopted city of New York, and the wild, passionate spirit of her native Corsica, Love Style Life is a backstage pass behind fashion’s frontlines, peppered with French-girl-next-door wit and advice on everything from mixing J.Crew with Chanel, to falling in love, to pursuing a life and career that is the perfect reflection of you.  Praise for Garance Doré and Love Style Life   “The most elegant, funny, truthful book on style, love and life. Garance is an original with the cutest French accent.”—Jenna Lyons, president and creative director, J.Crew  “This charming book by fashion blogger Doré is part memoir and part style guide, gathered together in a chic, Gallic-inflected package.”—Publishers Weekly“One of blogdom’s most compelling storytellers.”—The New York Times   “Doré’s mix of portrait photography, illustrations, collages, and stream-of-consciousness writing . . . has given the fashion world en masse a girl crush.”—Interview   “Garance Doré embodies effortless French style.”—Martha Stewart Living

The Principles of Uncertainty


Maira Kalman - 2007
    Part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part chapbook, and all Kalman, these brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images - which initially appear random - ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue.