Recommendations based on "Confessions Of A Fashionista"

The “exceptionally seductive biography” of the 1960s icon as told by those who knew her (Los Angeles Times Book Review). In the 1960s, actress and model Edie Sedgwick exploded into the public eye like a comet. She seemed to have it all: she was aristocratic and glamorous, vivacious and young, Andy Warhol’s superstar. But within a few years she flared out as quickly as she had appeared, and before she turned twenty-nine she was dead from a drug overdose. In a dazzling tapestry of voices—family, friends, lovers, rivals—the entire meteoric trajectory of Edie Sedgwick’s life is brilliantly captured. And so is the Pop Art world of the ‘60s: the sex, drugs, fashion, music—the mad rush for pleasure and fame. All glitter and flash on the outside, it was hollow and desperate within—like Edie herself, and like her mentor, Andy Warhol. Alternately mesmerizing, tragic, and horrifying, this book shatters many myths about the ‘60s experience in America. “This is the book of the Sixties that we have been waiting for.” —Norman Mailer

The award-winning classic on why we must revolutionise the fashion industry*Selected by Emma Watson for her Ultimate Book List*Fashion is political. From the red carpets of the Met Gala to online fast fashion, clothes tell a story of inequality, racism, and climate crisis. In The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, Tansy E. Hoskins unpicks the threads of capitalist industry to reveal the truth about our clothes.Fashion brands entice us to consume more by manipulating us to feel ugly, poor and worthless, sentiments that line the pockets of billionaires exploiting colonial supply chains. Garment workers on poverty pay risk their lives in dangerous factories, animals are tortured, fossil fuels extracted and toxic chemicals spread just to keep this season's collections fresh.We can do better than this. Moving between Karl Lagerfeld and Karl Marx, The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion goes beyond ethical fashion and consumer responsibility showing that if we want to feel comfortable in our clothes, we need to reshape the system and ensure this is not our last season.

SUNDAY TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEARROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEARMOJO BOOK OF THE YEARIn 1975, Viv Albertine was obsessed with music but it never occurred to her she could be in a band as she couldn't play an instrument and she'd never seen a girl play electric guitar.A year later, she was the guitarist in the hugely influential all-girl band the Slits, who fearlessly took on the male-dominated music scene and became part of a movement that changed music.A raw, thrilling story of life on the frontiers and a candid account of Viv's life post-punk - taking in a career in film, the pain of IVF, illness and divorce and the triumph of making music again - Clothes Music Boys is a remarkable memoir.

After a successful modelling career, Grace Coddington became a fashion editor at British Vogue in 1968. In 1988 she joined American Vogue with Anna Wintour and soon after was named the magazine's creative director. In 2016 she became Vogue's creative director-at-large, allowing her to pursue independent projects including developing her own perfume, Grace by Grace Coddington, with Comme des Garçons.

Lauren Redniss, acclaimed author of the brilliant biography-in-collage Radioactive, delivers a stunning visual journey through the life of the last Ziegfeld girl, Doris Eaton Travis. Now in paperback for the first time, Century Girl spans the brightest moments in early show business, the major historical landmarks of the 20th century, and the intimate milestones of one woman’s long life. Incorporating hundreds of archival photos and personal clippings with inventive line drawings and a compelling, hand-written narrative, Century Girl is a more than a biography, more than a graphic novel, and more than an art book—it is a singularly original and major work of art that Slate magazine calls “a visually dazzling mélange . . . unlike anything . . . ever seen before” (Best Books of 2006).

One of USA Today's “100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis”A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume.“Beautifully written . . . Full of anecdotes and fascinating research, this elegant compendium has all the answers.” —NPR, Best Books of 2017The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh’s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk’s fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture.“This passionate and majestic compedium will leave you bathed in the gorgeous optics of light.” —Elle

A Place in the Sun collects Slim Aarons’s photographs capturing the glamorous lifestyles of some of high society’s most prominent people.“Slim Aarons is known for his dreamy lifestyle photographs of celebrities and socialites in jaw-dropping locations around the world.” —Architectural DigestSince 1940 Slim Aarons has been hard at work, first as a war photographer, then with unprecedented access as a photographer to the rich and famous. In this book, he develops the environmental portrait to the level of art, always showing his subjects in their natural setting, in a circumstance synonymous with their station in life.Aarons documented a particular world that has vanished. A Place in the Sun is that special glimpse of privilege under a bright and beaming sky, whether on sandy shore, snowy slope, or elegant home where cares are few. Through 250 stunning color pictures, Aarons provides a veritable Who’s Who of high society: Aristotle Onassis with his first wife, Tina, and their children C. Z. Guest at her villa in Palm Beach The Aga Khan at his Sardinian resort Truman Capote in Palm Springs And more! From Mustique to Monaco, from Aspen to Gstaad, only Aarons can take us on a journey to the most exclusive playgrounds of the rich, inspiring even the most jaded armchair traveler.Aarons never used a stylist, a makeup artist, or anything but natural light. Since the settings encouraged swimwear, it is astonishing how beautiful these men, women, and children were. There is a shimmering sensuality about this bygone world. Astonishing, too, is the vibrant intensity of the colors.They don’t take photographs like this anymore. But we are lucky that Slim Aarons did!Also available from Slim Aarons:Slim Aarons: WomenSlim Aarons: Once Upon a TimePoolside with Slim AaronsSlim Aarons: La Dolce Vita

"Here, in my own words and as I remember them, are my cherished stories about a lifetime of fun and love and laughter...I've never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I'm here to take care of it and to love it, for we are only temporary custodians of beauty." --Elizabeth Taylor She has mesmerized movie audiences since her debut in National Velvet at the age of twelve, dazzled both men and women with her luminous beauty and iconic presence, displayed shrewd business acumen by creating a line of fragrances with unparalleled success, and her AIDS activism has been a call to arms for people around the world. She is Hollywood's greatest living star and a living legendElizabeth Taylor. One of her greatest passions is jewelry, and over the years she has amassed one of the world's foremost collections. By the time she was in her thirties, Elizabeth Taylor already owned an outstanding set of Burmese rubies and diamonds from Cartier, a fantastic emerald and diamond suite from Bulgari, and the 33.19-carat Krupp diamond, a gift from Richard Burton. That ring was later eclipsed by a subsequent gift from Burton, when he bought a staggering 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond. Newly named the Taylor-Burton Diamond, it catapulted Elizabeth Taylor into that rarefied pantheon of great jewelry collectors. In this revealing book, Elizabeth Taylor offers a personal guided tour of her collection. She takes us into her confidence, sharing personal anecdotes, witty asides, and intimate reminiscences about her life, her loves, and her collection. Whether talking about the famous La Peregrina pearl, which was briefly abducted by a household pet, or chatting about a childhood gift to her mother, Elizabeth Taylor shows herself to be the most seductive of storytellers: direct, irreverent, and charming. Complementing the stories are 125 stunning new photographs of her most remarkable pieces, specially commissioned for this book, and more than 150 rarely seen images (many from Elizabeth Taylor's personal collection) of the star wearing her jewelry over the course of almost sixty years. We see her as a young ingenue of fifteen wearing what would be the first of many charm bracelets, and again, equally dazzling, as a mature woman, wearing the famous Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, which she purchased to benefit AIDS research. Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry marks the first time this beautiful jewelry will be seen together as a collection. Lavishly produced and illustrated, the book has an introduction by the world-renowned authority on jewelry, François Curiel, of Christie's. It is for those who are enchanted by this most incandescent and enduring star, for those who cherish and dream of jewelry, and most importantly, for those who believe in the true meaning of love. This book is a fabulous display of unbelievable glamour, assembled over a lifetime, by one of the most extraordinary women in the world.

An entirely new way of looking at the history of fashion through the eyes of artistsThere have always been important links between art and clothing. Artists have documented the ever-evolving trends in fashion, popularized certain styles of dress, and at times even designed fashions. This is the first book to explore in depth the fascinating points of contact between art and clothing, and in doing so it constructs a new and innovative history of dress in which the artist plays a central role.Aileen Ribeiro provides an illuminating account of the relationship between artists and clothing from the 17th century, when a more complex and sophisticated attitude to dress first appeared, to the early 20th century, when the boundaries between art and fashion became more fluid: haute couture could be seen as art, and art used textiles and clothes in highly imaginative ways. Her narrative encompasses such themes as the ways in which clothing has helped to define the nation state; how masquerade and dressing up were key subjects in art and life; and how, while many artists found increasing inspiration in high fashion, others became involved in designing “artistic” and reform dress. Sumptuously illustrated, Clothing Art also delves into the ways in which artists represent the clothes they depict in their work, approaches which range from photographic detail, through varying degrees of imaginative reality, to generalized drapery.

Drake presents a sublime and dramatic narrative about the high-chic fashion wars of 1970s Paris where two titanic geniuses and rivals, Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagefeld, collided and sparked a tumultuous decade.