Three fashion books that I love
One of the things I have always done is to visit bookstores and look through fashion magazines and fashion books. I used to visit Barnes & Noble all the time, and look through the fashion magazines and books, and get so inspired. I stopped doing that, it has been a while, but I am looking forward to it once the coronavirus is over.
It is not very easy to visit bookstores right now, because of the coronavirus, but it is always nice to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and read a good fashion book or fashion magazine at home or while traveling.
I am very picky when it comes to what I will read. The books I read definitely have to be a book that I am very interested in reading, otherwise, I will get bored and I will not be able to keep reading it.
I read a lot of non-fiction books, however, I would like to read more fiction eventually-- it just takes more time to research. Some book categories I like to read are metaphysics, business, marketing, biographies, and most importantly-- fashion books. I have noticed fashion books are not as popular as other subjects.
I have read several fashion books. Listed below are a few of my favorites that I have read. I am not going to give the books away and tell you everything about the book, but I will tell you a few things I loved about them.
The 3 books I will be reviewing:
1. FASHION CLIMBING by Bill Cunningham
2. THE WOMAN I WANTED TO BE by Diane von Furstenburg
3. THE GLITTER PLAN by Pamela Skaist Levy, and Gela Nash-Taylor
I particularly enjoyed these 3 fashion books listed above. Why? They are very fashion-business oriented. You will learn a lot about the fashion industry. Each fashion author is, or was, a fashion business owner. So, if you like the idea of learning more about the business of fashion, you will like these books. Also, all of these fashion authors are very passionate about fashion. They really love fashion so much, this made me very inspired!
1. FASHION CLIMBING by Bill Cunningham
Photo source: Amazon
FASHION CLIMBING is a fashion memoir by Bill Cunningham. What is interesting about this memoir was that it was not published while he was alive. After he died, the book and its materials/contents were discovered.
Bill Cunningham is probably one of the most interesting people in fashion history. He is no longer alive, but he worked as a fashion business owner and as a fashion photographer up until his late 80s. He never retired.
His memoir has a journal-like quality-- it is very intimate writing. His character and attitude make you feel like he is so down to Earth. Bill Cunningham was originally a hat designer and he had his own millinery shop in NYC. He designed all his hats. Cunningham gives a real insider view on the fashion world, and what he went through-- both his fashion successes and fashion failures.
FASHION CLIMBING is a book I am going to re-read, because it is very detailed, and has a lot of fashion business ideas and tips that are supportive to everyone in the fashion industry. He has a great style of writing and this made me want to learn more about his life.
Overall, after reading FASHION CLIMBING, he leaves you feeling very inspired for many different reasons-- because he doesn’t just show the glamour side of fashion, he gives you a real honest idea of his life in the "luxury" fashion world, that was not always perfect.
2. THE WOMAN I WANTED TO BE by Diane von Furstenburg
Photo source: Amazon
THE WOMAN I WANTED TO BE is an autobiography written by Diane von Furstenburg. This book was even more personal than Bill Cunningham’s.
She spoke a lot about her personal life, her relationships, her family, and her friends. She has a good fashion story, and she really tries to show how the people around her shaped her into the “Woman She Wanted To Be.” Her autobiography is about her fashion business. She not only talks about her success, but she also talks about things that went wrong for her.
There are definitely parts of her life that reveals she lived in wealth. So she has an interesting point of view-- to see her speak of her life in the fashion world, which is a little bit like a fairy tale. Her fashion story is a little bit like a fairy tale. She had overnight success in NYC, but she had support, and it did take her time for her fashion career to become successful.
Furstenberg also tells her fashion story in a way that you are left feeling very inspired. She truly is famous in the fashion industry for her wrap dress and her textile prints. The jersey knit wrap dress she designed wraps around the body, like a ballet wrap top.
Overall, it is a great book to read, especially for those interested in reading about the lives of famous fashion designers like Diane von Furstenburg. She has a great writing style, with interesting stories she shared throughout the book.
3. THE GLITTER PLAN by Pamela Skaist Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor
Photo source: Amazon
THE GLITTER PLAN by Pamela Skaist Levy and Gela Nash Taylor is a fun fashion book. They founded a really exciting company: Juicy Couture, and it ended up becoming so large, that they had to sell it. They have their own fashion company now, a fashion brand called Pam + Gela, and their fashions are very modern and cool.
THE GLITTER plan story is great. Pam Levy and Gela Taylor are two best friends that ended up making a huge success with their velour tracksuits that Juicy Couture is known for.
What makes Levy and Taylor interesting, is that they were not formal fashion professionals from the beginning. At one point during their career as owners of their company Juicy Couture, they would pin their new fashion samples to their body, in order to manipulate the design, and hand them back to the seamstress to fix. They were very business savvy, and their book is filled with fashion tips.
Juicy Couture is still a large corporate company and a famous fashion brand. Juicy Couture is an important part of fashion history. They had a great idea and turned a 200 dollar business into a billion-dollar fashion empire.
I will be sharing with you more fashion book reviews in the future. I hope you liked these book reviews, and I hope they might inspire you to check them out.
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