While most of us have mile-high stacks of Vogue at our desks (for professional purposes only, of course), we do dive into more substantial reading from time to time. Here are our favorite fashion-forward texts:

Nostalgia in Vogue: This compilation includes a selection of Vogue’s famous “Nostalgia” columns published since 2000.

Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life: This controversial account draws on letters and other records to reveal the less-discussed (and scandalous) chapters of this influential designer’s life.

Grace: A Memoir: Vogue Creative Director, former model, and international icon Grace Coddington gives us a witty, blunt narrative of a life lived fashionably.

The Fashion Book: Aptly named, The Fashion Book is a coffee table book to end all others. This A to Z tome takes a comprehensive look at the most important names in fashion, dating all the way back to the 1860s.

The Little Dictionary of Fashion: A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman: Penned by the one and only Christian Dior, this indispensable source covers the fashion fundamentals every woman should adhere to.

By Lauryn Paiva, Staff Writer

What are some of your favorite books about fashion? Share in the comments below, or tweet us at @ruelala.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KAREN KARBO

We love the deliciously readable book, The Gospel According to Coco Chanel by Karen Karbo. So we were (very) excited to get the author’s takes on modern icons, personal style, and the state of fashion. (Like us on Facebook and read the entire interview in our Notes.)

Rue La La: The Gospel is more than just a biography, it’s almost a self-help guide – did you set out with that mission in mind?
Karen: Absolutely. One of my abiding interests in female icons is why they continue to be iconic. What is it about their lives that continues to hold our attention? Chanel’s life was immensely satisfying and she lived it exactly as she wanted, decade in, decade out. I was fascinated by what we might learn about the way she lived that that would enrich our lives. I joked to someone that The Gospel was “a biography for a self-absorbed time,” but I wasn’t kidding!
Continue reading “Five-Minute Pow-Wow: Karen Karbo Talks Chanel” »