BOOK CLUB: 8 MUST-READS FOR FASHION LOVERS

CURATED BY MATTHEW, MANAGER OF BUYER & COMMUNITY RELATIONS

ASyLUM

A COLLAGE OF COUTURE REMINISCENCES…AND HYSTERIA

BY SIMON DOONAN

Elle Magazine: “Get properly prepped for #nyfw with this insiders memoir of the dark and twisty world of fashion:

A journalist recently asked me if I though the runway models of the future would be robots...'You clearly have not been to a fashion show in a while,' I replied, adding, 'The Cyclons are already here.'"

Barneys New York's Simon Doonan debuts The Asylum: A Collage of Couture Reminiscences...and Hysteria. As the title suggests, ruminations on everyone from Suzy Menkes to Kate Moss…”

The Little Dictionary of Fashion

A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman

BY CHRISTIAN DIOR

Shopbop: “Christian Dior reveals the secrets of style in this handbook that covers everything from what to wear to a wedding and how to tie a scarf to how to walk with grace. Dior's expertise ensures every girl will know the three fundamentals of fashion: simplicity, grooming, and good taste. Illustrated with photographs and drawings, this classic is the perfect gift for stylish women.”

Champagne Supernovas

Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the '90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion

BY Maureen Callahan

W Magazine: “It's no secret the '90s have been on everyone's mind from designers to musicians to TV producers and, thanks to the latter, there will soon be yet another reason to revisit the grungy era. That's because a TV series based on Maureen Callahan's 2014 book Champagne Supernovas, which catalogues the rise of the decade's fashion figureheads Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen, is now in development according to The Hollywood Reporter.”

I'll Drink to That

LIFE IN STYLE, WITH A TWIST

By BETTY HALBREICH

WWD: “The sunstruck Friday morning before Labor Day found Betty Halbreich right where she has been for 37 years: working away in her salonlike Bergdorf Goodman office.

The personal shopper sees herself beyond any dressing-room mirror. Never one to sell solely for price or a label, Halbreich prefers to size up her clients inside and out. Occasionally glancing out her window to joke about the under-dressed people traipsing into The Plaza hotel, the octogenarian has a bifocal-like vision of fashion’s past and present. ‘Patients,’ I call them. They open up to me like a therapist. It’s very difficult to describe what I do,’ Halbreich says, who runs Solutions in the Fifth Avenue store. ‘Yesterday I said, “Basically, I’m a clerk” — a very costly clerk for 37 years. Glug.’

In her new book, ‘I’ll Drink to That: A Life in Style, With a Twist,’ (Penguin Press) Halbreich is equally unsparing about her own challenges: a frayed marriage, her attempted suicide, the struggles of motherhood, overcoming polio and then cancer. Fashion, of course, is a thread that runs through it all. Retrieving a list from a remarkably orderly desk drawer, Halbreich (whom friends nicknamed ‘Mrs. Sponge’) rattled off ‘Lauren Bacall, Betty Buckley, Susan Lucci, Jane Pauley — I taught Candice Bergen to walk in heels — Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Curtain, Sharon Stone — I don’t even remember her — Julia Roberts, Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder — that was something — Babe Paley, Farrah Fawcett. These are the people who were great to work with. The ones that I didn’t keep a list of weren’t so great to work with.’”

P.S. We also recommend you read this great Refinery29 interview with Betty here.

The Beautiful Fall

Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris

BY Alicia Drake

StyleCaster: “The Beautiful Fall follows Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld through the 1970s as both [then] young men attempt to survive and make it in the world of Parisian high fashion.

Comical and jovial, yet poignantly sad, Drake’s fascinating account of this complex and multifaceted moment in fashion history is a must read for anyone and everyone who is interested in fashion. Plus, over 30 years later, Lagerfeld and the late YSL are if anything only more relevant than ever before. This is a history lesson you will put to good use.

No need to resort to reading Danielle Steele this summer, The Beautiful Fall is the perfect beach read (it has all the right ingredients – there’s drinking, drugs, sex, betrayal, feuds, and a cast of high-profile characters like Andy Warhol and Jerry Hall, and Mick and Bianca Jagger).”

Elsa Schiaparelli

A Biography

BY Meryle Secrest

Shakespeare & Company Paris: “One of the most extraordinary fashion designers of the twentieth century, Elsa Schiaparelli was an integral figure in the artistic movement of the times. Her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, and Alberto Giacometti elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art. Her story is one of pluck, determination, and talent with scandal as spice. As the daughter of minor Italian nobility whose disastrous first marriage to a Theosophist caused near penury, she transformed herself into a designer of great imagination and, along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at that time.”

IT

BY ALEXA CHUNG

Trendland: “Filled with quirky little tidbits from her personal life, Alexa Chung’s much-anticipated book “It” is everything one would expect from the model, muse and global fashion trend-setter.

The cloth-covered book contains creamy pages covered in photographs, writings and illustrations, and offers insight into Chung’s fascinating life ranging from style and makeup tips to musings on dating and heartbreak.

Also a contributing editor at Vogue, Chung’s wit, charm and down-to-earth attitude radiate as she candidly writes about childhood memories of her grandfather and her style influencers such as Mick Jagger, the Spice Girls and Jane Birken. It is a lightweight and enjoyable read for anyone who loves fashion, music or anything Alexa Chung.”

ALWAYS PACK A PARTY DRESS

BY AMANDA BROOKS

Anthropologie: “It’s rare that we get a case of the green eyed monster…ok, it’s rare that we get a case of envy that can’t be shaken off. But that, dear friend, has been our predicament ever since we laid eyes on Amanda Brooks’ Always Pack a Party Dress. Bursting with glimpses of her unique yet achievable style, it regales with tales of time spent as Patrick Demarchelier’s photo assistant, fashion director at Barneys New York, and offers a peek at her idyllic family farm. All in all, Amanda arms anyone who flips the pages of her book with invaluable advice on exploring their identity through their wardrobe. After meeting her at our Vogue Fashion’s Night Out event (where she talked about her career heights and wardrobe lows to an audience at our Regent Street store), envy has crossed over into pure girl-crush territory. Naturally, we were delighted when she opened the door and let us step a little bit further into her world. Flick through the pictures below and join us in unabashedly crushing on Amanda.”

CMCDTLA TEAMMay 30, 2020