The best books about fashion celebrate the most influential fashion designers, fashion houses, and everyday fashionistas. This list of the best fashion books covers everything from histories of powerful designers, essential magazines, and plenty of books about developing your own personal style. Whether you’re looking to get started with establishing your signature look or are curious about major pivot points in fashion history, there’s a book here for you. If you’re an amateur stylist like me whose connection to fashion is Project Runway, consider this list a must read.
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And now for a list of the best books about fashion!
The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History by Robin Given
We kick off our list of the best books about fashion with The Battle of Versailles. On November 28, 1973, five American fashion designers faced off against five French fashion designers in an epic battle for prominence. The occasion was a fundraiser to renovate and restore King Louis XIV’s palace of Versailles. With prominent guests in attendance like Andy Warhol, the Duchess of Windsor, and Princess Grace of Monaco, the American designers announced themselves as the new leaders in the world, eclipsing the conventional wisdom that the French were first in fashion and radically altering the status quo. This is for sure one of the best books about fashion history.
How to read it: Purchase The Battle of Versailles on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Book of Styling: An Insider’s Guide to Creating Your Own Look by Somer Flaherty
Are you a goth or a socialite? A punk or a hipster? Maybe you’re not sure where your personal style falls, and if that’s the case, Somer Flaherty’s The Book of Styling is the right book for you. This intro to styling yourself is anything but basic. Thanks to Flaherty’s funny and helpful book, you’ll have a solid grasp on what your signature style looks like.
How to read it: Purchase The Book of Styling on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the ’90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion by Maureen Callahan
This history of fashion in the 1990s looks at the ways the industry changed in the final decade of the 20th century. Profiling Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen, pop culture reporter Maureen Callahan zeroes in on the rising class of trendsetters while also contextualizing the changes in fashion that could only have happened in the ’90s. Champagne Supernovas belongs on any list of the best books about fashion history.
How to read it: Purchase Champagne Supernovas on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style by Jéröme Gautier
Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971) was perhaps the most important and influential fashion designer of the 20th century. In Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style, Jéröme Gautier has pieced together a photographic testament to the power of Chanel. Featuring Chanel’s most famous styles and classic looks, including the “Little Black Dress,” Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style is a visual feast and a testament to the legacy of this incredible designer.
How to read it: Purchase Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life by George Brescia
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by fashion, insecure in your own style, and at a loss for how to create a signature look that reflects your inner self, George Brescia’s Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life is the right book for you. This guide will help anyone—even those most intimidated by fashion—develop a style that puts your best self forward. Follow the instructions in this book and you’ll soon be on your way to being comfortable within not just your clothes, but within yourself. One of the best fashion books for beginners, Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life is a must read.
How to read it: Purchase Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Color Your Style: How to Wear Your True Colors by David Zyla
What are your go-to colors? Which shades bring out the best you? If you’re wondering how to navigate the world of color in fashion, pick up David Zyla’s Color Your Style. This book will steer you in the right direction of what colors both look best on you and best complement your personality and personal style.
How to read it: Purchase Color Your Style on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Curated Closet Workbook: Discover Your Personal Style and Build Your Dream Wardrobe by Anuschka Rees
The companion to Anuschka Rees’ The Curated Closet, this workbook helps readers define their personal style, fashion philosophy, and signature looks. Whether it’s exercises for detoxing your closet, creating a color palate, or choosing outfit formulas, the prompts in this fashion workbook will help anyone struggling to develop her own style. The Curated Closet is for sure among the essential best fashion books for beginners.
How to read it: Purchase The Curated Closet Workbook on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Dress Your Best Life: How to Use Fashion Psychology to Take Your Look—and Your Life—to the Next Level by Dawnn Karen
In this helpful book, Dawnn Karen adapts the principles of fashion psychology to your wardrobe. You’ll come away with a better understanding the intersection of style, mood, and emotions. This one-of-a-kind book elevates fashion beyond your clothes and into a synchronization with your mind.
How to read it: Purchase Dress Your Best Life on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Fashion 101 : A Crash Course in Clothing by Erika Stalder
Although this book is designed for young adult readers, it’s still a great introduction to fashion that anyone can appreciate and a good fit for anyone looking for the best fashion books for beginners. Featuring over 300 wardrobe pieces, from shoes to dresses, this book shows you what they look like and how to best wear them, a rundown of the eras that served as inspiration, the fashion designers who created them, and the celebrities who made them the hottest trends.
How to read it: Purchase Fashion 101 on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters by Dana Thomas
There’s more to fashion than the hottest looks. In Fashionopolis, Dana Thomas digs deep into the historically and contemporarily controversial clothing industry. Thomas shows you why what we wear matters and helps readers see a more ethical, sustainable, and moral fashion future in what is for sure one of the best fashion books.
How to read it: Purchase Fashionopolis on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano by Dana Thomas
Another can’t-miss-it book by Dana Thomas is Gods and Kings. In this riveting read, Thomas details the meteoric rise and crashing downfall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. Charting these enormously powerful designers from their breakaway burst onto the scene in the ’90s to their spectacular demise, Thomas puts you there in some of the most crucial moments in the industry in what is one of the best fashion books about fashion history.
How to read it: Purchase Gods and Kings on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History by Kassia St. Clair
I highlighted Kassia St. Clair’s The Secret Lives of Color elsewhere on this blog’s article about the best art books, but her book The Golden Thread is one that for sure belongs on any list of the best fashion books. In this revealing read, St. Clair illuminates the history of fabric and how it shaped fashion. You’ll learn all about the textiles that have allowed humans to progress, from fabrics that make athletic feats possible and even help our species go into outer space. It’s a tour through textiles you won’t forget. This is definitely one of the most interesting picks for this list of the best books about fashion.
How to read it: Purchase The Golden Thread on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden
Sara Gay Forden’s book details the tight-knit Gucci family and the outrageous tale of how Maurizio Gucci, the heir to the Gucci fashion house, was assassinated by his ex-wife in 1995. This book was the source material for the hit 2021 movie House of Gucci starring Lada Gaga and Adam Driver. Read this sensational story here first and don’t miss any details. It’s definitely one of the best books about fashion.
How to read it: Purchase The House of Gucci on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Inside Haute Couture: Behind the Scenes at the Paris Ateliers by Désirée Sadek and Guillaume de Laubier
If you’ve ever wanted to go behind the scenes of haute couture, this book is for you. Désirée Sadek, with stunning photographs from Guillaume de Laubier, has here offered readers a peek at the famous Parisian haute couture fashion houses. This celebration of fashion’s most daring designs is a treat for those who want to know where the boldest looks are made. If you’re looking for the best books about fashion, you’ll for sure want to pick this one up.
How to read it: Purchase Inside Haute Couture on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Fashion Magazine by Alberto Oliva and Noberto Angeletti
Since its first issue in 1892, the magazine that would eventually become the Vogue we know it to be was born. Now, more than 130 years later, Vogue is still the most influential fashion magazine. In this book, explore the history, rise, and dominance of Vogue, from the notorious September issue to the rule under legendary editor Anna Wintour. This book for sure turns the spotlight on fashion’s biggest bellweather. No list of the best books about fashion would be incomplete without representation of Vogue.
How to read it: Purchase In Vogue on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Little Dictionary of Fashion by Christian Dior
According to beloved designer Christian Dior, fashion consists of three prongs: simplicity, grooming, and good taste. In The Little Dictionary of Fashion, Dior expands on this principle. Covering everything from Accessories to Ball Gowns, the entries in this alphabetical dictionary are a great primer for those looking to get into fashion. Any list of the best books about fashion would include this must-read by Dior.
How to read it: Purchase The Little Dictionary of Fashion on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Most Beautiful Job in the World: Lifting the Veil on the Fashion Industry by Giulia Mensitieri
Are you interested in a career in the fashion world but unsure how to start? In The Most Beautiful Job in the World, Giulia Mensitieri puts the spotlight on all the potential career paths in the fashion industry. Every possible job is covered, including fashion photography, modeling, and brand ambassadorship. Interviews with and profiles of some of the industry’s most celebrated professionals enhance this insider’s guide to a career in fashion. This is one of the best books about fashion industry insider knowledge.
How to read it: Purchase The Most Beautiful Job in the World on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline
This essential read shines a light on the high cost of cheap clothes. We’ve all been there: you find a great bargain on a new shirt from Target. But beneath the discount label attached to the clothes is a whole world impacted by the proliferation of cheap fashion. Whether it’s sweatshop labor or inexpensive textiles that aren’t Earth-friendly, author Elizabeth L. Cline makes the problems of cheap clothing real for anyone wants to wear sustainable, morally sound, and ethical fashion.
How to read it: Purchase Overdressed on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by Phil Knight
Shoe Dog is the riveting memoir by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. From his early days selling imported sneakers from Japan out of his car trunk to the enormously successful state of Nike today, Shoe Dog tells the remarkable story of a no-frills startup that turned into one of the most recognizable brands around the globe.
How to read it: Purchase Shoe Dog on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Style Therapy: 30 Days to Your Signature Style by Lauren Messiah
If you’re looking to develop your signature look, Lauren Messiah’s book Style Therapy is the book for you. By following the exercises in this guide, including selfie challenges and cleaning out your closets, you’ll be on your way to having a personal style in just 30 days.
How to read it: Purchase Style Therapy on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion by Marcellas Reynolds
This book puts the focus on Black models who have revolutionized the industry. By focusing on familiar faces like Tyra Banks and the up-and-coming generation of Black models, author Marcellas Reynolds sings the song of praise for the models who shaped fashion’s history, present, and future.
How to read it: Purchase Supreme Models on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas by Alison Lumbatis
Fashion has never been easier to learn than following the outfit combinations you’ll learn in Alison Lumbatis’ The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas. For the budding fashionista who still needs some guidance on her wardrobe, this book is a great pick to get started with developing a personal style.
How to read it: Purchase The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Vogue: The Editor’s Eye by Condé Nast
Ever wonder what a fashion editor actually does? Look no further: Vogue: The Editor’s Eye will tell you all that and more. Focusing on Vogue magazine’s iconic editors over the years, this book celebrates the role of the editor in all things fashion.
How to read it: Purchase Vogue: The Editor’s Eye on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser
This book offers a comprehensive history of humanity’s relationship with clothing. Author Sofi Thanhauser focuses her tour through the history of fashion on five subjects: Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, and Wool. Never dull and always fascinating, this book is one of the best books about fashion there is.
How to read it: Purchase Worn on Amazon or Buy/Sell/Rent This Book on BookScouter
You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal about You by Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner
And now for the last entry in this list of the best books about fashion. This one-of-a-kind book combines psychology with fashion. Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner guides readers through the ways our clothes portray our inner selves. You’ll learn how to dress with more confidence that you find on the inside, understand what messages your clothing is sending, and wear clothes with a statement that complements your personal values, beliefs, and passions. It doesn’t get much better than that.
