A great coffee table book is always a favourite gift of mine - to give or receive - and there are some super-chic new ones out this winter (as well as a few I still haven't gotten my hands on despite dropping many hints)
Here are my top eight gorgeous coffee table tomes - which one will you be hoping for this Christmas?
one:
'Grace - A Memoir'
By Grace Coddington
I can't wait to get my hands on this long awaited memoir from fashion-industry icon Grace Coddington. Since falling in love with her talent, inimitable eye for style & of course, her fearlessness when she appeared in 'The September Issue' (who else would stand up the way she did to Anna Wintour?) this book has been long-awaited & reveals her early life, her modelling days & the car-crash that ended that part of her career & of course, how she began making a name for herself as a stylist & fashion assistant before becoming Anna's right hand woman at Vogue. All told in Grace's matter-of-fact way with plenty of humour & of course, the odd tidbit of gossip, this is definitely the top of my list!
two:
'Kate'
By Kate Moss
Hand-picked by Kate herself & chronicling through from her earliest modelling days (the iconic Corrine Day shots for The Face magazine) to her most recent work, this book is a must-have for anyone who loves Croydon's finest (and most beautiful!) export! Hopefully I'll receive this along with my much hoped for original print (fingers crossed, I've been very good this year!)
three:
'Influence'
By Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
From children's TV stars to diminutive fashion powerhouses, Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen have taken the industry by storm, first as our major style-crushes, then as designers of the super-cool Elizabeth & James line before launching The Row two years ago (hello £35,000 bag!) - and now the talented pair turn their hand to penning a book of the people who most inspire them - with interviews from Diane von Furstenburg & Karl Lagerfeld, photography from Rankin & Inez & Vinoodh & a whole host of artists, architects & actors, this book may have been published a while ago but is no less relevant & beautifully presented as it ever was.
four:
'The Sartorialist'
By Scott Schulman
The original street style photographer, Scott Schulman's blog 'The Sartorialist' became the place to click away an idle few minutes browsing through photographs of impeccably dressed people on the streets of New York, Paris, London, Sydney - you name it! The perfect book to get some style inspiration if you're feeling a bit stuck!
five:
'Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel'
By Lisa Vreeland
Coinciding with this years film of the same name, this book on Diana Vreeland tells her whole story - from her early days selling underwear to Wallis Simpson in London, dancing with the Tiller girls & travelling around the world, right the way through her industry-shaping career in high fashion journalism, beginning with her time at Harpers Bazaar from 1937 & also covers her influential time at Vogue. An amazing book, it really shows just how much highly regarded & before its' time Vreeland's work was - even today references can be seen in Grace Coddington's work, publications Pop & Love & photographer Tim Walker's imagery, to name but a few.
six:
'Nick Knight'
By Nick Knight
I want this huge book so much! I love Nick's work - his Showstudio.com website has revolutionised the typical fashion shoot & I love how accessible he has made everything. This encompasses all of his work in one handy (but certainly not one for your handbag!) book, a massive selection of the most incredible photos.
seven:
'The Beautiful Fall'
By Alicia Drake
The Beautiful Fall tells the story behind fashion's most famous fall-out - that of Yves Saint Laurent & Karl Lagerfeld, who, throughout the 1970's became bitter rivals whilst working in Paris. Full of drama & a great fashion-read, this is definitely on my list!
eight:
'Tom Ford: Ten Years'
By Graydon Carter
Perfect for a little glimpse into the career of Tom Ford - from him reviving Gucci & his time at the helm of Yves Saint Laurent this book is an enormous tome of fashion history, with gorgeous imagery from the likes of Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton & Steven Meisel & words from the one & only Anna Wintour (among others), I need this on my coffee table immediately!
