5 fashion books your fashionista bookshelf needs

Every fashionista has her own personal library with her favourite books. Fashion books are a great source of inspiration from which you can learn how the fashion industry works while broadening your cultural horizon, they can also help you, as a great source of practical knowledge, to analyse and build your own personal style and/or criteria. If you consider yourself an expert in fashion, it's always the right time to expand your collection but what better day to do so than on April 23rd, World Book day. 

To celebrate World Book day, one of our favourite days of the year, from Some Things Never Fade we want to present you with the must have books for your fashionista bookshelf:

• The Empire of fahsion by Gilles Lipovetsky 

With this essay, Gilles Lipovetsky places fashion and its concept as a paradigm of today's society, becoming something that goes beyond aesthetic pleasure. This book on fashion reflects on how as the ephemeral becomes more important, turning fashion into a way of life and at the center of Western modernity, we wonder what its final destiny will be. Find it here.

• Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas

In this book we follow the journalist Dana Thomas on a trip throughout the globe visiting different entrepreneurs that chose traditional production methods, more ethical and more sustainable proving that an alternative to the current production system of the globalised world is possible. Get it here.

• The glass of fashion by Cecil Beaton 

If you like secondhand book stores, we recommend you look for this portrait of  20st Century fashion history, written and illustrated by the famous fashion photographer, Cecil Beaton. It is a detailed and personal description of the evolution of fashion in the past century, with especial mentions to iconic figures such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel and Christian Dior creating an entertained and stimulating read. Find it here.

• Vivienne Westwood Catwalk: The Complete Collections

What best way to celebrate and honour the life of one of the biggest fashion designers on the 21st Century than with this compilation of all her fashion shows. It's the last addition to the Catwalk series that shares all the 40 years of history of the Vivienne Westwood label and her womenswear collections. ¿The best element of this edition? The cover with the iconic tartan of the Westwood MacAndreas house, a real gem to browse during your relaxation moments. You'll find it here.

• The Costume History by Auguste Racinet

If you don't have this Taschen editorial illustrated classic yet, this is the time to get your hands on it. This fashion book, published originally in the 19th Century, is presented as originally intended by its author, by themes and cultures and accompanied by the original coloured illustrations, making it a lot easier to understand the cuts and aesthetic influences of each times fashion. A small encyclopedia you need in your bookshelf. Available in two sizes so you can choose if you prefer to have it in the small or large editions.

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