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Friday, January 7, 2011

Style Library!

With the holidays over, and most of the decorations packed up safely and neatly for next season, now is the perfect time to curl up in front of the fire with a couple of good books on a chilly evening. With my sweetheart on the sofa beside me, and my two kitty companions, London and Paris, fighting for lap space, I love spending time with my personal collection of coffee table books on fashion, decorating, travel, art. Even my cup of hot tea is accessorised with a leftover candy cane hooked on the side, and my new favorite jammies from Santa make me one happy girl...

I was really inspired by Claudia's collection of great books from her photo above. Here are a few vintage books I found from online sellers on etsy that would be great additions to my collection, and probably yours, too! Have fun with these shops, they have lots of other great items, too, besides books to peruse!



This is actually two books--"The Forties in Vogue" and "Vogue's Book of Etiquette" available from Old To New on etsy. Both of these fun books reveal fashion, art and life during the 1940's, and are offer great insight to those of us who love vintage from that era.





This is a really great book I remember wanting when it came out in the early 1980's...it's full of very beautiful photos of celebrity women by the very famous Scavullo who was the photographer all the glamorous Cosmopolitan magazine covers of the time. "Scavullo Women" is from Rigo 61.





Full color images and stories of celebrities of a bygone era are recorded in this album of magazine editions..."Vanity Fair"-A Cavalcade of the 1920's & 1930's is from CircaCollection.
I'm sure we would be surprised at how this publication has evolved over the decades!





I couldn't care less that this dust jacket on this copy of "Erte at Ninety--The Complete Graphics" it ripped...I've always been such a fan of this artist! This is a large coffee table book with wonderful photos of this Art Deco wonder's work! This album of eye candy is from Good Lookin.






"Elegance" from 1964 gives a real look at the standards and social graces that women of that time where expected to achieve through their dress. I always love these etiquette types of books, and although lots of the expectations of the times seem dated to many, there still remains some basic information that I believe is always the yardstick to style. This seller,
I Have A Thing For You, has a huge online store that's lots of fun visiting.





If you love studying the history of fashion, this is a great little book for historical research. "Encyclopedie Illustree du Costume et de la Mode" is full of interesting sketches, illustrations and photos of costumes of the day, from Looking Glass House.






"A Survey of Historic Costume" is another great resource for students, fashion industry professionals or anyone interested in a thorough overview of Western dress from the ancient world to trends of today. From Clover City.





"Glamour Magazine Party Book" from 1965 seems like a fun read, especially this highlighted Cocktail Party section. It's planning chapters include those on manners, dressing, and even menu ideas! This chic little book is from Your Neck Of The Woods.







Now So LA offers this wonderful signed copy of Helmut Newton's "Sleepless Nights". Known for his edgy photos of women in the 1970's, he played a huge part in the fashion world of the time, and still influences photographers and editors today. This rare 1978 first edition would be a jewel in the crown of any fashionista's book collection!


Spend Time in Your Library Today!


--Lee Ann

4 comments:

NowSoLA Vintage said...

such a lovely collection! thanks so much for including my book in your selections & I've become a follower of your wonderful blog!
Happy New Year,
Lara

Sarah Klassen said...

These all look so fabulous! I love your posts... thank you, also, so much for the lovely comments that you leave for me. I am happy to know you and very much look forward to all that you will share in the coming year...

Happy New Year*
xoxo

Silvia C said...

I adore books (and NOT on Kindle!). Yours are fabulous! I could sit down and spend a weekend browsing through all of those. Great choices.

Anonymous said...

You have a great collection; I can't wait for the weather to be warmer so I can start my Spring scavenging for vintage books.

If you EVER have a garage sale, I want the first right of refusal on this collection!