1 | “Women in clothes” by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton, Mary Mann (2014)

“A New York Times Bestseller. Through original interviews, conversations, surveys, projects and drawings from over six hundred contributors – including Miranda July, Cindy Sherman, Elif Batuman, Mac McClelland, Lena Dunham, Molly Ringwald, Tavi Gevinson, Rachel Kushner, Roxane Gay and Sarah Nicole Prickett – Women in Clothes explores the wide range of motives that inform how women present themselves through clothes, and what style really means”.

2 |  “The Curated Closet” by Anushka Rees (2016)

Well known blogger of Into Mind is releasing her first book on September.

“With so many style and shopping options, it can be difficult to create a streamlined closet of pieces that can be worn easily and confidently. In The Curated Closet, style writer Anuschka Rees presents a fascinatingly strategic approach to identifying, refining, and expressing personal style and building the ideal wardrobe to match it, with style and shopping strategies that women can use every day. Including useful infographics, charts, and activities, as well as beautiful fashion photography, The Curated Closet is the ultimate practical guide to authentic and unique style.”

3 | “How to get Dressed: A Costume Designer’s Secrets for Making Your Clothes Look, Fit, and Feel Amazing” by Alison Freer (2015)

Recommended again by Into Mind’s blog this book is supposed to be a fun read and full of practical knowledge. Quoting Anushka on “There is even a whole chapter about “Dumb fashion rules that were made for breaking”.

“Costume designer Alison Freer’s styling kit is a magical bag of tricks, built to solve every single wardrobe malfunction on earth. TV and film productions wait for nothing, so her solutions have to work fast. In How to Get Dressed, Alison distills her secrets into a fun, comprehensive style guide focused on rethinking your wardrobe like a fashion expert and making what’s in your closet work for you”.

4 | “To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World” by Lucy Siegle (2011)

This book was recommended by one of my lovely readers on my ethical clothing post.

“An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer’s ‘Ethical Living’ columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear. Coming at a time when the global financial crisis and contracting of consumer spending is ushering in a new epoch for the fashion industry, To Die For offers a very plausible vision of how green could really be the new black. Taking particular issue with our current mania for both big-name labels and cheap fashion, To Die For sets an agenda for the urgent changes that can and need to be made by both the industry and the consumer”.

5 | “Craft of Use: Post Growth Fashion” by Kate Fletcher (2016)

Still on sustainability. Kate Fletcher is Professor of Sustainability, Design, Fashion at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at University of the Arts London. She is also a renowned author and the Founder of design consultancy, Slow Fashion.

“This book explores the ‘craft of use’, the cultivated, ordinary and ingenious ideas and practices that promote satisfying and resourceful use of garments, presenting them as an alternative, dynamic, experiential frame with which to articulate and foster sustainability in the fashion sector. Kate Fletcher provides a broad imagining of sustainability in fashion that gives attention to tending and wearing garments, and favours their use as much as their creation. She offers a diversified view of fashion beyond the market and the market’s purpose and reveals fashion provision and expression in a world not dependent on continuous consumption.”

BONUS | “Anti_Fashion Manifesto” by Lidewij Edelkoort

“This much-talked-about and thought-provoking manifesto by the world’s most respected trend forecaster covers the 10 main issues that indicate the fashion industry has reached breaking point. Edelkoort courageously confronts marketing and advertising, as well as challenging education, materials, manufacturing, retailing, designers, fashion shows, the press and consumers alike. This means that the economy of clothes will take over from the turnover of fashion. Therefore trend forecasting has changed as well, taking its leads from social change and finding creative ideas within lifestyle trends and consumer behavior. A break-through philosophy focusing on textiles, garment-making and the imminent revival of couture. It’s time to simply celebrate clothes!”.

Cover photo: Charles H. Traub, La Dolce Via, 1980